u/Zlema

I built a browser rendering library specifically for live LiDAR and point-cloud streams, published v0.1.0 this week.

It handles the problems that come up with live data: memory that would otherwise grow without bound (bounded ring buffer, configurable ceiling), main-thread stalls from parsing (dedicated Web Worker), and wasted render budget on off-screen or low-priority points (importance-weighted GPU sampling via WebGPU compute).

Supports WebSocket, SSE, and ROS rosbridge as stream sources. Also loads COPC, LAS 1.0-1.4, LAZ, PLY, and XYZ files with progressive rendering.

Demo (synthetic Lorenz attractor stream, not real LiDAR):

https://pointflow-demo.vercel.app

Docs:

https://pointflow-docs.vercel.app

GitHub:

https://github.com/Zleman/pointflow

This is a React library, so it won't replace desktop viewers. But if you're building a web dashboard that ingests a live sensor stream, it handles the rendering layer.

I'm posting this because I want it scrutinised by people who actually work with this data. I don't think what I've built is perfect and I'd genuinely value feedback from someone with real LiDAR use cases more than anything else. If something doesn't map to how you work or there's a gap in what the library handles, I want to know.

Published v0.1.0 of a React library I've been working on since November. It renders live point-cloud streams (LiDAR, simulations, any push-based source) without dropping frames or growing memory.

The API is a single component:

```tsx

import { StreamedPointCloud } from "pointflow";

<StreamedPointCloud

maxPoints={50_000}

colorBy="intensity"

onReady={(ref) => { api.current = ref; }}

/>

```

maxPoints is a hard ceiling. The library evicts old points when the buffer fills, prioritising the ones that matter most for the current view. Under the hood: a Web Worker for ingest (parsing never blocks React) and WebGPU when available, with automatic WebGL fallback. Also loads static files (PLY, XYZ, LAS/LAZ, COPC) progressively.

Demo:

https://pointflow-demo.vercel.app

Docs:

https://pointflow-docs.vercel.app

npm:

npm install pointflow

GitHub:

https://github.com/Zleman/pointflow

I'll be honest about the motivation. As developers we all build on top of what others share freely, and I wanted to contribute something real rather than just consume. I've also spent enough time rebuilding this kind of code from scratch to think I have something worth sharing.

But I'm not posting this because I think it's done. I know it has rough edges. I'd rather have people tell me what's wrong with it than find out in silence six months from now. Critical feedback and contributions are what I'm actually asking for here.