CloudCompare forum

I have two point clouds that are very close to each other (IE 5mm).
I need to do a cloud comparison and provide a heat map showing the differences between the two point clouds.
I am working with .PTS files and meters units.
When i do a cloud to cloud comparison i am able to show the scale bar showing the differences between each the 2 point clouds.
what i do not understand is what is the units of the scale bar and comparison.

Can i customize the scale to be in meters or even millimeters?

Measurements are expressed in the same units as your clouds. CloudCompare doesn't handle units (what we call 'implicit units').

You can 'scale' the output scalar field (distances in your case) with the following tools:
- Add constant SF (http://www.cloudcompare.org/doc/wiki/in ... onstant_SF)
- SF arithmetic (http://www.cloudcompare.org/doc/wiki/in ... Arithmetic)

Simply add your scaling coef as a constant SF then multiply the original distances SF by this constant SF.

Thanks for the info but it still doesnt seem to do what i want.
Is there any other way to compare the distance between point clouds?
I can supply sample files if required

Yes, don't hesitate to send me the files (cloudcompare [at] danielgm.net - replace [at] by @).

There are several refinements of the simple cloud-to-cloud distance, and there's also the more evolved 'qM3C2' plugin.

Thanks. Uploading files now and will send you link