List of programs for point cloud processing

Overview of programs for processing 3D point clouds from appropriate photos or surveys with laser scanners.

Programs for photogrammetric creation of point clouds

The programs create point clouds based on appropriate photos to process them to 3D models, e.g. for meshing.

Product name	Manufacturer	Photogrammetry	Scan data import	Import formats	Processing	Export formats	Operating systems
Bentley ContextCapture	Bentley Systems	yes	yes	photo, laser scan (coming soon)	registration, meshing	mesh, web, point clouds, DSM, geotiff, KML	Windows
RealityCapture	Capturing Reality	yes	yes	photo, laser scan (ptx, e57)[1]	registration, meshing	point data, DSM, geotiff [2]	Windows
Agisoft Photoscan	Agisoft	yes	no	photo	meshing	point data, DSM/DTM	Windows, Mac, Linux
metigo 3D	fokus GmbH Leipzig	yes (Stereo)	yes (STL, Lupos3D, Zöller&Fröhlich Scan)	photo (TIFF), point cloud (Vrml, Lupos3D, Zöller&Fröhlich Scan)	meshing, sections, ortho-projections, mapping	point data, DSM, CAD, Tiff	Windows
123D Catch	Autodesk	yes	no	photo	meshing	Autodesk cloud	Android, Mac, Windows
Pix4Dmapper	Pix4D	yes	no	photo	meshing	point data, DTM, CAD formats	Windows
DroneMapper	DroneMapper	yes	no	photo, jpg, tif, multispec	meshing	GeoTiff, point data, DSM, KMZ formats	SaaS/Linux Cloud

Programs for importing laser scanner data as point clouds

The programs can import data of laser scanners or point clouds to preprocess them for 3D modeling.

Product name	Manufacturer	Photogrammetry	Scan data import	Import formats	Processing	Export formats	Operating systems
Bentley Descartes	Bentley Systems	no	independent of manufacturer	various format	meshing, classifying, coloring, texturing, draping, orthographic projection, merging with CAD or GIS data	point data, obj, ply, pod, las, xyz, dsm, geotiff, ortho, textures	Windows
Pointools	Bentley Systems	no	independent of manufacturer	various format	classifying, coloring, texturing, animation production	point data, pod, las, obj, ply, xyz	Windows
RealityCapture	Capturing Reality	yes	independent of manufacturer	ptx, e57	meshing, coloring, texturing, orthographic projection	point data, obj, ply, xyz, dsm, geotiff, ortho, textures	Windows
FARO Scene	FARO Technologies	no	only FARO	FARO scanners	meshing	point data, CAD formats	Windows
Trimble RealWorks	Trimble	no	independent of manufacturer	various scanners, XYZ, E57	layouts, profiles, meshing, contouring, modelling	point data, CAD formats	Windows
Leica CYCLONE	Leica Geosystems	no	Leica, Faro and others	Leica, Faro and others scanners	meshing	point data, CAD formats	Windows
PointSense	kubit / Faro [3]	no	Faro et al.	various scanners, XYZ, E57	meshing	AutoCAD	AutoCAD plug-in (Windows)
PointCab [4]	PointCab	no	independent of manufacturer	various scanners, XYZ, E57	layouts, profiles, meshing	point data, CAD formats	Windows
ReCap	Autodesk	no	independent of manufacturer	XYZ, E57	meshing	AutoCAD	AutoCAD plug-in (Windows)
RevLib	Prescient Technologies	No	Generic	XYZ, STL	Meshing	STL	Windows
Scalypso	IB Dr. Koenig	no	independent of manufacturer	various scanners, XYZ, E57	meshing, 3D geometric objects	point data, Allplan, AutoCAD, HiCAD, Microstation	Windows

Programs for processing laser scanner data and photographs

The programs can import data of laser scanners, images or point clouds and process them for 3D modeling.

Product name	Manufacturer	Photogrammetry	Scan data import	Import formats	Processing	Export formats	Operating systems
RealityCapture	Capturing Reality	yes	independent of manufacturer	photo (various types, codecs), ptx, e57	meshing, coloring, texturing, orthographic projection	point data, obj, ply, xyz, dsm, geotiff, ortho, textures	Windows

References

1. RC import formats, April 2016
2. RC export formats, April 2016
3. Reuters: FARO Expands Presence in Architecture, Engineering and Construction with Acquisition of kubit, March 2015
4. LiDAR News: PointCab GmbH Releases Pointcloud Software Solution, November 2014