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mika edited this page Dec 9, 2021 · 12 revisions

First Steps

  • First: from Project Settings/Player/ enable [x] allow unsafe code
  • Check the scenes in folder "Assets/PointCloudTools/Demos/PointCloudViewer/Scenes/"
  • For the V3 scenes, you can download sample materials from https://www.dropbox.com/s/em7s0lzum61d774/tilesample.zip?dl=1 (unzip under /Assets/StreamingAssets/.tilesample/ folder)

Converting your own data

Import (raw) point cloud files into Unity Project

  • Open Unity Project
  • In the Project Window, create new folder like IMPORT/ (*or can be named anything else also, this will contain raw point cloud files, that you want to remove later)
  • Using Windows Explorer, Drag & Drop your point cloud files into this folder (you can do this inside Unity, or outside Unity by going into that folder)
  • Example: Import folder in Projects window, with point cloud file dropped in (In Unity)
  • image
  • Example: Import folder in Assets folder, with point cloud file dropped in (viewer in Explorer)
  • image - Tips: I'd recommend using some special folder naming, that is ignored from GIT/version control systems, so that your huge point cloud files are not saved to version control

Converting Point Cloud (for viewing inside Unity)

  • Import PointcloudViewer plugin into your Project (from Asset Store window, or from Package Manager in the more recent Unity versions)
  • From v2.50 forward, you need to enable "[x] Allow Unsafe", from Player Settings (Edit/Project settings/Player..)
  • select Window/PointCloudTools/Convert PointCloud to Binary (DX11)
  • Drag&Drop your point cloud file from Project window (for example that IMPORT/ folder) into the "Point Cloud source file" field
  • Example: Drag & Dropping file from Project into converter window
  • image
  • Adjust Converter settings, at least select correct import format from the dropdown menu
  • *Recommended: Enable "[x] Use V2 .ucpc Format", it is faster to load than original v1 .bin format
  • More info about settings PointCloud2Binary settings
  • Click "Convert to Binary" button
  • Set output folder (Usually StreamingAssets/ so that its included in the build) and set filename (for example "test.ucpc"), wait for conversion to finish
  • Now open example scene "PointCloudTools/Demos/PointCloudViewer/Scenes/PointCloud-BinaryLoaderV2.scene"
  • Select "@BinaryViewer" gameobject from the Scene Hierarchy window
  • Inspector: Type your converted filename into BinarySourceFile field (if its inside StreamingAssets/ you don't need to enter full path like c:\projects\stuff\viewer\assets\StreamingAssets\myfile.ucpc, instead just put "myfile.ucpc" and the plugin will check if that file exists inside StreamingAssets/ folder)
  • image
  • Use the default "PointCloudColorSizeDX11v2.mat" material if you have RGB data, or "PointCloudColorsTintDX11" if you don't have RGB data
  • Hit Play to run the scene, cloud should appear in the view (use WASD keys+Mouse to fly)
  • You can now delete the original cloud file and IMPORT folder if you no longer want to convert them again

Convert your PointCloud into Unity Mesh assets

  • Window/PointCloudTools/Convert PointCloud to Unity Meshes
  • Drag&Drop your point cloud file from Project window into the "Point Cloud source file" field
  • Adjust settings. More info about PointCloud2Mesh settings
  • Assign material, for example "PointCloudColorsMesh" (if you have RGB data) or "PointCloudSingleColorMesh" if you don't have RGB data
  • Click "Convert to meshes" button
  • Select output folder, wait for conversion..done
  • Meshes are also added to the current open scene
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