Add point cloud layer from file

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Display local 3D point cloud data.

Screenshot of Add point cloud layer from file sample

Use case

Point clouds are often used to visualize massive sets of sensor data, such as lidar. The point locations indicate where the sensor data was measured spatially, and the color or size of the points indicate the measured/derived value of the sensor reading. In the case of lidar, the color of the visualized point could be the color of the reflected light so that the point cloud forms a true color 3D image of the area.

Point clouds can be loaded offline from scene layer packages (.slpk).

How to use the sample

The sample starts with a point cloud layer loaded and draped on top of a scene. Pan and zoom to explore the scene and see the detail of the point cloud layer.

How it works

Create a PointCloudLayer with the path to a local .slpk file containing a point cloud layer.
Add the layer to a scene's operational layers collection.

Relevant API

PointCloudLayer

About the data

This point cloud data comes from Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Created and provided by USGS.

Sample Code

AddPointCloudLayerFromFileView.swift
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// Copyright 2024 Esri
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//   https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

import ArcGIS
import SwiftUI

struct AddPointCloudLayerFromFileView: View {
    /// A scene with a point cloud layer of Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.
    @State private var scene: ArcGIS.Scene = {
        let scene = Scene(basemapStyle: .arcGISImagery)

        // Creates the point cloud layer and adds it to the scene.
        let pointCloudLayer = PointCloudLayer(url: .sanDiegoNorthBalboaPointCloud)
        scene.addOperationalLayer(pointCloudLayer)

        // Adds an elevation source to display elevation on the scene's surface.
        let elevationSource = ArcGISTiledElevationSource(url: .worldElevationService)
        scene.baseSurface.addElevationSource(elevationSource)

        // Initially centers the scene's camera on the point cloud layer.
        let camera = Camera(
            latitude: 32.720195,
            longitude: -117.155593,
            altitude: 1050,
            heading: 23,
            pitch: 70,
            roll: 0
        )
        let viewpoint = Viewpoint(latitude: .nan, longitude: .nan, scale: .nan, camera: camera)
        scene.initialViewpoint = viewpoint

        return scene
    }()

    var body: some View {
        // Displays the scene in a scene view.
        SceneView(scene: scene)
    }
}

private extension URL {
    /// The URL to the local scene layer package with point cloud data of Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.
    static var sanDiegoNorthBalboaPointCloud: URL {
        Bundle.main.url(
            forResource: "sandiego-north-balboa-pointcloud",
            withExtension: "slpk"
        )!
    }

    /// A URL to the Terrain3D image server on ArcGIS REST.
    static var worldElevationService: URL {
        URL(string: "https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer")!
    }
}