In certain embodiments, the 3D images and point cloud data can be stored in 3D file formats, such as the PLY file format. The PLY file may store graphical objects that are described as a collection of polygons. A PLY file can consist of a header, followed by a list of points (e.g., vertices) and then, a list of polygons. The header specifies how many points or vertices, and polygons are in the file. The header may also state what properties are associated with each point or vertex, such as horizontal, vertical and depth (e.g., x, y, and z) coordinates and color. The PLY file format can have two sub-formats: an ASCII representation and a binary version for compact storage and for rapid saving and loading.
In other embodiments, point cloud data may be stored in the point cloud data (PCD) file format, which also stores 3D data (e.g., including multiple points each having x, y, and z coordinates), but in a different format from the PLY file format.