Generation of Approximate 2D and 3D Floor Plans from 3D Point Clouds

We present an approach for generating approximate 2D and 3D floor plans derived from 3D point clouds. The plans are approximate boundary representations of built indoor structures. The algorithm slices the 3D point cloud, combines concave primary boundary shape detection and regularization algorithms, as well as k-means clustering for detection of secondary boundaries. The algorithm can also generate 3D floor plan meshes based on extruding 2D floor plan vector paths. The experimental results demonstrate that approximate 2D vector-based and 3D mesh-based floor plans can be efficiently created within a given accuracy for typical indoor 3D point clouds. In particular, the approach allows for generating on-the-fly floor plan representations. It is implemented as a client-side web application, thus making it adaptable as a lightweight solution or component for service-oriented use. Approximate floor plans can be used as base data for manifold applications in various Architecture, Engineering and Construction domains.