In this thesis, various software for point cloud visualization has been investigated. Laser scanning is widely used to create three-dimensional models, but there is a lack of software for visualization. Point clouds usually have a large file size and need convenient methods for visualization and presentation to third parties. The development of browsers means that there are good opportunities today to visualize point clouds on web-based services. The purpose has been to investigate professional software with open source and free software in how they manage to visualize, measure and present point clouds.

Details in point clouds is controlled by its point density. Higher point density will result in better details but will take longer time to scan and requires more storage space. The density of the point cloud is controlled by the requirement from the client. It is not certain that a high point density is necessary to strive for considering it will result in more data to handle.

The software that has been investigated is Autodesk ReCap, Leica Truview, Pointscene and Potree, and they have all been compared to Leica Cyclone. Only three of them have been able to read the PTS-file format, while Potree and Truview have received the point cloud converted and exported to their proprietary file formats.

The comparison between the softwares was mainly based on differences in length measurements, as angle and area-specific tools are not available in all softwares. The length measurements were repeated 30 times and it is the average and the uncertainty for each software that has been used in the comparison.

The survey shows that there are small differences between the software except for Truview, which is the only software with significant deviations from Cyclone. There is not any significant differences in length measurements that arise when there have been conversions to Potree. Pointscene and Potree have visual similarities, Pointscene is however the preferred software because its own servers available which simplifies sharing point clouds to other users.