How to Expand Or Recenter LIDAR Imagery
By default, LIDAR imagery will center based on the project location chosen at project creation. It's easy to recenter or expand the LIDAR imagery as needed. Simply add any design element (Field Segment, Keepout, or tree) to wherever LIDAR is needed. LIDAR will recenter itself on the design elements, and will expand to cover all design elements up to a maximum of 400m x 400m (160,000m²) or approximately 1300ft x 1300ft (1,690,000ft²).
Aligning LIDAR to Satellite Imagery
Sometimes, LIDAR imagery will not be perfectly aligned with the satellite imagery. HelioScope allows you complete control to adjust the LIDAR offset to ensure perfect alignment:
- Click the Advanced option and choose LIDAR
- Click to edit the offset, either by typing in the new numbers or by holding down the up or down arrows on your keyboard:
- X offset is the East/West axis (East being positive numbers and West being negative numbers)
- Y offset is the North/South axis (North being positive numbers and South being negative numbers)
- Z offset is up and down (up being positive numbers and down being negative numbers)
- When finished, save your changes.
"Could not fit Field Segment" error
Occasionally, when fitting a roof to LIDAR, you will see a "Could not fit Field Segment" error.
Most commonly, this is due to newer construction that is not yet available in LIDAR. You can confirm this by turning LIDAR on. If you see that LIDAR aligns with the most of the satellite imagery, but does not show the building you are working on, then that building is not available in LIDAR. We recommend using our Shade Based Height Estimating method to determine building height. You can also check out our article showing Where LIDAR is Available in HelioScope. By opening the map in a new tab, you can click on any area covered by Aurora LIDAR to determine the most recent data available for that area.
Occasionally, this error may happen if the LIDAR is severely misaligned with the satellite imagery. You can confirm this by turning LIDAR on. If you see that LIDAR is severely offset for everything in the satellite imagery, then this error is easily resolved. Simply refer to the "Aligning LIDAR to Satellite Imagery" section of this article for step-by-step instructions.