¶ Complex Measures Toolbar
The Complex Measures Toolbar has been introduced with the Shape Layout Version 1 in the Q3-Q4 of 2023. The tools were partly available before under the Shape Toolbar - Tree measure dropdown menu. However, the tools received icons in the new layout version, the tools received icons and were separated into a new toolbar. Additional tools were developed and placed in this toolbar. The Complex Measures Toolbar is located in the Main Window. The tools are available if at least one SHP/FDB table is opened in the project; otherwise, they will be greyed out.
The definitions of the tools are the following:
- Tree Measure (1pt) - The 1-point tree measure tool allows the users to use the tree extraction tool to extract tree locations and parameters using the extractor. After starting the tool, the extraction window will appear, and the snap mode will be locked to the point cloud snap. The extractor will require input from the 2D or 3D view (preferred 3D view). The user can click anywhere in the tree (crown or trunk parts), and the software will try to interpolate the tree to the extractor window. This might take a few seconds. The tool can be stopped by pressing ESC or pressing right-click.
When the tool loads the tree, it tries to identify the tree parameters automatically and show them to the user. The user can select attribute fields for tree height, trunk and crown diameters from the dropdown list of the available attributes. Storing these values in a numeric field is recommended, but a string field can also be used. The description of the tools inside the extraction window is the following:
Zoom slider - Zoom in and out for the view above the slider. If the user clicks on one of the views, the mouse scroll can also zoom in and out, and the scroll button will pan. These windows might work slower than the 2D/3D views.
Rarity slider - This slider allows the user to decrease or increase the point number displayed inside the extraction windows. By default, all points are visualized.
Rotation slider - This slider allows the users to rotate the side view. As the user rotates the side view, an indicator line will be presented in the top view to help the user orientate the direction.
+- 90° and zoom to centre buttons - These buttons allow the user to rotate 90° the side view and set the target point back to the centre of the tree.
Crown diameter / Diameter view - This radio button allows the user to select the top view display, as the selected part of the tree will be visualized to set the trunk and crown diameter. The radio button automatically switches if the user modifies the respective coloured dot on one of the views (red for the trunk and green for the crown). The description of the dots can be read below.
Tree parameters:
Height - The elevation difference between the base point and the tree's top measures the tree's height.
Diameter - The trunk diameter.
Crown diameter - The crown diameter
Height of diameter measurement - The elevation from the ground point where the trunk diameter has been measured.
Field of Height - The attribute field where the tree height value will be stored upon pressing accept.
Field of Diameter - The attribute field where the tree trunk diameter value will be stored upon pressing accept.
Field of Crown diameter - The attribute field where the crown diameter value will be stored upon pressing accept.
Clear button - Clears the extractor; the user can select a new tree.
Accept button - The tree will be stored, a new point will be added to the drawing, and the attributes will be stored in the respective fields (if appropriately selected). If the user does not set the attributes, the tree will be stored but without attributes. It is possible to store only one or two attributes if required; storing all or any of them is unnecessary.
Properties - The properties of the tree extractor tool, based on which it tries to interpolate the tree and adjust the top and side view.
The description of the property values is the following:
Cloud Filter size - The extracting box's side length clips the point cloud to identify the tree inside the clip.
Crown diameter - The maximal crown diameter. If the tool calculates a bigger value than this or cannot estimate the value, the crown diameter will be assigned as half of this value.
Slice top view Z - The extractor's top view will use this slice thickness for trunk/crown top view slices.
Tree ground level - Slice height - The software will slice the clipped cloud vertically based on this value and try to identify where the ground is.
Tree ground level - Slice minimum point count - The software will inspect the above-described slices, and if a slice contains fewer points than specified in this field, the ground is ended.
Tree height level - Slice height - The software will slice the clipped cloud vertically based on this value and try to identify how long the tree lasts. This can affect the accuracy of the tree height's automatic detection.
Tree height level - Slice minimum point count - The software will inspect the above-described slices, and if a slice contains fewer points than specified in this field, the tree is ended.
Tree height radius - This parameter defines a tube diameter where the points will be collected to find the tree.
Trunk diameter - The assumed biggest diameter for the tree trunk. The tool will inspect a three times bigger area for the trunk than the specified value. If the tool calculates a bigger value than this or cannot estimate the value, the trunk diameter will be assigned as half of this value.
The tree parameters can be adjusted in 2 ways: modify the numbers in the parameter panel or change the coloured dots in the top or side view. The views and values are synced, which means that if you adjust the dots, the numbers will be updated and vice versa. While the extraction tool is active, the 3D view will display auxiliary lines to help the user understand the parameters in the 3D view. Adjustments in the 3D view with the auxiliary lines are impossible; they are just indicator lines. The dots can be moved in the extraction window's top and side views. The 2D view also shows auxiliary lines during the extraction, which most likely indicates which tree is being extracted.
The coloured dots represent the parameters, and the colour code is the following:
- Light green dot - Top of the tree; moving it will update the height. A red line represents the tree height in the 3D view; the top point of the red line represents this dot.
- Green dot and circle - The green circle represents the crown diameter, and the dot in the middle is the centre point of the crown. The diameter can be adjusted by dragging the circle's edge in the top or side view or manually adjusting the crown diameter value. The crown diameter can be moved up and down in the side view. If the trunk slice is active on the top view, and the crown diameter dot/circle has been modified, the top view will switch to the crown view. The slice will be updated if the user moves up or down the circle. The circle is represented in a white circle in the 3D view.
- Red dot and circle - The red circle represents the trunk diameter, and the dot in the middle is the centre point of the trunk. The diameter can be adjusted by dragging the edge of the circle in the top or side view or manually adjusting the trunk diameter value. The trunk diameter can be moved up and down in the side view. By moving the trunk diameter up or down, the Height of the diameter measurement parameter will be adjusted automatically. If the crown slice is active on the top view, and the trunk diameter dot/circle has been modified, the top view will switch to the trunk view. The slice will be updated if the user moves up or down the circle. The circle is represented in a white circle in the 3D view.
- Blue dot - The tree's base point; this is where the point will be inserted when the tree is accepted. The height value is calculated between this point and the top of the tree point. A red line represents the tree's height in the 3D view; the bottom point of the red line represents this dot.
In case the dots are located on each other in the 2D view, the user can hover the mouse over the dots, and use the middle (scroll) button to switch between the attributes. The highlighted dot will be moved. When the user hovers the mouse cursor over the dots, the active dot's name will be visible.
If the accept has been pressed, the point will be placed to the base point of the tree, and the attributes will also be appended.
Please note that in some cases, the 1 pt tree extractor might be unable to identify the tree on the first try. If the software prompts a message about the unsuccessful search, try again. The tool shall find the try by clicking the trunk or crown, but in some cases, the trunk might be a better spot to click on. As every sensor is different, some datasets might require different settings as the cloud is more or less dense than the provided example. If the point cloud is weak because the tree is far from the sensor, the tool might be unable to identify it as too few points are available.
- Tree Measure (5pt) - This tool is the same as the Tree Measure 1pt, with a slight difference: the tool does not use 1 point to identify the tree but requires 5 points selected by the user to identify the tree. The mechanisms, settings, and display are the same as for the Tree Measure 1pt. This tool adjusts the side view clip distance based on the selected crown points instead of the set property value in the settings panel. After starting the tool, the user shall pick the following points:
- A point on the ground near the tree.
- A point on the trunk of the tree.
- A point in the tree's crown at the biggest extent (or where the diameter shall be measured).
- Another point on the opposite side of the crown is to identify the diameter of the crown.
- Top of the tree at the highest point.
After selecting the points, the extraction window will display the tree. Based on the point cloud type, it might take a few seconds. The chosen points will be displayed with a red line in 3D view to have control over which points were selected. Right-clicking when a point is mis-clicked will close the tool. From this point, the process is the same as described above.
- Generate Tree Circles - This tool allows the user to automatically generate a new polygon SHP in which the software generates the tree diameter and the trunk diameter as a circle at the location where it was measured. The tool requires the tree attributes to exist to be used. The generated tree polygon SHP will have 2 attributes: type, which indicates if the polygon is a crown or a trunk polygon and a tree_id attribute, which identifies, which tree they belong to. This ID is the same as the ID field in the tree location SHP. If the attributes does not exist in the way the tool expects them, the tool will not generate the circles. For the attribute assignment, see the next tool.
- Append Tree Attributes - Append the required tree attributes to a point SHP file. In that way, a new or existing SHP file can receive those attributes which are required for the extraction and the tree circle generation.
- Bottom of column (1pt) - This tool automatically allows users to insert a vertex to the bottom of a column at ground level. This can be very handy when poles and signs are being extracted. After starting the tool, select the pole, and the tool will insert the point at the bottom of the pole. The snap mode is locked to point cloud snap. The tool can be started only if the active SHP is point-type. The tool might be unable to identify the bottom point for poles with lower point density or scanned from one side only. The tool is still in development.
- Bottom and Height of Column (1pt) - This tool uses an extractor window - just like the tree measure tool - to extract the pole base and top point and store the height of the pole as an attribute. The snap mode is locked to point cloud snap. The tool can be started only if the active SHP is point-type. After starting the tool, the extractor window will open.
After the tool is started, click on any part of the pole, and the extraction window will try to identify the pole.
The extraction window is the same as for the tree measure tools. Please read the description above. Only the height is available from parameters, and this value can be stored inside a selected attribute of the active point SHP. The height is measured from the elevation difference between the top and bottom dots. Compared to the tree measure tools, in this window, only two dots can be seen:
Light green - Top of the pole
Blue - Bottom of the pole
These dots can be moved in the same way as the tree measure tool dots. The height value will be updated based on the dot movements and vice versa. The 3D view displays a red line representing the elevation difference between the top and bottom points and the clipped area with a grey rectangle.
The properties of the pole extraction tool are the following:
Pole height radius - This parameter defines a tube diameter in which the points will be collected to find the pole.
Cloud filter size - The extracting box's side length clips the point cloud to identify the pole inside the clip.
Pole height - Slice height - The software will slice the clipped cloud vertically based on this value and try to identify how long the pole lasts. This can affect the accuracy of the pole height's automatic detection.
Pole height - Slice minimum point count - The software will inspect the above-described slices, and if a slice contains fewer points than specified in this field, the pole is ended.
Slice top view Z - The extractor's top view will use this thickness for the pole's top view slices.
- Cable Tracking - This function allows the users to extract air cables semi-automatically. The tool can be started only with an active polyline SHP. After the tool has been started, the user shall pick 2 points in the air cable. The direction of the 2 points will indicate which direction the software will automatically extract the cable points. After the second point is selected, the software calculates the cable points. It will place a polyline with vertexes in every 1 meter. If the tool cannot decide which direction the cable goes - as a junction happens - it will stop.
- Rail tracking - The function is under development.
- L-Section - The function is under development.