A simple point cloud file format and open-source implementation for geospatial analysis and software development

Abstract

We present a Simple POint Cloud (SPOC) file format, suitable for efficiently storing and processing geospatial point cloud data. This format provides support for 64-bit floating-point precision coordinates, compressed storage, and data streaming. The code base is implemented as a header-only, modern C++ library with Python extensions under an open source license. The format can be applied in a wide variety of use case scenarios, and was motivated by a need for high-precision, transparent data storage and transmission for geospatial processing and machine learning applications. Existing file formats sometimes either do not support the precision and dynamic range necessary for certain applications, they do not support common interprocess communication protocols, or they are overly complex or rigid.