LiDAR Tools for ENVI

This page contains tools for processing LiDAR data in ENVI, an image analysis software package. These tools are written in the IDL programming language.

Updated 10/9/2007

 

Installation instructions:

  • Download the Lidar Tools Zip file.
  • Unzip the file in the "save_add" folder of your ENVI installation. On my computer, this folder is located at:
    • "C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL70\products\envi45\save_add"
  • Start ENVI
Note: ENVI developed a LiDAR toolkit available here. ENVI's toolbar looks similar to the BCAL toolbar. Please do not install both toolkits at the same time. The BCAL toolkit will not function properly if the ENVI toolkit is also installed.

User instructions:

The LiDAR tools are located under a new "LiDAR" button in the ENVI display, located between the "Topographic" and "Radar" buttons. Currently, there are eleven tools:
 Get LAS File Info - Displays header and projection information for an LAS file
 Convert Ascii Data to LAS - Converts text point data into LAS format lidar files
 Rasterize Lidar Data - Converts raw point data into various raster products
 Add Projection to LAS File(s) - Adds embedded projection information to LAS files
 Reproject LAS File(s) - Converts existing LAS files into a new map projection
 Create Boundary EVF - Creates an ENVI Vector File that shows the boundaries of the data
 Perform Height Filtering - Performs vegetation filtering on the data
 Create Elevation Profile(s) - Creates one or more elevation profiles along a user-defined transect
 Buffer LAS Files - Geographically buffers the data using neighboring files
 Decimate LAS File(s) - Reduces the number of points in an LAS file
 Subset LAS File(s)
 • Subset via Coordinates - Subsets data files according to user coordinates
 • Subset via Image/ROI - Subsets data files using a reference image and/or regions of interest
 Tile LAS File(s) - Divides one or more files into multiple tiles
 3D Lidar Viewer - An interactive viewer for displaying lidar point data

Processing Guide:

A basic guide to processing LiDAR data using the LiDAR Tools can be found here.

Notes:

  • These tools were written for ENVI 4.3/IDL 6.3 on the Windows XP operating system. The tools seem to function in ENVI 4.5/IDL 7.0 but have not been thoroughly tested.
  • The tools are intended to use process LiDAR data in the LAS 1.x format. Visit the ASPRS Lidar Exchange Format Standards Committee for LAS file format specifications.
  • For more information about LiDAR, or to download sample datasets, visit the USGS CLICK Website.

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