Three-Dimensional Point Cloud Applications, Datasets, and Compression Methodologies for Remote Sensing: A Meta-Survey

This meta-survey provides a comprehensive review of 3D point cloud (PC) applications in remote sensing (RS), essential datasets available for research and development purposes, and state-of-the-art point cloud compression methods. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the diverse applications of point clouds in remote sensing, including specialized tasks within the field, precision agriculture-focused applications, and broader general uses. Furthermore, datasets that are commonly used in remote-sensing-related research and development tasks are surveyed, including urban, outdoor, and indoor environment datasets; vehicle-related datasets; object datasets; agriculture-related datasets; and other more specialized datasets. Due to their importance in practical applications, this article also surveys point cloud compression technologies from widely used tree- and projection-based methods to more recent deep learning (DL)-based technologies. This study synthesizes insights from previous reviews and original research to identify emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities, serving as a valuable resource for advancing the use of point clouds in remote sensing.