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TBC Does That #3: Extract Poles and Signs from Point Clouds

What TBC does:

Extracting street poles and signs from point clouds can be a time-consuming process. To facilitate this activity, TBC can perform the initial identification of the feature, followed by a manual click by you to generate the dimensions and add the pole or sign as an object to your dataset. 

How this helps you:

TBC helps reduce the time it takes to extract street poles and signs by partially automating the process. Using the attributes of a pole or sign, TBC extracts points from a point cloud that meet the criteria to create a new classification group. Although this is a partially manual process, TBC should improve your accuracy and reduce the amount of time it takes to locate signs and poles.

How it works:

To extract poles, signs and other objects:

  • Go to the Point Cloud tab
  • Click on Extract Point Feature and select Manual
  • On the drop-down menu, select Pole or Sign for Extraction Type
  • Type “Pole” or “Sign” for the feature code
  • Click on the pole or sign and hit Enter to accept

Pro tip: By clicking anywhere on a pole or sign, you can view the XYZ coordinates, height and diameter of that object and edit, if necessary.

The “TBC Does That” series, written by the Trimble Business Center (TBC) Team, focuses on the broad range of functionality that TBC delivers to you. Periodically we will release information to help you improve productivity by making the most of TBC’s built-in tools.