What is Global Mapper Pro?
By Mackenzie Mills, Technical Content Writer at Blue Marble Geographics
Global Mapper Pro® is the newest product from Blue Marble Geographics and provides access to a suite of impressive new and improved tools for terrain analysis, lidar editing, and workflow optimization. With the release of Global Mapper® v23, Blue Marble Geographics retired the Lidar Module® and introduced Global Mapper Pro to include to all the point cloud processing tools previously found in the Lidar Module, including the Pixels to Points® tool for processing drone-collected images, along with various new tools expanding the functionality of the program more than ever before.
With workflow efficiency in mind, Global Mapper Pro boasts a user interface Vectorize Raster tool to create and smooth polygons derived from equal or similar values in a raster image or elevation layer. Further improving automation and workflow execution, Global Mapper Pro contains Python script integration and a dedicated Script Editor interface. With Python installed alongside Global Mapper Pro, Python developers can execute Global Mapper processes via a Python script. Scripts involving Global Mapper operations, as well as desired functions from installed third-party libraries, can be created and run in the Script Editor or in any Python environment providing a powerful opportunity for automation in Global Mapper. Adding syntax coloring, bookmarking, and editing of scripts, the Script Editor can open and run multiple scripts with options to execute scripted processes in the context of the open workspace.
Expanding the diverse tools for terrain creation, editing, and analysis in Global Mapper, the Pro version improves Terrain Painting, the method for manually sculpting elevation models, providing options to edit surfaces based on existing vector features. Additionally, an Automatic Breakline Creation tool derives vector line features from elevation, slope, and curvature changes in a terrain model. With multiple analysis methods for breakline creation, this tool provides powerful extraction capabilities for roads, ridgelines, curbs, and more.
Containing all the existing point cloud editing and classification capabilities from the Lidar Module, Global Mapper Pro continues to improve these tools. With updates to building and vegetation classification methods, point clouds are divided into clusters, or segments, describing distinct features. Adding to the automatic tools available, Segmentation by Spectral Graph Partitioning provides a new method for classification with the opportunity to customize how the analysis algorithm considers various characteristics of point returns in order to identify distinct features in the data. With applications ranging from ground identification to roof plane and car identification, the Segmentation tool applies a unique segment ID to each discovered feature. Point clouds can then be visualized by segment ID to clearly see the identified features. Pairing with the segmentation updates, a Select Segment mode provides the ability to select the identified features by automatically selecting all points with an equal segment ID value.
With the GIS industry, data, and analysis constantly changing, Blue Marble strives to provide a cutting-edge, all-in-one geospatial program with Global Mapper Pro. Broadening the focus of the Global Mapper advanced tools from lidar processing to more general analysis and automation, Pro opens the door for greater improvements and development freedom as the program continues to evolve. Lidar data processing is still an important part of Pro but is no longer the exclusive focus. Look for Global Mapper Pro to expand its powerful tools for all types of geospatial analysis in the coming years as the product develops. Global Mapper Pro takes workflows to the next level with a full suite of professional-grade tools for data creation, editing, and analysis. Download a trial today at globalmapperpro.com.
