pcap2las

Convert an Ouster PCAP file to an LAS or LAZ file. The new LAS or LAZ file is written to the same location as the PCAP file and has the same name as the PCAP file. The new file uses LAS version 1.4, point format 1, and includes the following extra dimensions: "nanoseconds", "range", "signal", "near_ir", and "reflectivity".

Install

1. Clone or download this repo.
2. Open a command prompt and navigate to the project root directory.
3. Create a new Conda environment: conda env create -f environment.yml
4. Activate the new Conda environment: conda activate ouster
5. Install: pip install .

Use

• Form: pcap2las <pcap_file> <metadata_file> [--chunk-size] [--format]
• Example with defaults: pcap2las path\to\my\pcap_file.pcap path\to\my\metadata_file.json
• Example with options: pcap2las path\to\my\pcap_file.pcap path\to\my\metadata_file.json --chunk-size 500 --format las

Arguments and Options

• The pcap_file and metadata_file arguments are required positional arguments.
• Optional arguments:
  • chunk-size: A large size is better (faster) for large PCAP files. [integer; default = 1000]
  • format: Export a LAS or LAZ format file. [las or laz; default = laz]

Probable

• PCAP files can get huge. For very large PCAP files, this tool will use up your memory and either fail or take forever to complete.
• If this is the case, we can modify the algorithm in a few possible ways:
  • Chunk the output (i.e., create multiple LAS files) with laspy.
  • Or use laspy's chunked writing ability to create a single (very large) LAS or LAZ file.