PROCESSING LIDAR DATA TO CREATE 3D BUILDINGS IN ARCGIS PRO
INTRODUCTION:
This project looks into the capabilities of ArcGIS Pro to create 3D models using Light and Ranging (LiDAR) data. This project is important because as technology
advances, the applications of these models increases. While doing research, the capabilities of these kinds of models became very evident. There are examples of
augmented reality technologies using HoloLens. This technology allowed for an application that displays real time models of cities to a group of people wearing the
HoloLens. This allowed for real time collaboration and the ability to look at different aspects of the cities, like future development impacts, transportation infrastructure,
and other aspects important to planners. In the natural resource sector, the application revolves mostly around landscape mapping, biomass calculations, and the capabilities
of augmented and virtual reality to assess forests. A developer out of Sweden created an app which allows to access single tree characteristics while in the field, or the
office.

METHODS:
1. Classify LiDAR dataset
- Tools: Classify “Ground”, “Buildings”, “By Height”
2. Create Digital Elevation Model
- Tools: “LAS Statistics as Raster”
3. Extract Building Footprints
- Tools: “LAS Point Statistics as Raster”, “Con”, and
“Regularize Building Footprint”
4. Combine all three components
- Tools: “Create Building Multipatch Tool”
5. Add RGB LiDAR or orthographic image to recreate realistic
display of ground
6. Apply “WaterFlow Tool” to test simple analysis of area. This
creates raster of the direction of water flow.

Ground
Vegetation
Buildings
Water

ASSUMPTIONS AND
LIMITATIONS:
- Limited to computer processing power
- Another limitation arises once the finished
product is created, exporting it in a format
which will be read by other software
becomes difficult.
- Data access limitations

Digital Elevation
Model

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
The outcome of this project demonstrated that it is
possible to create a Level of Detail 1 with limited data
available. Level of Detail 1 means that the building is
represented by block models.. Below is a visual of what
the final product of the Selkirk College model looks like.
A water flow model was used to apply a simple water
flow raster that could be applied to identify where water
may accumulate throughout the college grounds. Applying
some automation using WorkFlow Manager resulted in
multiple errors and long processing times due to huge
datasets. The result of the workflow ultimately created an
accurate digital eleveation model (DEM) and polygons of
building footprints, but the 3D feature produced is a
sphere. I tried changing parameters of the workflow, but
with the same sphere output.
Altogether, it seems that this process is becoming
increasingly accessible and accurate as we understand
how to carry out these modelling strategies further. The
next steps are virtual and augmented reality.

Lidar Classified Points

Combining polygons, building LiDAR points, and DEM

Polygons Derived from building points in
LiDAR dataset

DATA SOURCES:
Poster By: Santiago Botero
IEP271 Term Project
March 2019

- O:\GIS_Data
- I:\orthos