LAS — ASPRS Point Cloud (LiDAR format)
Open BetaLAS is the binary ASPRS industry standard for point clouds that has underpinned LiDAR data exchange for two decades: each point carries XYZ, intensity, and a classification code (ground, vegetation, buildings). An honest note about our export: we do NOT capture LiDAR from an aircraft — a real point cloud comes from a sensor, not from OpenStreetMap tags. Our exporter builds a structural cloud from OSM vector geometry: a building centroid plus a roof point at height get class 6 (Building), points along roads get class 2 (Ground), and POIs get class 1. The output is a valid LAS 1.2 (Point Data Record Format 0) that opens in CloudCompare, QGIS, and PDAL, but it represents schematic OSM points rather than a dense surface scan.
Key Features
About LAS Format
LAS is the ASPRS standard for point clouds that laser scanning data exchange rests on: every point carries coordinates, intensity and a classification code — ground, vegetation, building. The format is binary, compact and read by every point cloud processing tool.
The main thing first: a real point cloud is captured by a laser sensor, not by the OpenStreetMap database. Our export builds a structural cloud out of vector geometry: a building contributes a base point and a roof point at its height, points are spread along roads, and points of interest become separate marks. Geometrically this is valid LAS, but in content it is a schematic of a city rather than a survey of the surface.
Hence the scenarios: test the import in your own pipeline without hunting down a real dataset; show the structure of the file and the ASPRS class system; get predictable data for debugging filtering scripts.
Technically this is LAS version 1.2 with point records of format zero — twenty bytes per point: coordinates, intensity, return number, class, scan angle. Buildings get class 6, roads class 2 (ground), points of interest class 1. The header is correct, so the file is read without errors by laspy, PDAL, CloudCompare and QGIS. The limit is 500,000 points per export.
What Program Opens LAS Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with LAS — ASPRS Point Cloud (LiDAR format) (.las) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Open standard
- 3D coordinates supported
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- Stores feature attributes
- Output: 1 file
- A LAS 1.2 (PDRF 0) structural cloud synthesized from OSM: buildings -> class 6, roads -> class 2, POIs -> class 1, capped at 500,000 points.
Who Uses LAS Maps
How to Export LAS
How to Open After Export
- CloudCompare (free) — drag the .las into the window; on loading, keep the offset it suggests, otherwise the points will drift far from the center of the scene.
- PDAL — pdal info map.las shows the header and statistics, and a filter on Classification[6:6] leaves only the buildings.
- QGIS (free) — Layer → Add Point Cloud Layer; the points can be colored by class or by height.
- Python — laspy.read("map.las") gives arrays of coordinates and classes for your own computations.
- Comparing with real LiDAR — download a tile from an open portal (USGS 3DEP, AHN, swissSURFACE3D) and lay our cloud over it as a reference against the buildings.
Popular maps in LAS
Get LAS — ASPRS Point Cloud (LiDAR format) map exports
Download professional LAS maps from OpenStreetMap. Instant generation, any area.