Leica Cyclone 3DR vs LidarView

Leica Cyclone 3DR is Windows desktop software for converting point cloud data into 3D models and deliverables. Its workflows cover inspection, modelling and meshing, with tools for cleaning data and automating processing through AI classification and scripting. Users can build 2D and 3D models, meshes and textures, inspect reality-capture data and generate reports. Scan2Verify creates prefilled QA/QC reports from scan data. PRO Edition packages add specialised tools for AEC, Survey and Plant industries.

The software works with Cyclone FIELD 360, Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS, Hexagon GeoCloud and downstream products such as CloudWorx. Listed formats include LGS/LGSx, E57, LAS/LAZ, IFC, RVT, FBX, DWG and DXF, though some depend on the license. The 2024.0 release notes specify 64-bit Windows 10 (Build 1809) or Windows 11. Leica recommends at least 16 GB RAM for regular desktop workflows, and 32 GB plus a supported NVIDIA GPU for auto-classification. A companion Free Viewer supports viewing and basic inspection tasks without using a full Cyclone 3DR license.

LidarView is a 3D LiDAR application for receiving, recording, visualizing, and processing sensor data in real time. It works with live streams and recorded PCAP files, displaying time-stamped returns as point clouds. Users can filter laser subsets, view multiple frames, apply 3D transforms, register point clouds, and classify points. Its SLAM tools reconstruct nearby environments and locate the sensor. The product page describes HPC support for AI-based scene classification, object tracking, and 3D reconstruction. Listed sensor interpreters cover Hesai, Leishen, Livox, Ouster, Robosense, and Velodyne; plugins can add interpreters when an open driver or packet specification is available. ROS2IO and PCL plugins are included. Built on ParaView, LidarView supports Python scripting and web visualization through trame. It supports E57 and LAS/LAZ data and is available for Linux and Windows. The software is open source under Apache 2.0 and costs nothing. Its documented sensor coverage does not span the whole market.