Learning Robotics using Python - Second Edition

What is PCL?

A point cloud is a set of data points in space that represent a 3D object or an environment. Generally, a point cloud is generated from depth sensors, such as Kinect and LIDAR. PCL (Point Cloud Library) is a large scale, open project for 2D/3D images and point-cloud processing. The PCL framework contains numerous algorithms that perform filtering, feature estimation, surface reconstruction, registration, model fitting, and segmentation. Using these methods, we can process the point cloud, extract key descriptors to recognize objects in the world based on their geometric appearance, create surfaces from the point clouds, and visualize them.

PCL is released under the BSD license. It's open source, free for commercial use, and free ...