CloudCompare forum

Hi,
I am wondering if it is possible to use cloudcompare to calculate the cloud-cloud distance along a single axis, typically the Z axis? In this case the distance calculation will take place between not two nearest points on the different clouds, but instead between two points that share the same XY coordinates, as a result measuring distance along only the Z axis
Thank you for a wonderful tool!

I believe you could achieve this result with the M3C2 plugin: https://www.cloudcompare.org/doc/wiki/i ... 2_(plugin)

You can use 'vertical' normals so that the plugin will only look up or down (see the 'Normals' tab), and if you use a small enough 'projection' diameter, it should only capture the point above (or below).

You'll probably want to not subsample the cloud and use the whole cloud as 'core points' (yes, this algorithm is a bit harder to tame, but it's super powerful).