How to Use Strip Selection in Rock Desktop for Optimal Point Cloud Generation

Learn to modify flight trajectory strips and understand which data to exclude for optimal point cloud generation in ROCK Desktop.

Strip Selection in Rock Desktop is a powerful feature that allows users to fine-tune their LiDAR data collection, focusing on specific flight trajectories for point cloud production. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to effectively use strip selection to produce high-quality, relevant point cloud data.

Key Insight: Strip selection allows you to focus on the specific area of your trajectory where you want to produce a point cloud. It's crucial to include only the regions of interest in your data set, excluding take-off, landing, and calibration paths for the best results. A well-selected strip can significantly improve the quality and relevance of your LiDAR data.

Editing Your Trajectory in Rock Desktop

When you bring your data set into Rock Desktop, the various flight paths are going to get broken up into these ranges as part of the trajectory. If you hover over them, the coverage will be highlighted in yellow.

Steps to Edit Your Trajectory

Remove Non-LiDAR Survey Flights:
- The first step is to remove the non-lidar survey flight, such as the high-speed kinematic calibration flight. Click the trash icon to delete it.
- Delete the figure eight calibration flight.
- Remove any high-speed kinematic returns to home flight.
Adjusting Coverage:
- Edit the coverage of each individual range to ensure you’re getting the flight coverage you need to meet your project goals.
- Make sure to focus on the start and finishes of flight lines, and and avoid extending to unnecessary turns if desired.

Importance of Data Collection Speed

It’s essential to understand the data you're collecting in the field. High-speed kinematic data is collected at speeds greater than 10 meters per second, which can cause misalignment when combined with survey-grade data collected at around 4 meters per second or less.

Final Steps

Once you've adjusted and removed unnecessary data, you can proceed to the next step by clicking 'Next.'