In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing PCL (Point Cloud Library) on Ubuntu 18.04. PCL is a standalone, large scale, open project for 2D/3D image and point cloud processing.
To install PCL on Ubuntu 18.04, you can use the aptitude package manager to install the libpcl-dev package. Additionally, you may need to set the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH and PCL_DIR environment variables if you encounter any errors. Once installed, you can use PCL for 2D/3D image and point cloud processing.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have a functioning Ubuntu 18.04 system, and you have administrative (sudo) privileges.
Installation Steps
Step 1: Open Terminal
You can open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘Terminal’ in the application launcher.
Step 2: Install PCL
To install PCL using the aptitude package manager, run the following command:
sudo apt install libpcl-devThis command will ask for your password. Type it in and press Enter. The sudo command is used to run the following command with administrative privileges, while apt install is used to install the specified package, in this case libpcl-dev.
If the installation is successful, you should see a message indicating that libpcl-dev is now installed.
Step 3: Set Environment Variables
If you encounter an error message stating that CMake is unable to find the PCL package configuration files, you can resolve this by setting the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH and PCL_DIR environment variables.
To add the installation prefix of PCL to the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH environment variable, run the following command:
export CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/pcl/installationReplace /path/to/pcl/installation with the actual installation path of PCL on your system. This command sets the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH environment variable to the specified path, which helps CMake find the PCL package.
To set the PCL_DIR variable to the directory containing the PCL package configuration files, run the following command:
export PCL_DIR=/path/to/pcl/config/filesReplace /path/to/pcl/config/files with the actual directory path where the PCL package configuration files are located. This command sets the PCL_DIR environment variable to the specified path, which helps CMake find the PCL package configuration files.
Step 4: Re-run CMake Configuration
After setting the environment variables, re-run the CMake configuration step for your project. This should resolve the error related to finding the PCL package configuration files.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should now have PCL installed on your Ubuntu 18.04 system. For more information about PCL and its installation, you can visit the official website of the PCL Library. The website provides detailed documentation, tutorials, and downloads for various platforms, including Linux.
For additional troubleshooting, you may refer to this GitHub issue discussing the installation of PCL on Ubuntu 18.04.
Remember to always check the official PCL downloads page for Linux and the PCL tutorials for the most up-to-date and comprehensive information.
PCL stands for Point Cloud Library. It is a standalone, large scale, open project for 2D/3D image and point cloud processing. It provides numerous algorithms and tools for filtering, feature estimation, registration, segmentation, and more.
Ubuntu 18.04 is a version of the Ubuntu operating system. It was released in April 2018 and is a long-term support (LTS) release, meaning it will receive updates and support for a longer period compared to non-LTS releases.
You can open the terminal in Ubuntu 18.04 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘Terminal’ in the application launcher.
The sudo command is used to run a command with administrative privileges. It allows a user with proper permissions to execute commands as a superuser or another user.
If you encounter an error message stating that CMake is unable to find the PCL package configuration files, you can resolve this by setting the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH and PCL_DIR environment variables. These variables help CMake locate the necessary files for PCL.
You can visit the official website of the PCL Library at https://pointclouds.org/ for detailed documentation, tutorials, and downloads for various platforms, including Linux. Additionally, you can refer to the PCL tutorials at https://pcl.readthedocs.io/projects/tutorials/en/master/ for further guidance.
Yes, you can refer to this GitHub issue which discusses the installation of PCL on Ubuntu 18.04. It may provide additional troubleshooting solutions and insights from the community.
