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Hi I have Lidar data in ee0 files (interchange files). Can i ovaerlay them on some maps like say Bing Maps or Geoserver with Open Layers? If yes whats the right way of doing it?

Thanks

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Shapefile or even better a database (like postgres) – Mapperz♦ Jun 21 '11 at 20:37
Yes eventually that will be the way. And i know how to render shapefiles. Problem is i am new to lidar data. So I need some solutions to work with Lidar. To get it into database or shapefiles. Is the GeoTIFF an option too?? Also when you say a shapefile/db, will it be a points shapefile/db? wont it be too intensive if i try to render high resolution lidar data of say entire texas? – Shaunak Jun 21 '11 at 20:41
The Database can be a big as you like - it's the end application that will choke - Bing or Google Maps are limited on the number of features (without clustering). Lidar data will be too intensive for large area for web mapping – Mapperz♦ Jun 21 '11 at 20:44
so what are my options to show some elevation overlays on my maps? – Shaunak Jun 21 '11 at 20:52
You will need to do some select (maybe random) filtering to limit the amount of data. – Mapperz♦ Jun 22 '11 at 14:07

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Your first step is to convert the e00 file to something useful - see http://freegeographytools.com/2007/converting-e00-vector-data-to-shapefiles-a-free-and-fairly-painless-approach for details if you don't have access to ArcToolBox.

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that sounds like a good start. Say i get the ee0 files in a shapefiles or even a database. Even then, the data i have is of very high resolution and a very large area. If i try to render the points from shapefiles on the map it will be too slow. How do people usually show elevation models on maps? – Shaunak Jun 21 '11 at 20:59
Usually as a GeoTiff through GeoServer (but try the shapefile anyway see jgrasstechtips.blogspot.com/2011/06/…) – iant♦ Jun 21 '11 at 21:01
You can restricting your elevation data to a single return, instead of taking all return values into consideration. Even better if you can take, say, 20% of the sample value, which will reduce amount of data and maintain a "general" elevation picture. There are tools available to extract n% data out of a LIDAR sample (see this tool, and this too). – ujjwalesri Jun 22 '11 at 5:58

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