E57 Standard for 3D Imaging System Data Exchange

Despite the increasing popularity of 3D imaging systems, there is no established standard for storing the 3D point cloud data produced by these devices. Each hardware vendor produces its own proprietary format that software vendors and other data consumers must accommodate in order to access the data. Not only is this difficult, but it leads to a combinatorial explosion of data formats. The goal of this project is to develop a standard file format for storing the point cloud data produced by 3D imaging systems. We are working as part of a team of experts in the industry, who represent the major hardware and software vendors, as well as other highly qualified volunteers. The results of this effort will be published as a standard by the ASTM, an international standards organization. Additionally, we are developing an open source reference implementation of the standard so that anyone can easily read, write, and process data files in the E57 standard format. Additional information about the reference implementation can be found on the libe57 web site.