Colorize a point cloud in Aura

This article explains how to colorize a processed point cloud in Aura using video footage captured during the scan. The result is a true-color point cloud that provides clearer visual context and makes the scan easier to understand and interpret.

Colorization in Aura is applied to the LAZ file produced by supported processing workflows (such as SLAM, RTK, or GCP). It cannot run on raw scan data. For merged scans, see Colorize a merged dataset in Aura. By default, Aura pauses partway through colorization to allow manual review of the extracted frames. This pause can be turned off. See Skip the frame review pause.

What you will need

• A camera and Hovermap set up correctly following the Colorization initial setup guide.

• A scan captured with video footage recorded during the mission using a supported, calibrated, and correctly configured camera.

• The scan pre-processed successfully using the appropriate workflow, such as Processing scan data or the GCP workflow.

• The video files (.mp4 or .360) stored in the same scan folder as the processed point cloud.

• An active Colorization license in Aura.

Procedure

Step 1: Add scan data and video

1. Open Aura.

2. In the Process tab, click Process Scan+.

3. In the Configure New Scan Job panel, select the Colorize workflow.

4. Click Add Dataset.

   

   In the dialog box that displays, browse for the folder that contains the point cloud to be colorized. Ensure the scan has been processed and the .mp4 or .360 file is in the same directory. If the video file is detected, it appears in the Video file(s) column. Multiple video files may appear depending on the scan duration.

   

5. If there are multiple output folders in the selected scan folder, click the arrow beside the output folder and select from the list.

   

6. In the Scan File column, the non-georeferenced output is selected by default. To colorize a georeferenced point cloud, click the arrow beside the scan file and select the file labeled Scan Processed with Landmarks.

   

7. Once the point cloud to colorize is selected, click Save.

Step 2: Configure the colorization scan job

Frame review settings take effect only if they are changed before processing starts. A job already in progress cannot be changed.

1. In the Location field, enter the preferred name for the output folder. Aura creates this folder, which stores all the processed results and data, as a child directory within the raw point cloud folder.

   

2. Select the processing profile to use. Refer to Processing profiles for more information about which profiles to use and how to create a custom profile.

   

3. Define colorization settings. Click Processing Settings to review the options on the Colorize tab. For instructions on creating an image mask, see Create custom masks in Aura.

4. To run colorization without stopping for frame review, click Processing Settings, expand Advanced on the Colorize tab, then turn off Review frame images before colorization. See Skip the frame review pause.

Step 3: Start processing

1. Click Start to begin processing. The panel shows a progress bar indicating how far along the processing job is. The elapsed time of the processing job is shown to the right.

   

2. By default, Aura pauses after frame extraction and prompts for frame review. When prompted, click Review Frames. To skip this pause, see Skip the frame review pause.

3. In the file explorer window, manually delete any unwanted frames from the video.

   

4. Once the unwanted frames are removed, return to Aura and click Resume.

If a failure occurs during processing, the Retry button becomes available. Click this button to attempt to process the current job from the last successful stage.

Step 4: View the final output

1. Once processing is complete, click Open folder to view the output folder, or View to display the colorized point cloud in the Viewport.

2. Click Close to remove the scan information from the processing space.

The image frames used during colorization can be exported with the colorized point cloud. They are located in the Intermediate files > frame_extraction > frames folder. This folder also contains 3 CSV files with pose information in formats compatible with export to Pointerra, Cintoo, Bentley, and Prevu3D.

Outcome

The point cloud has been colorized and is available in the specified output folder. The colorized point cloud can be viewed in the Viewport, and the extracted image frames and pose CSVs are available for export to third-party platforms.

Additional information

Skip the frame review pause

Aura pauses during colorization to allow manual review of the extracted frames before processing continues. Turn this pause off when frame review is not required, for example when the capture is known to be clean, or when an image mask already excludes the unwanted content.

With this setting turned off, all extracted frames are used for colorization, including frames that would otherwise be removed during review. Unwanted objects in those frames appear in the colorized output. To exclude content without reviewing frames manually, apply an image mask instead.

To skip the frame review pause:

1. In the Configure New Scan Job panel, click Processing Settings.

2. On the Colorize tab, expand Advanced.

3. Turn off Review frame images before colorization.

4. Click Save, then start processing.

This setting is saved with the processing profile. To reuse it across jobs, save a custom profile. See Processing profiles.

Related articles

• Previous: Capture a scan with colorization covers capturing the scan and video footage.

• To colorize a merged dataset, see Colorize a merged dataset in Aura.

• For custom image masks, see Create custom masks in Aura.

• For a full reference of the settings on the Colorize tab, see Processing settings.

• To remove the scanner from the colorized output, see How to remove Hovermap from a colorized point cloud.