The OpenTopography Tool Registry provides a community populated clearinghouse of software, utilities, and tools oriented towards high-resolution topography data (e.g. collected with lidar technology) handling, processing, and analysis. Tools registered below range from source code to full-featured software applications. We welcome contributions to the registry via the Contribute a Tool page.

Date	Tool Name	Tool Type	Keywords	Rating
30 Mar 2011	VRMesh Survey: LiDAR Point Cloud Classification Tool Description: Vrmesh Survey is an intelligent solution for automatic point cloud classification and bare-earth extraction. It automatically and accurately classifies LIDAR point clouds into ground, vegetation, building, and others. More than 90% identification jobs will be done in a one-click process. Manual adjustments can be easily performed in a cross section view. It also provides comprehensive functionalities to generate accurate triangle meshes.	Software Suite	lidar, bare earth, point cloud, classification	(0 rating)
3 Apr 2011	SAGA GIS Description: SAGA GIS is a FOSS which is, besides common GIS tasks, specialized on digital terrain analysis. The software provides a lot of analysis tools which you will not find in any other software package, e.g. for morphometric or hydrologic analysis. SAGA supports various raster and vector (including LAS and SAGA point clouds) formats, DEM generation, analysis and visualization (e.g. 3D point cloud viewer, bare earth extraction). One of SAGA's main objectives is to provide scientists an easy to use API to implement own algorithms (C++) but it is also used in commercial environments. SAGA provides a GUI and can be scripted in various ways (e.g. batch/bash, python). SAGA runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, both 32 and 64bit. The software is licensed under the GPL (GUI, most of the modules) and the LGPL (API).	Software Suite	GIS, Terrain Analysis, Visualization, Raster, Vector, Pointcloud, LAS	(1 rating)
9 Jun 2011	MCC-LIDAR Description: Multiscale Curvature Classification of ground returns in 3-D lidar point clouds (las files), designed for forested environments	Point Cloud Analysis	classification, filter, curvature, ground, interpolation	(0 rating)
13 Aug 2011	Point Cloud Library (PCL Description: The Point Cloud Library (or PCL) is a large scale, open project for point cloud processing. The PCL framework contains numerous state-of-the art algorithms including filtering, feature estimation, surface reconstruction, registration, model fitting and segmentation. PCL is released under the terms of the BSD license and is open source software. It is free for commercial and research use. The project is financially supported by multiple companies, including: Willow Garage, NVidia, Google, and Toyota	Point Cloud Analysis	point clouds, visualization, processing, segmentation, filtering, feature estimation, registration	(0 rating)
20 Mar 2014	LIDAR Analyst Description: LIDAR Analyst® software is the premier feature extraction solution for airborne LIDAR data, allowing geospatial analysts to unlock the value of LIDAR by automatically extracting 3D objects such as bare earth, trees or buildings. Now the software has been upgraded with a major enhancement: an integrated 3D Viewer that delivers mission-critical high-resolution 3D exploitation and further establishes LIDAR Analyst as the Gold Standard. Enjoy the performance of viewing and manipulating LIDAR data containing over a billion points. LIDAR Analyst has eight years of proven heritage as one of the first commercially released LIDAR applications. The power, speed, accuracy and broad selection of tools enable users to get real work accomplished. Thats why LIDAR Analyst is so widely respected and used daily by military forces, federal agencies, local governments, academic universities and GIS services providers around the globe. Since LIDAR Analyst is an extension for Esri ArcGIS®, the products familiar environment makes it easy to install and learn. Use the 3D Viewer to manipulate, filter and edit LIDAR point clouds displayed in stunning color. Rapidly inventory all the buildings across a city or area of interest by using LIDAR Analysts advanced algorithms to detect, recognize, and extract complex 3D building shapes. Count the trees in a forest or scattered throughout a neighborhood. Strip away the buildings and shrubbery to reveal the true ground level for detailed terrain.	Software Suite	LIDAR, Automated Feature Extraction	(1 rating)
30 Dec 2014	Potree Description: Potree is a free and open source WebGL based viewer for large point clouds. ( 20 billion and more ) Some of its features include distance & area measurements, height profiles, clip volumes, various point rendering qualities (square, circle, interpolation, splats) and different types of materials.	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis	WebGL, Viewer	(2 ratings)
29 Jul 2015	lidar2dems Description: The lidar2dems project is a collection open-source (FreeBSD license) command line utilities for supporting the easy creation of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from LiDAR data. lidar2dems uses the PDAL library (and associated dependencies) for doing the actual point processing and gridding of point clouds into raster data.	DEM generation	DEM, DSM, DTM, CHM, PDAL, points2grid, gridding	(0 rating)
31 Jul 2018	PDAL Description: PDAL is the Point Data Abstraction Library. PDAL allows you to compose operations on point clouds into pipelines of stages. These pipelines can be written in a declarative JSON syntax or constructed using the available API. PDAL is available on Ubuntu, Conda (OSX/Windows), and Homebrew.	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis, DEM generation, DEM Analysis, Data Management / Handling, Software Suite		(1 rating)
9 Apr 2013	LP360 for ArcGIS, LP360 for Windows Description: LP360 for ArcGIS is an extension to ArcMap that allows visualizing and processing of very large point clouds (LIDAR and dense image matching) in a familiar GIS desktop environment. Available in three levels of capability, LP360 provides tools from rapid visualization and derived product generation through advanced features such as automatic ground classification and building footprint extraction. LP360 adds to the native viewing capabilities of ArcGIS 10.1 by providing the capability to work with very large projects such as county-wide aerial LIDAR data sets. From Quality Check to advanced feature extractions, LP360 is the tool of choice for LIDAR professionals throughout the world.	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis, DEM generation, DEM Analysis, Software Suite	LIDAR, Classification, Breaklines, Visualization, Automatic Extraction, Volumetric Analysis	(0 rating)
7 Jul 2016	NERC-ARF DEM Scripts Description: A collection of scripts developed by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Airborne Research Facility Data Analysis Node (NERC-ARF-DAN; formerly ARSF) for generating DEMs from point clouds. Through command line tools or Python functions the ARSF DEM Scripts provide a common interface to generate DSMs or DTMs from LAS files using GRASS, SPDLib, points2grid, FUSION or LAStools. When using SPDLib, FUSION or LAStools will classify ground returns to produce a DTM (note license required to produce a DTM using LAStools). Additional utilities are available for manipulating DEMs (e.g., patching with a courser resolution DEM to fill in gaps) using GRASS.	DEM generation	DTM, DSM, LAS, GRASS	(2 ratings)
6 May 2016	LIDAR Widgets Description: LIDAR Widgets is a suite of programs that will process LAS/LAZ point files and generate 3D terrain models and contour maps. Output formats include AutoCAD DXF, ESRI ArcInfo grids, and QwtPlot3D viewable meshes with real-time pan, zoom and rotation. Converts LAS/LAZ point clouds into DXF point clouds. Also batch converts LAS/LAZ files into viewable mesh files, contour maps, 3D models, DXF point clouds or ArcInfo meshes.	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis, DEM generation, DEM Analysis, Data Management / Handling, Software Suite	contour map, mesh, grid, DXF, AutoCAD, ArcInfo, ESRI, point cloud, terrain, LAS, LAZ	(0 rating)
8 Mar 2021	Drainage Structures Mapping Algorithm (DSMA) Description: Mapping bridges and culverts locations and orientations using classified ALS point clouds and road centerline information.	Point Cloud Analysis	bridges, culverts, ALS point clouds, road centerlines	(0 rating)