BayesWavEx software updates

[André Jalobeanu]

BayesWavEx - new versions and builds (change log)

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.1 beta 11/05/2018

This beta decodes Riegl SDF files, performs the extraction and writes LAS/LAZ in a single pass.

Automatic MTA resolution, outlier detection, advanced waveform processing and channel fusion included. 

More info on this blog post: http://bayesmap.com/we11b/

and on the WavEx page http://bayesmap.com/products/bayeswavex/ including link to PDF documentation.

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.1 beta build 11/09/2018 

This new build includes minor bug fixes and a few improvements:

• Included the Lambert Conformal Conic (LCC) projection - most US state planes are now supported
• Updated wkt parser to include new projection and better handle units
• Added option -em_flt to filter out emitted pulses affected by cross-talk from received waves (default 0)
• Fixed an issue happening in rare cases with complex waveforms and that could cause a crash

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.1 beta build 11/13/2018 

This new build includes minor bug fixes:

• Updated the method that prevents multiple instances from running, lock file no longer used, robust to crashes
• Better SDF format error handling
• Rejected swath list created instead of exiting after first failed extraction 

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.1 beta build 11/14/2018 

This new build includes minor updates and bug fixes:

• Added option -plot_po (along with -po_sub) to export subsampled and projected PO files in ASCII
• Improved robustness of SDF decoding for corrupt files
• Fixed issue - manual UTM zone not taken into account

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.4 build 09/19/2023 

• RiVLib updated to latest available version (2.7.0)
• Added support for HOM and OS projections
• New option -mta_amb_zone to manually set MTA zone in ambiguous cases (useful for low density power lines)
• New options -trunc_r1 and -trunc_r2 (argument in m) to filter out bad returns from truncated waveforms (SDF files)
• New option -set_withheld (enabled by default), use -set_withheld 0 to avoid setting the withheld flag in LAS files
• New option -drop_withheld (disabled by default), use it to filter out withheld points instead of setting the withheld bit in LAS files
• New option -withheld_ld to set low density points as withheld (RXP, high PRR MTA)
• New options -proj_test2 (arguments lon lat) and -proj_test3 (arguments lon lat h) to test projections and geoids 
• New expert option -cloud_r0 to set cloud filter threshold
• New option -inc_id to set LAS ID increment for file sequences
• New option -ch for channel override
• Other options and features synced with StripAlign (-plot_po, license management, build date in software name, etc)
• Improved stability of RXP processing by detecting and rejecting bad data sent by library (NAN range and timestamps)
• Improved reliability of channel cross-talk detection and filtering for waveform processing (SDF files)
• Improved compatibility with StripAlign internal calibration parameters I4 and I5
• Various minor bug fixes and improvements including display output, log files, LAS/LAZ export

This list only lists changes since Jan 2022. 

See updated documentation for full list of options and more details about usage.

[André Jalobeanu]

Version 1.5 build 03/11/2024

All the following updates apply to RXP (point cloud) input files.

• Robust time sync allowing LiDAR data to start before and stop after trajectory data (useful for UAS). This feature is not enabled when testing extraction without a PO file
• Cross-talk detection (between emitted and received pulses) to effectively filter low points (underground returns) and other artifacts. The new option -dr_xtalk (default 0.25) sets the distance threshold between emitted and received pulses. Detected cross-talks as marked as withheld
• Improved extraction robustness (reordering, bad data and duplicate point elimination). The updated documentation describes the counters for various kinds of removed points; the numbers are reported if option -llog is used (RXP log file)
• Time reordering of points  to avoid return number and number of returns inconsistencies in some (rare) cases
• Better handling of library exceptions to avoid losing entire output file when the input file is corrupted or when encountering bad or inconsistent data
• More consistent extra byte export, compatible with other software. Extra bytes are now "Reflectance" (dB), "Amplitude" (dB), "Deviation" and the type is signed short instead of unsigned short. "Amplitude" is replaced by "LinAmplitude" if option -alin is used (linear instead of logarithmic amplitude)
  
• New option -max_range (default 8000 m) sets the range limit corresponding to the scanner, and helps compute MTA bounds automatically rather than setting -mta_max manually (recommended to avoid MTA artifacts for short range UAV scanners)
• Fixed issue with intensity scaling introduced in one of the previous builds
• SDC conversion code deprecated, now only accepting SDF and RXP as inputs

Documentation updated. 

Better separation between SDF and RXP output format descriptions (LAS attributes and extra bytes), added new options, and improved install instructions (license info in persistent option file).