Editing Point cloud (section)

{{Short description|Set of data points in three-dimensional space}}
[[File:Point cloud torus.gif|thumb|A point cloud image of a [[torus]]]]
[[File:Geo-Referenced Point Cloud.JPG|thumb|Geo-referenced point cloud of [[Red Rocks Park|Red Rocks, Colorado]] (by DroneMapper)]]

A '''point cloud''' is a [[discrete set]] of data [[Point (geometry)|points]] in [[space]]. The points may represent a [[3D shape]] or object. Each point [[Position (geometry)|position]] has its set of [[Cartesian coordinates]] (X, Y, Z).<ref>{{cite web|title=What are Point Clouds |url=https://tech27.com/resources/point-clouds/|website=Tech27}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=What is a Point Cloud? - GIGABYTE Global |url=https://www.gigabyte.com/Glossary/point-cloud |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=GIGABYTE}}</ref> Points may contain data other than position such as [[RGB color spaces|RGB colors]],<ref name=":0" /> [[Normal (geometry)|normals]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simsangcheol |date=2023-02-21 |title=Estimate normals in Point Cloud |url=https://medium.com/@sim30217/estimate-normals-in-point-cloud-eb3a4f9a2e85 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> [[Timestamp|timestamps]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Defra Data Services Platform |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/094d4ec8-4c21-4aa6-817f-b7e45843c5e0 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=environment.data.gov.uk}}</ref> and others. Point clouds are generally produced by [[3D scanner]]s or by [[photogrammetry]] software, which measure many points on the external surfaces of objects around them. As the output of 3D scanning processes, point clouds are used for many purposes, including to create 3D [[computer-aided design]] (CAD) or [[geographic information systems]] (GIS) models for manufactured parts, for [[metrology]] and quality inspection, and for a multitude of visualizing, animating, rendering, and [[mass customization]] applications.