Georeferencing, Editing and my first taste of LiDAR data

 

This week, we covered georeferencing raster files, editing vectors to digitize features from the rasters, and playing with LiDAR point clouds. First step: georeferencing rasters! I used control points to georeference these two images of the UWF campus and a survey drawing to vector layers of the buildings and roads on campus. I did well the first two images but got a little turned around with the survey. I realized I was clicking the wrong layer first (the vector instead of the survey raster) and had to delete all my points several times. But I figured it out in the end. The control points are a lot like controls points I use in 3D processing software to match features in images and scans, so it clicked really well in my mind. Next step: editing layers! I drew a polygon for the UWF gym and a line for a road segment. Saving is an important step! We did a few extra steps in here to add a hyperlinked image to a point representing an eagles nest, as well as creating a multi-ring buffer around said point. And lastly, I opened up a LiDAR point cloud in a 3D Scene. There are some pretty cool filtering tools that helped cut through the noise of trees and buildings to see the surface elevation. I created a DEM from this data and made another map with this data. Manipulating the 3D imagery was a little difficult as I'm used to 3D software, but I finally managed to make a decent layout.

Here's the first digital surface model I made in ArcGIS during this lab. Manipulating the map in the layout was tricky, so it's not the best view. I just need to keep playing!