Quite often surveyors will do scans without a coordinate system. The scans are simply relative to the location of the scanner. This is super frustrating for us GIS nerds and has resulted in a number of brawls between surveyors and GIS folks
at bars over the last decade (pro tip: carrying around survey gear makes you a lot stronger than typing on your keyboard so try not to pick fights with the survey community). The best way is to clearly specify that the scans must be tied to a real world coordinate
system in the contract.
E57 is a common format for terrestrial lidar scanning. Give LASTools a try for converting from E57 to LAS.
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~isenburg/lastools/
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~isenburg/lastools/download/e572las_README.txt
FME is another great choice (if you have a license).
https://www.safe.com/integrate/astm-e57/
--
Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne
University of Vermont | USDA Forest Service R&D
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of "Lingeman, Samuel" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: "Lingeman, Samuel" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 9:00 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: LAS
I’m hoping folks with more experience can help with my las problem. We have survey’s done on campus often, and often times the survey firm will do a laser scan rather than a traditional survey. They use Leica. I’ve asked for las files
from them, which they say is a big ask, as it’s apparently very difficult to go from leica to las, in fact, you can’t go from leica to las, according to the survey firm, they have to use 3rd party converters. Apparently e57 is the standard file
format in their world, while I was under the impression las was the common standard. In any event, they have sent me several surveys thus far in las, and only one has end up in the correct location, and that one had the projection defined when it was sent
to me. All the others are undefined. I’ve defined the projection as NH State Plane, but they all end up in New York. I’m wondering if anyone else has run into these types of las files that come from terrestrial surveys and how you can get them to show up
in the correct location. Thanks
Sam
Samuel Lingeman ‘00, GISP
CAD/DMS/GIS Administrator
Campus Dig Safe Coordinator
Facilities-Campus Planning
“Pride, Service and Dedication”
22 Colovos Rd
Durham, NH 03824
43° 8'10.65"N 70°56'20.23"W
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