PDAL pipelines
Writes JSON pipelines with tags, branches and user_data stating where each parameter came from, and swaps inputs and outputs from the command line.
--validate
Octo for point clouds and laser
Billions of points become numbers. What they mean is signed by you.
After registration, almost all point cloud processing runs from the command line: PDAL with JSON pipelines, CloudCompare without a window, COPC to open in the browser. Octo builds the tile batch, compares slope campaigns with M3C2 and extracts road sections from the point cloud. Parameters, acceptance against the field, alert thresholds and the report stay with licensed people, with an ART.
PDAL2.102.10.2, from Jun 12, 2026; native M3C2 since 2.10.0
Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS2026.12026.1.0 and 2026.1.1; notes on rcdocs dated Sep 7, 2026
COPC1.0LAZ 1.4 in an octree, read in parts
Sources14listed at the end of the page
01
What Octo does with point clouds.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All of them start from data already exported from the scanner or the registration package, run on a copy and go to review by whoever answers for the product.
Tile batches
Noise, ground, DTM and COPC for hundreds of tiles, with a test run on control tiles, a dry run, one process per tile and a log for each.
Deliverable: COPC + DTM per tile and a batch summaryGround classification
SMRF or CSF tuned on tiles with field points, with the DTM error measured at those points before the batch.
Deliverable: approved parameters and an error reportMonitoring with M3C2
Compares campaigns on a slope, dam or structure with PDAL's or CloudCompare's M3C2, with the registration error in the calculation and an alert per sector.
Deliverable: displacement map and threshold warningSections and extractions
Cross sections of a road, channel or stockpile from the classified point cloud, with slope and coverage gaps pointed out.
Deliverable: CSV per section and a summaryLicensing and formats
Checks that LAStools is licensed before using it (without a license, the output is deliberately distorted) and converts formats to E57, LAZ and COPC.
Deliverable: tool inventory and a path with no license risk
02
Eight arms, one point cloud.
The same Octo cycle, applied to laser. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who accept the registration, set the threshold and sign the report are people.
-
Discovery
Surveys what already exists
Scanners and sensors, versions of Cyclone, RealWorks, CloudCompare and PDAL, the LAStools license, delivered formats and where the campaigns are stored.
-
Data
Pins down references
Each campaign's SRS, ellipsoidal or orthometric height, LAS scale and offset, classes used and tile names.
-
Security
Looks after access and data
Reads the raw data. Point clouds of dams, industrial plants or military areas may be confidential; mobile laser imagery has faces and license plates (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law). Everything is assessed with the client before it leaves the environment.
-
Architecture
Chooses the path
PDAL or LAStools (only with a license), CloudCompare for what only it does, stream or standard mode, one process per tile.
-
Development
Writes the pipeline
JSON with
user_datastating where each parameter came from, scripts with a test run, dry run, logging and exit codes. -
Review
Checks against the field
DTM against control points; M3C2 on a known stable stretch, where the distance must stay within LoD95.
-
Release
Delivers to staging
Only with your OK, it writes to a staging folder. Delivery to the client and to the regulator is done by a person.
-
Documentation
Records what applies to your project
Versions, parameters, registration error and the result of each campaign. The tuning for one flight is never assumed ready for another.
Octo works with read access and in a support role. It does not operate the scanner, does not accept registrations, does not set thresholds and does not issue reports: that belongs to licensed people, with an ART.
03
Every task, its own path.
The criteria Octo uses to choose, always checked against the installed version and license.
| Task | Path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read a tile's header | pdal info --summary or lasinfo | lasinfo is part of the open portion of LAStools |
| Generate COPC | writers.copc, lascopcindex, QGIS "Create COPC" | Check at validate.copc.io |
| Remove noise | filters.outlier, -SOR, lasnoise (paid) | Marks class 7; remove with filters.expression |
| Classify ground | filters.smrf, filters.csf, -CSF, lasground (paid) | Test on control tiles |
| Raster DTM | writers.gdal with output_type idw | window_size fills small gaps |
| Register terrestrial laser | Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS (CLI with Cyclone WORKFLOW) or RealWorks (GUI) | Export E57 afterwards |
| Fine cloud-to-cloud registration | -ICP in CloudCompare | Never over the area that moves |
| Compare campaigns | filters.m3c2 (PDAL 2.10) or -M3C2 (CloudCompare) | Provide the registration error |
| Cross sections | Projection script from PDAL's CSV | Check against field sections |
| Batch of many tiles | One PDAL process per tile (xargs -P) | Log and metadata per tile |
04
From a single tile to continuous monitoring.
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Pipelines on demand
You describe what you do by hand in CloudCompare or in the vendor's package, and Octo proposes the pipeline, with a test run on a tile you know.
- Conversion to LAZ, COPC and E57
- Inventory of licenses and campaign SRS
- DTM check against field points
Batches and comparisons
Whole flights run in batch, and slope or structure campaigns are compared with M3C2 with the registration error in the calculation.
- Batch of hundreds of tiles with a summary
- M3C2 between campaigns with a map per sector
- Road sections from the point cloud
Monitoring, followed up
Each new campaign lands in a folder, is compared with the reference and raises a threshold warning for the person in charge, who decides.
- Automatic comparison for every campaign
- Threshold warning with stated uncertainty
- History of parameters and results per campaign
05
Confirmed by a source.
Every point below has a source published by the responsible agency (Planalto, INCRA, IBGE, ANAC, DECEA), by the vendor or by the project. ABNT standards appear only by number and title. The sources are in the next section.
4
points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.
- ConfirmedNative M3C2 in PDAL 2.10
- 2.10.0 introduced
filters.m3c2, with inputs in the order reference, compared and core points, areg_erroroption and distance, uncertainty and significance outputs. The latest version is 2.10.2, from Jun 12, 2026.Source: PDAL releases on GitHub; filters.m3c2 page (pdal.io) - ConfirmedUnlicensed LAStools distorts the output
- The paid tools run without a license for evaluation and non-profit purposes, but above certain point limits the output is deliberately slightly distorted; in the 64-bit executables,
-failmakes the tool fail with an invalid license.Source: LAStools LICENSE.txt; lasground repository; rapidlasso downloads page - ConfirmedCyclone's CLI requires WORKFLOW
- The REGISTER 360 PLUS CLI runs from a CMD window, requires a Cyclone WORKFLOW license and covers RTC360, BLK360 G1 and BLK2GO; the BLK edition does not accept the CLI for registration. Versions 2026.1.0 (RTC300/500/700) and 2026.1.1 (fixes for the RTC series and removal of the BLK2GO driver); the notes for both are on rcdocs dated Sep 7, 2026.Source: Leica documentation (rcdocs.leica-geosystems.com)
- ConfirmedDam reports require an ART
- Law 12.334/2010 requires an ART from a licensed professional (art. 16, II) and, with Law 14.066/2020, that the Dam Safety Plan be signed by a technical lead registered with the professional council (art. 8, § 5).Source: consolidated text of Law 12.334/2010 (planalto.gov.br)
06
What Octo does, and what stays with you.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Octo prepares
Surveys, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and draft legal descriptions.
Deliverable: material ready to checkYour team checks
The licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: checked by the person who signsWho signs
Octo does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT, statements of account and any official document are still signed by the licensed professional at the company or agency: here, the surveying or cartographic engineer with an ART filed with CREA, or the surveying technician with a TRT filed with CRT; for rural properties, the professional accredited by INCRA, who submits to SIGEF.
Signature: licensed professional, with ART or TRT
07
Sources.
Documentation from projects and vendors used in the research, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.
- PDAL releases2.10.0, 2.10.1 and 2.10.2
- PDAL filters.m3c2Inputs, options and outputs
- PDAL filters.smrfGround classification
- PDAL filters.csfCloth Simulation Filter
- PDAL writers.copcWriting COPC
- PDAL pipelineValidation and option overrides by tag
- COPC 1.0Specification
- LAStools, licenseOpen, free and paid
- CloudCompare, commandsKeywords in the source code
- Leica, REGISTER 360 PLUS CLIWORKFLOW license and equipment
- Leica, 2026.1.0 release notesRTC300, RTC500 and RTC700
- Trimble RealWorks 2026.11Release notes
- Law 12.334/2010Dam safety, ART and PSB
- Lague, Brodu and Leroux (2013)The M3C2 method
Your point cloud, processed the same way every time.
The assessment starts with a flight or two campaigns your team has already processed by hand, without touching the raw data. You get a proposal for what can be automated, with a test run on a known case, and you decide with that in hand.