What's a vector?

🕐 Read time: 3 min

Written By Clark Yuan

Last updated About 2 hours ago

Overview

Vector data is one of the two main ways spatial information is stored and represented (the other being raster data). Where a raster divides a scene into a grid of pixels, vector data represents the world as precise geometric objects: points, lines, and polygons. If you have uploaded a Shapefile, KML, DXF, or GeoJSON file to Stitch3D, you are working with vector data.

The three geometry types

Vector data uses coordinates to map discrete objects with clear locations and shapes. Every vector file is built from one or more of three geometry types:

Type

What it represents

Real-world examples

Point

A single location in space

GCP markers, utility poles, monitoring stations, inspection locations

Line

A connected sequence of points with length and direction

Roads, pipelines, powerlines, fence lines, flight paths

Polygon

An enclosed area with a defined boundary

Site boundaries, land parcels, building footprints, exclusion zones

Each geometry type also carries attributes — non-spatial properties that describe what the feature is. A utility pole stored as a point might carry attributes like pole ID, material, height, and last inspection date. A site boundary stored as a polygon might carry the project name, area in hectares, and owner.

Vector vs. raster at a glance

Vector

Raster

Data structure

Points, lines, and polygons with exact coordinates

Grid of pixels, each holding a value

Best for

Discrete features with clear boundaries

Continuous surfaces and imagery

Resolution

Stays sharp at any zoom level

Can appear blocky at large zoom levels

Typical files

SHP, KML, DXF, GeoJSON

GeoTIFF, JPG, PNG

Common use in Stitch3D

Site boundaries, CAD overlays, flight paths

Orthomosaics, aerial imagery

💡 Tip: Raster and vector data are complementary. A typical site delivery in Stitch3D might include a point cloud (3D spatial data), an orthomosaic (raster), and a site boundary or CAD overlay (vector) — each adding a different layer of context to the same Project.

Vector formats supported in Stitch3D

Stitch3D supports the following vector file formats for upload:

Format

Extension

Common use

Shapefile

.shp (+ .dbf, .shx, .prj )

Site boundaries, land parcels, utility networks; upload as a ZIP fiolder

KML / KMZ

.kml / .kmz

Flight paths, site extents, boundaries from Google Earth

DXF

.dxf

CAD-derived boundaries, design overlays

GeoJSON

.geojson

Web-friendly boundaries and feature layers

GeoPackage

.gpkg

Open, portable format that can hold multiple layers, tables, and content

ℹ️ Note: Vector files are displayed as layers in the Viewer, overlaid on or alongside your point cloud and raster data. They are not measurable in the same way as point clouds — you cannot take volume or elevation measurements from a vector layer.

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