.. _filters:

Filters
=======

Filters operate on data as inline operations. They can remove, modify,
reorganize, and add points to the data stream as it goes by. Some filters can
only operate on dimensions they understand (consider :ref:`filters.reprojection`
doing geographic reprojection on XYZ coordinates), while others do not
interrogate the point data at all and simply reorganize or split data.


Create
------

PDAL filters commonly create new dimensions (e.g., ``HeightAboveGround``) or
alter existing ones (e.g., ``Classification``). These filters will not
invalidate an existing KD-tree.

.. note::

  We treat those filters that alter XYZ coordinates separately.

.. note::

  When creating new dimensions, be mindful of the writer you are using and
  whether or not the custom dimension can be written to disk if that is the
  desired behavior.


Classification
..............


Ground/Unclassified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.csf
   filters.pmf
   filters.skewnessbalancing
   filters.smrf
   filters.trajectory

:ref:`filters.csf`
    Label ground/non-ground returns using [Zhang2016]_.

:ref:`filters.pmf`
    Label ground/non-ground returns using [Zhang2003]_.

:ref:`filters.skewnessbalancing`
    Label ground/non-ground returns using [Bartels2010]_.

:ref:`filters.smrf`
    Label ground/non-ground returns using [Pingel2013]_.

:ref:`filters.trajectory`
    Label ground/non-ground returns using estimate flight trajectory given
    multi-return point cloud data with timing information.


Noise
~~~~~

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.elm
   filters.outlier

:ref:`filters.elm`
    Marks low points as noise.

:ref:`filters.outlier`
    Label noise points using either a statistical or radius outlier detection.


Consensus
~~~~~~~~~

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.neighborclassifier

:ref:`filters.neighborclassifier`
    Update pointwise classification using k-nearest neighbor consensus voting.


Height Above Ground
...................

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.hag_delaunay
   filters.hag_dem
   filters.hag_nn

:ref:`filters.hag_delaunay`
    Compute pointwise height above ground using triangulation. Requires points to
    classified as ground/non-ground prior to estimating.

:ref:`filters.hag_dem`
    Compute pointwise height above GDAL-readable DEM raster.

:ref:`filters.hag_nn`
    Compute pointwise height above ground estimate. Requires points to be
    classified as ground/non-ground prior to estimating.


Colorization
............

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.colorinterp
   filters.colorization

:ref:`filters.colorinterp`
    Assign RGB colors based on a dimension and a ramp

:ref:`filters.colorization`
    Fetch and assign RGB color information from a GDAL-readable datasource.


Clustering
..........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.cluster
   filters.dbscan
   filters.litree
   filters.lloydkmeans

:ref:`filters.cluster`
    Extract and label clusters using Euclidean distance metric. Returns a new
    dimension ``ClusterID`` that indicates the cluster that a point belongs
    to. Points not belonging to a cluster are given a cluster ID of 0.

:ref:`filters.dbscan`
    Perform Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise
    (DBSCAN) [Ester1996]_.

:ref:`filters.litree`
    Segment and label individual trees. Returns a new dimension ``TreeID`` that
    indicates the tree that a point belongs to. ``TreeID`` starts at 1, wich
    non-tree points given a ``TreeID`` of 0. [Li2012]_.

:ref:`filters.lloydkmeans`
    Perform K-means clustering using Lloyd's algorithm. Returns a new dimension
    ``ClusterID`` with each point being assigned to a cluster. ``ClusterID``
    starts at 0. [Lloyd1982]_.


Pointwise Features
..................

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.approximatecoplanar
   filters.covariancefeatures
   filters.eigenvalues
   filters.estimaterank
   filters.lof
   filters.miniball
   filters.nndistance
   filters.normal
   filters.optimalneighborhood
   filters.planefit
   filters.radialdensity
   filters.reciprocity
   filters.zsmooth

:ref:`filters.approximatecoplanar`
    Estimate pointwise planarity, based on k-nearest neighbors. Returns a new
    dimension ``Coplanar`` where a value of 1 indicates that a point is part of
    a coplanar neighborhood (0 otherwise).

:ref:`filters.covariancefeatures`
    Filter that calculates local features based on the covariance matrix of a
    point's neighborhood.

:ref:`filters.eigenvalues`
    Compute pointwise eigenvalues, based on k-nearest neighbors.

:ref:`filters.estimaterank`
    Compute pointwise rank, based on k-nearest neighbors.

:ref:`filters.lof`
    Compute pointwise Local Outlier Factor (along with K-Distance and Local
    Reachability Distance).

:ref:`filters.miniball`
    Compute a criterion for point neighbors based on the miniball algorithm.

:ref:`filters.nndistance`
    Compute a distance metric based on nearest neighbors.

:ref:`filters.normal`
    Compute pointwise normal and curvature, based on k-nearest neighbors.

:ref:`filters.optimalneighborhood`
    Compute optimal k nearest neighbors and corresponding radius by minimizing
    pointwise eigenentropy. Creates two new dimensions ``OptimalKNN`` and
    ``OptimalRadius``.

:ref:`filters.planefit`
    Compute a deviation of a point from a manifold approximating its neighbors.

:ref:`filters.radialdensity`
    Compute pointwise density of points within a given radius.

:ref:`filters.reciprocity`
    Compute the percentage of points that are considered uni-directional
    neighbors of a point.

:ref:`filters.zsmooth`
    Compute a smoothed 'Z' value based on the 'Z' value of neighboring points.

Assignment
..........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.assign
   filters.overlay

:ref:`filters.assign`
    Assign values for a dimension range to a specified value.

:ref:`filters.overlay`
    Assign values to a dimension based on the extent of an OGR-readable data
    source or an OGR SQL query.


Dimension Create/Copy
.....................

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.ferry

:ref:`filters.ferry`
    Copy data from one dimension to another.


Order
-----

There are currently three PDAL filters that can be used to reorder points. These
filters will invalidate an existing KD-tree.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.mortonorder
   filters.randomize
   filters.sort

:ref:`filters.mortonorder`
    Sort XY data using Morton ordering (aka Z-order/Z-curve).

:ref:`filters.randomize`
    Randomize points in a view.

:ref:`filters.sort`
    Sort data based on a given dimension.


Move
----

PDAL filters that move XYZ coordinates will invalidate an existing KD-tree.


Registration
............

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.cpd
   filters.icp
   filters.teaser

:ref:`filters.cpd`
    Compute and apply transformation between two point clouds using the
    Coherent Point Drift algorithm.

:ref:`filters.icp`
    Compute and apply transformation between two point clouds using the
    Iterative Closest Point algorithm.

:ref:`filters.teaser`
    Compute a rigid transformation between two point clouds using the teaser algorithm.

Predefined
..........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.projpipeline
   filters.reprojection
   filters.transformation
   filters.straighten
   filters.georeference

:ref:`filters.projpipeline`
    Apply coordinates operation on point triplets, based on PROJ pipeline string,
    WKT2 coordinates operations or URN definitions.

:ref:`filters.reprojection`
    Reproject data using GDAL from one coordinate system to another.

:ref:`filters.transformation`
    Transform each point using a 4x4 transformation matrix.


:ref:`filters.straighten`
    Transforms each in a new parametric coordinate system along a given poyline.

:ref:`filters.georeference`
    Georeference point cloud.

Cull
----

Some PDAL filters will cull points, returning a point cloud that is smaller than
the input. These filters will invalidate an existing KD-tree.


Spatial
.......

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.crop
   filters.geomdistance

:ref:`filters.crop`
    Filter points inside or outside a bounding box or a polygon

:ref:`filters.geomdistance`
    Compute 2D distance from a polygon to points

Resampling
..........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.decimation
   filters.fps
   filters.relaxationdartthrowing
   filters.sample

:ref:`filters.decimation`
    Keep every Nth point.

:ref:`filters.fps`
    The Farthest Point Sampling Filter adds points from the input to the output
    PointView one at a time by selecting the point from the input cloud that is
    farthest from any point currently in the output.

:ref:`filters.relaxationdartthrowing`
    Relaxation dart throwing is a hierarchical variant of Poisson disk
    sampling, shrinking the minimum radius between iterations until the target
    number of output points is achieved.

:ref:`filters.sample`
    Perform Poisson sampling and return only a subset of the input points.


Conditional
...........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.dem
   filters.iqr
   filters.mad

:ref:`filters.dem`
    Remove points that are in a raster cell but have a value far from the
    value of the raster.

:ref:`filters.iqr`
    Cull points falling outside the computed Interquartile Range for a given
    dimension.

:ref:`filters.mad`
    Cull points falling outside the computed Median Absolute Deviation for a
    given dimension.


Voxel
.....

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.voxelcenternearestneighbor
   filters.voxelcentroidnearestneighbor
   filters.voxeldownsize

:ref:`filters.voxelcenternearestneighbor`
    Return the point within each voxel that is nearest the voxel center.

:ref:`filters.voxelcentroidnearestneighbor`
    Return the point within each voxel that is nearest the voxel centroid.

:ref:`filters.voxeldownsize`
    Retain either first point detected in each voxel or center of a populated
    voxel, depending on mode argument.


Position
........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.expression
   filters.head
   filters.locate
   filters.mongo
   filters.range
   filters.tail

:ref:`filters.expression`
    Pass only points given an :ref:`expression <PDAL expression>`

:ref:`filters.head`
    Return N points from beginning of the point cloud.

:ref:`filters.locate`
    Return a single point with min/max value in the named dimension.

:ref:`filters.mongo`
    Cull points using MongoDB-style expression syntax.

:ref:`filters.range`
    Pass only points given a dimension/range.

:ref:`filters.tail`
    Return N points from end of the point cloud.


New
---

PDAL filters can be used to split the incoming point cloud into subsets. These
filters will invalidate an existing KD-tree.


Spatial
.......

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.chipper
   filters.divider
   filters.splitter

:ref:`filters.chipper`
    Organize points into spatially contiguous, squarish, and non-overlapping
    chips.

:ref:`filters.divider`
    Divide points into approximately equal sized groups based on a simple
    scheme.

:ref:`filters.splitter`
    Split data based on a X/Y box length.


Dimension
.........

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.gpstimeconvert
   filters.groupby
   filters.returns
   filters.separatescanline

:ref:`filters.gpstimeconvert`
    Convert between three LAS format GPS time standards

:ref:`filters.groupby`
    Split data categorically by dimension.

:ref:`filters.returns`
    Split data by return order (e.g., 'first', 'last', 'intermediate', 'only').

:ref:`filters.separatescanline`
    Split data based on scan lines.


Join
----

Multiple point clouds can be joined to form a single point cloud. These filters
will invalidate an existing KD-tree.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.merge

:ref:`filters.merge`
    Merge data from two different readers into a single stream.


Metadata
--------

PDAL filters can be used to create new metadata. These filters will not
invalidate an existing KD-tree.

.. note::

  :ref:`filters.cpd` and :ref:`filters.icp` can optionally create metadata as
  well, inserting the computed transformation matrix.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.hexbin
   filters.info
   filters.stats

:ref:`filters.hexbin`
    Tessellate XY domain and determine point density and/or point boundary.

:ref:`filters.info`
    Generate metadata about the point set, including a point count and
    spatial reference information.

:ref:`filters.stats`
    Compute statistics about each dimension (mean, min, max, etc.).


Mesh
----

Meshes can be computed from point clouds. These filters will invalidate an
existing KD-tree.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.delaunay
   filters.greedyprojection
   filters.poisson
   filters.faceraster

:ref:`filters.delaunay`
    Create mesh using Delaunay triangulation.

:ref:`filters.greedyprojection`
    Create mesh using the Greedy Projection Triangulation approach.

:ref:`filters.poisson`
    Create mesh using the Poisson surface reconstruction algorithm
    [Kazhdan2006]_.

:ref:`filters.faceraster`
    Create a raster from an existing triangulation.

Languages
---------

PDAL has three filters than can be used to pass point clouds to other
languages. These filters will invalidate an existing KD-tree.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.matlab
   filters.python
   filters.julia

:ref:`filters.matlab`
    Embed MATLAB software in a pipeline.

:ref:`filters.python`
    Embed Python software in a pipeline.

:ref:`filters.julia`
    Embed Julia software in a pipeline.


Other
-----

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1
   :glob:
   :hidden:

   filters.streamcallback

:ref:`filters.streamcallback`
    Provide a hook for a simple point-by-point callback.
