The latest colouriser update significantly improves colourised point cloud quality, greatly reducing colour inconsistencies and distortions for the mobile BLK scanners BLK2GO and BLK ARC. 

Users can make use of the advanced colouriser today in Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS and Reality Cloud Studio, powered by HxDR. 

By delivering richer point clouds that more accurately reflect real-world colours, the advanced colouriser raises the standard for visualisation and colourisation, offering the best balance of visual quality and processing speed available in the industry today. 

Armed with the new colouriser, AEC teams can more confidently measure from point clouds without second-guessing colour artefacts, while heritage documentation specialists can deliver museum-quality visualisations. 

What is point cloud colourisation? 

Colourisation is a post-processing step that applies real-world colour to a point cloud using images captured by the scanner's onboard cameras. While the scanner records precise 3D geometry, the colouriser is an algorithm that processes the camera’s images to determine which colour each point should appear.  

The result is a realistic point cloud that is easier to interpret, inspect, and measure, while also producing a more attractive final deliverable for clients and non-technical stakeholders. 

Updates to the colouriser 

Clearer and more consistent visualisation 

Previously, with the standard colouriser, walls and floors could show distracting colour shifts or imprints between images. With the advanced colouriser, this has been drastically reduced, resulting in more detailed, natural-looking point clouds. 

For example, streaks or lines of mismatched colours running through the point cloud were a common artefact of the standard colouriser. These have been eliminated, resulting in fewer missed details during inspections and more attractive deliverables for clients. 

The updated colouriser produces more realistic colours across surfaces.

Improved colour accuracy and obstacle detection 

The advanced colouriser enhances consistency in challenging scanning environments, yielding clear improvements in low-light conditions, high-contrast shadows, and scenes featuring obstacles and small objects. 

The update also introduces more robust obstacle detection, preventing objects that block the camera from affecting the colour of the point cloud. This ensures the resulting dataset more accurately represents the real environment.  

Thanks to the new colouriser’s improved object detection, small details are easier to distinguish, like the cups and bowls in this point cloud.

Optimised processing without sacrificing quality 

For most mobile 3D laser scanning workflows, speed is critical. The advanced colouriser delivers realistic colours and better visual results while still maintaining fast processing times. So, users can achieve higher-quality colourisation without the long wait times usually associated with more detailed processing. 

Key benefits of the advanced colouriser 

The advanced colouriser makes point clouds more reliable and versatile across a wide range of workflows.  

Less noise in the point cloud 

The new colouriser produces cleaner point clouds with less colour-related noise. This reduces the risk of misinterpretation, improves measurement confidence, and helps minimise rework or errors. 

Fine features such as signs, labels, and edges are easier to see, helping users better understand the scanned environment without relying on guesswork or repeated checks. 

Ideal when visual quality matters 

The higher level of visual fidelity produces presentation-ready models, opening the door to 3D laser scanning applications where the appearance of the point cloud is critical. For example, the film, animation, and visual communication sectors can now benefit from point clouds that more closely reflect real-world conditions, lighting, and colours. 

The advanced colouriser behaves reliably across a wide range of indoor, outdoor, and mixed-use scenarios.

Switching to the advanced colouriser 

All existing Leica Geosystems customers, including users of the Leica BLK2GO and Leica BLK ARC, can use the new advanced colorizer for free. The new colorizer works only with .b2g files.

In Reality Cloud Studio, powered by HxDR, all new b2g datasets are now processed using the advanced colouriser. In Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS, users can select either the standard colouriser or the advanced colouriser. This allows teams to opt for higher-quality colourisation when visual consistency and detail matter more. 

Any previous BLK point cloud datasets processed with the legacy colouriser can also be easily reprocessed using the advanced colouriser.  

The next step for BLK workflows 

The advanced BLK colouriser is a significant leap forward in mobile scanning workflows. 

Still, we continue to refine and enhance BLK capabilities based on real-world use and customer feedback. As scanning technology evolves and new applications emerge, the colouriser will continue to improve. 

If you're exploring the update in your own workflows, we want to hear from you. Your feedback directly shapes the next generation of Leica Geosystems software and tools. 

Download the latest update in Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS or log into Reality Cloud Studio to experience the difference of the advanced colouriser on your next project.