New geoprocessing tools for LAS datasets

A large effort was put into creating several new tools and reorganizing existing ones into more logical groupings within the 3D Analyst toolbox. A full summary of the toolset changes can be found listed inside What’s new in the 3D Analyst toolbox.

New geoprocessing tools for LAS datasets with flexible licensing requirement levels

Although most tools for working with LAS datasets new at 10.1 require the 3D Analyst extension, some are licensed a little differently to allow more flexibility. The tools located inside the 3D Analyst toolbox require 3D Analyst. The tools located in core toolboxes work if you have one of these three options: 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, or ArcGIS Standard.

The 3D Analyst toolbox includes the following LAS tools, all of which require the 3D Analyst extension:

• LAS Dataset To TIN
• Change LAS Class Code
• Set LAS Class Code Using Features

The core Conversion toolbox includes the following LAS tools which have more flexible licensing requirements:

• LAS Dataset To Raster
• LAS Point Statistics As Raster

The core Data Management toolbox includes the following LAS tools which have more flexible licensing requirements:

• Add Files To LAS Dataset
• Create LAS Dataset
• LAS Dataset Statistics
• Remove Files from LAS Dataset

Additional new tools introduced at 10.1:

• Buffer 3D
  Creates a 3D buffer around point or line features.
• Enclose Multipatch
  Creates closed multipatch features in the output feature class using the features of the input multipatch.
• Intersect 3D Line With Surface
  Computes a geometric intersection of input 3D line features and one or more surfaces to return the intersection as segmented line features and points.
• Stack Profile
  Creates a table and optional graph denoting the profile of line features over one or more multipatch, raster, TIN, or terrain surfaces.
• Sun Shadow Volume
  Creates a model of the shadows cast by the sun for each input feature on a given date and time.

Several other geoprocessing tools were enhanced overall for 3D Analyst in10.1. Please have a look in the detailed ‘What’s new in ArcGIS 3D Analyst 10.1′ overview.

Other 3D Analyst enhancements

There are several usability improvements incorporated to the overall 3D Analyst functionality.

Visualization

• Improved level of detail for BING map layer consumed from ArcGIS Online
• Scalability—the undo/redo edit stack for 3D editing is more reliable
• Interactive 3D Selection capabilities in ArcGlobe and ArcScene
• More alerts (pop-up messages) to appear and inform when ArcGlobe or ArcScene needs to take an action as a result from the current situation.

Analysis

• Area of Interest tool
  You can now interactively reduce the extent of your 3D view in ArcScene by creating an area of interest box. This greatly improves performance and targets specific work areas. All features that are completely outside of the box will discontinue to be rendered until the extent is reset.
• Shadow Analysis
  The user experience for creating and analyzing feature shadows has been greatly enhanced. With one tool, the Feature Shadow Volume tool, it allows you to create shadow volumes for 3D features such as buildings.
• Grading Tool
  The TIN Editing toolbar has a newly added interactive tool to the drop-down menu. Grade From Centerline is used to modify the TIN surface based on grading parameters applied to a selected linear feature. This is useful for adding roads and berm-like features to your TIN surface.
• Profile Graph
  This tool has been enhanced to support a default graph template. This means that there are preset design options for how you want the graph to be displayed