Desktop GUI for turning a small Area of Interest (AOI) into ground-only LAZ, a TIN DEM, and hillshade/slope visualizations using USGS/AWS LiDAR. Built by Bill Fleming (TechBill).
- Auto-discovers intersecting USGS/AWS LiDAR datasets; falls back to older collections when coverage is thin.
- Clips AOI to ground points only (Classification 2) and builds a TIN DEM via
pdal_wrench. - Multiple visualization modes: standard hillshade, archaeology presets, custom hillshade, and slope.
- Re-run visualization on existing DEMs without re-downloading data.
- KMZ export for quick Google Earth viewing.
- Configurable paths for PDAL and
pdal_wrench; remembers recent projects and UI settings. - Modal progress dialog with cancel button, elapsed time, and optional live log window.
- Python 3.10+ with tkinter (usually bundled).
- GDAL/pygdal tools available on PATH (
gdaldem,gdal_calc.py). - PDAL and
pdal_wrenchinstalled (QGIS ships both; make sure they are on PATH or configure via Settings). - macOS/Windows/Linux supported; internet access needed the first time to download the USGS coverage index.
- Install QGIS (for PDAL +
pdal_wrench) and GDAL sopdal,pdal_wrench,gdaldem, andgdal_calc.pyare on PATH. If needed, set explicit paths with ⚙️ Settings (Software Paths) inside the app. - Clone the repo and launch:
python maingui.py
- Follow the UI steps:
- Step 1: Pick a project folder (app will create
laz/,dem/,gis/,kmz/under it). - Step 2: Enter AOI center lat/lon and square miles (0.1–1.0). Choose auto dataset selection or manual pick.
- Step 3: Choose DEM resolution (auto by LiDAR spacing, fixed 1 m, or custom) and optional advanced tile size/threads.
- Step 4: Pick visualization mode (standard/custom/archaeology presets/slope). Use Re-run Visualization Only to regenerate GIS outputs from existing DEMs.
- Step 5: Run the pipeline. Watch progress/cancel, and open the log if you want details.
- Google Earth Export: Convert GIS GeoTIFFs to KMZ when GDAL is available.
- Step 1: Pick a project folder (app will create
laz/– AOI-clipped ground-only LAZ.dem/– TIN DEM GeoTIFF frompdal_wrench.gis/– Hillshade/slope rasters matching the selected visualization mode.kmz/– Optional KMZ exports from GIS rasters.
- The AWS/USGS coverage index is cached locally; the app refreshes it every 30 days and falls back to the cached copy if offline.
- Archaeology presets mirror the dem2shade presets and show descriptive labels directly in the dropdown.
- Cancel stops between major steps; partial outputs may exist in the project folder.
Personal and educational use are free. Commercial/business use requires permission. See LICENSE.txt for full terms. Donations: PayPal | Buy Me a Coffee.
- 1.01 – First public snapshot of LiDAR Studio with progress dialog, dataset fallback, visualization presets, KMZ export, and config support.