Script feasibility: roadway mesh from point cloud

Scripting
1

Hi,

I have zero experience scripting with Rhino. I want to know if my idea is feasible before spending a bunch of time getting up to speed with the scripting tools.

I often have raw data of a site in the form of a point cloud. Usually I need a smooth but accurate representation of the roadway as a mesh. My typical protocol is to move clipping planes along the roadway, taking cross-section slivers, and connecting NURBS to build out the cross-section of the road. Then I will connect the end-points with a NURBS to get the road boundary. Finally, I use Network Surface to get a NURBS surface and then convert to a mesh. The process can get tedious for large sites.

Is this something that can be automated? I assume the input will be a clipped out roadway point cloud (so boundary NURBS are already known). The steps would then be something like:

  1. Find the long axis of the road and define it as a NURBS (I’m not sure how I would do this automatically yet, but I could just make it part of the inputs for now).
  2. Set CPlane normal to the road axis NURBS.
  3. Set 2 inch thick clipping planes straddling the CPlane.
  4. Establish a spline with control points spaced 1 or 2 feet apart that passes through the average centers of the points in the 2D cross-section view. The spline intersects the boundary curves at its endpoints.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4, marching down the long axis of the roadway every 10 feet to build out cross-section curves.
  6. Generate NetworkSrf. Convert to mesh.

What do you think? Would I be using Rhino.Python to do this?

Thank you.