POINT CLOUD DATA HIERARCHY
One embodiment is directed to a method for presenting views of a very large point data set, comprising: storing data on a storage system that is representative of a point cloud comprising a very large number of associated points; automatically and deterministically organizing the data into an octree hierarchy of data sectors, each of which is representative of one or more of the points at a given octree mesh resolution; receiving a command from a user of a user interface to present an image based at least in part upon a selected viewing perspective origin and vector; and assembling the image based at least in part upon the selected origin and vector, the image comprising a plurality of data sectors pulled from the octree hierarchy.
1 . A method for presenting views of a very large point data set, comprising:
a. storing data on a storage system that is representative of a point cloud comprising a very large number of associated points;
b. automatically and deterministically organizing the data into an octree hierarchy of data sectors, each of which is representative of one or more of the points at a given octree mesh resolution;
c. receiving a command from a user of a user interface to present an image based at least in part upon a selected viewing perspective origin and vector; and
d. assembling the image based at least in part upon the selected origin and vector, the image comprising a plurality of data sectors pulled from the octree hierarchy.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein storing comprises accessing a storage cluster.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising using a network to intercouple the storage system, controller, and user interface.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one portion of the network is accessible to the internet.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating the user interface with a computing system that houses the controller.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising presenting the user interface to the user within a web browser.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface is configured such that the user may adjust the selected origin and vector using an input device, causing the controller to assemble a new image based at least in part upon the adjusted origin and vector.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the very large number of associated points is greater than 1 billion points.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the point cloud has a uniform point pitch.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the point cloud has a point pitch that is less than about one meter.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the point cloud has a point pitch that is less than about 1 centimeter.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the point cloud represents data that has been collected based upon distance measurement scans of objects.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the point cloud represents at least one LIDAR scan.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the octree hierarchy of data sectors is configured such that an N level sector represents a centroid of points at the N+1 level below.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein each point is weighted equally in determining the centroid.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the points comprising the point cloud are not all weighted equally in determining the centroid.
17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the controller to store data sectors of similar octree mesh resolution in similar accessibility configurations on the storage system.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to store data sectors of similar octree mesh resolution on a common storage device.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to store data sectors of similar octree mesh resolution such that they have similar retrieval latencies from the storage system.
20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising deterministically organizing the point data with the controller by automatically naming each of the data sectors with a uniquely identifiable name that is retrievable by the controller.