Point clouds have become a core data format in today’s geospatial, surveying, mapping, and 3D reconstruction workflows. Whether the data comes from drones, LiDAR sensors, photogrammetry, or laser scanners, point cloud visualization is essential for inspection, analysis, measurements, and 3D understanding.

In this article, we break down what point clouds are, why visualization matters, and how you can view point clouds using popular tools like Potree, CloudCompare, MeshLab, and CesiumJS.

✅ What Is a Point Cloud?

A point cloud is a collection of millions (or billions) of 3D points, each with X, Y, Z coordinates and sometimes color (RGB), intensity, classification, or other attributes.

Point clouds are generated from:

Drone photogrammetry
LiDAR (airborne, terrestrial, mobile)
3D scanners
Depth sensors
SLAM devices

Each point represents a tiny portion of the real-world surface. When visualized together, they form a highly detailed 3D representation of terrain, buildings, objects, and structures.

🎯 Why Point Cloud Visualization Is Important

Visualizing point clouds helps in:

1. Accurate Inspection

Cracks, corrosion, deformation
Structural analysis
Construction monitoring

2. Surveying & Mapping

Topographic surveys
Contour extraction
Planimetric mapping

3. Infrastructure & Urban Planning

Roads, bridges, powerlines
City models
BIM integration

4. GIS & Digital Twins

Real-time 3D visualization
Change detection
Smart city applications

5. Drone Mapping & Photogrammetry

Quality check
Comparing outputs
Mesh & DEM validation

🔧 How to View Point Clouds (Online & Offline)

Below are the most widely used tools for visualizing and analyzing point clouds.

1️⃣ Potree — Web-Based Point Cloud Viewer

Potree is an open-source, browser-based point cloud renderer designed for extremely large datasets (billions of points).

Why Potree?

Runs in browser (no installation)
Handles huge point clouds
Web sharing/reporting
Easy to embed into websites
Supports measurements, clipping, filters

Supported formats

LAS / LAZ
PotreeConverter output
EPT (Entwine Point Tiles)

How to view a point cloud in Potree

Install PotreeConverter (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Convert your .las / .laz file: PotreeConverter.exe input.laz -o output_folder
Open output_folder/viewer.html in a browser
Customize with custom UI, annotations, textures, etc.

Potree is perfect for web-based visualization, drone mapping dashboards, online GIS, or customer sharing.

2️⃣ CloudCompare — Desktop Point Cloud Analysis

CloudCompare is one of the most powerful free tools for viewing, editing, and analyzing point clouds.

Why CloudCompare?

Supports LAS, LAZ, PLY, E57, BIN
Extremely fast visualization
Advanced tools:
- Distance measurement
- Cross-sections
- Alignment (ICP)
- Noise filtering
- Segmentation
- Color / classification filters
Handles large datasets easily

How to view in CloudCompare

Install CloudCompare (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Drag & drop .las, .laz, .ply, .e57
Adjust point size, intensity, elevation shaders
Use tools for measurement, slicing, visualization

CloudCompare is the best offline tool for detailed engineering-level analysis.

3️⃣ MeshLab — Visualization + Mesh Editing

MeshLab is ideal when your workflow requires converting point clouds into meshes.

Capabilities

Point cloud cleaning
Meshing (Poisson, Ball Pivoting)
Texture generation
Smoothing, filtering
Measurement tools

Better for model processing and small/medium datasets.

4️⃣ CesiumJS — Web 3D GIS Viewer

CesiumJS allows you to show point clouds in a full 3D globe environment.

Key benefits

Stream point clouds as 3D Tiles (Point Cloud Tiles)
Real-time camera, navigation
API for measurement tools
Combine with terrain, imagery, and vector layers
Supports high-performance rendering

Great for GIS applications, drone dashboards, digital twins, defense, and simulation.

You can convert point clouds to 3D Tiles using:

Cesium ion
Entwine + PDAL pipeline
Custom tilers

5️⃣ QGIS — GIS-Based Point Cloud View

QGIS 3.30+ now supports direct point cloud viewing via PDAL.

Features

LAS/LAZ visualization
Color by elevation/intensity
Slicing & filtering
Hillshading & rasterization

Useful for GIS workflows where point clouds need integration with geospatial layers.

🚀 Which Tool Should You Use?

Purpose	Recommended Tool
Web viewer for clients	Potree / CesiumJS
Engineering analysis	CloudCompare
Mesh creation	MeshLab
GIS integration	QGIS
Very large datasets	Potree / Entwine

🏁 Conclusion

Point cloud visualization is essential for drone mapping, LiDAR analysis, surveying, GIS, and 3D inspection workflows. Whether you need a fast desktop tool (CloudCompare), a web viewer (Potree, CesiumJS), or a GIS platform (QGIS), there are robust open-source tools that can handle billions of points.

If you need help integrating point cloud visualization in web apps, GIS, or custom dashboards, Manya Technologies can build:

Custom 3D viewers (Potree / CesiumJS)
Drone mapping dashboards
Point cloud analytics
WebODM-like platforms
Enterprise GIS tools

Contact Manya Technologies for web based drone mapping solutions.