Point clouds are created by 3D laser scanners. These devices measure a large number of points on the surface of an object, and output a point cloud as a data file. The point cloud represents the visible surface of the object that has been scanned or digitized.
Smart 3D provides vendor-neutral point cloud data integration within the modeling software environment. Using point clouds saves redrawing an object, while still being able to add to it or build on top of it.
The following picture shows a point cloud and Smart 3D design objects. The Workspace Explorer shows the Laser Point Cloud along with other design objects. The toolbar includes a new menu, Accessories (or Cloudworx when using Leica), that contains options from the third-party point cloud vendor.
Point Cloud Vendors
Smart 3D provides support for the point cloud vendors such as Leica Geosystems and AVEVA Point Cloud Manager, however, only Leica Geosystems Cloudworx has been certified on Smart 3D 14. All vendors provide interface software that allows existing conditions captured with laser scanners to be viewed in the design environment. Follow the directions in the point cloud vendor documentation for using their point cloud functionality.
Accessing Point Cloud
The third-party software that provides the point cloud data, adds an Accessories (or Cloudworx) menu to the Smart 3D menus. From the Accessories (or Cloudworx) menu you can open the point cloud. You can also locate the point cloud in the filters.
Load the point cloud software on your computer before attaching it from Project Management.
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In Project Management, select the model to attach as the point cloud reference model.
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Click Database > New > Point Cloud Model Reference command to open the Point Cloud Model Reference dialog.
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Right-click the model node, and select New Point Cloud Model Reference.
If the model currently has a point cloud model attached, you can also right-click
Point Cloud Models 
root in the Project Management tree, and then click New Point Cloud Model Reference in the shortcut menu. By default, the Point Cloud Models folder is not available. The software creates this folder only after attaching the
first point cloud model.
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Define the point cloud model information in the respective boxes, and then click OK.
The software validates the input and approves the reference if there are no violations.
A new node displays under the Point Cloud Models node in the Project Management tree.
Selecting a Data Point
To select a particular point in the cloud, press and hold the CTRL+SHIFT keys and click the data point.(Point selection, especially for measurements, should only be done in orthographic mode, not in Perspective.)
Measuring
You can measure point-to-point within the cloud and cloud point-to-3D object. Select Tools > Measure, or click on the toolbar.
Interference Checking (IFC)
You can use IFC on the local database to ensure the additions to the point cloud are good. Select Tools > Check Interference.