# A workflow for generating synthetic LiDAR datasets in simulation environments

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.17378 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.17378/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 41 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 20 Jun 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [CARLA: An Open Urban Driving Simulator](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.03938/) (2017)
- [Invisible for both Camera and LiDAR: Security of Multi-Sensor Fusion based Perception in Autonomous Driving Under Physical-World Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09249/) (2021)
- [Towards Robust LiDAR-based Perception in Autonomous Driving: General Black-box Adversarial Sensor Attack and Countermeasures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.16974/) (2020)
- [Adversarial Objects Against LiDAR-Based Autonomous Driving Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.05418/) (2019)
- [A LiDAR Point Cloud Generator: from a Virtual World to Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.00103/) (2018)
- [STPLS3D: A Large-Scale Synthetic and Real Aerial Photogrammetry 3D Point Cloud Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.09065/) (2022)
- [Precise Synthetic Image and LiDAR (PreSIL) Dataset for Autonomous Vehicle Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.00160/) (2019)
- [Towards Robust Robot 3D Perception in Urban Environments: The UT Campus Object Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.13549/) (2023)
- [Navigating Threats: A Survey of Physical Adversarial Attacks on LiDAR Perception Systems in Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.20426/) (2024)
- [SynthmanticLiDAR: A Synthetic Dataset for Semantic Segmentation on LiDAR Imaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.19035/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents a simulation workflow for generating synthetic LiDAR datasets to support autonomous vehicle perception, robotics research, and sensor security analysis. Leveraging the CoppeliaSim simulation environment and its Python API, we integrate time-of-flight LiDAR, image sensors, and two dimensional scanners onto a simulated vehicle platform operating within an urban scenario. The workflow automates data capture, storage, and annotation across multiple formats (PCD, PLY, CSV), producing synchronized multimodal datasets with ground truth pose information. We validate the pipeline by generating large-scale point clouds and corresponding RGB and depth imagery. The study examines potential security vulnerabilities in LiDAR data, such as adversarial point injection and spoofing attacks, and demonstrates how synthetic datasets can facilitate the evaluation of defense strategies. Finally, limitations related to environmental realism, sensor noise modeling, and computational scalability are discussed, and future research directions, such as incorporating weather effects, real-world terrain models, and advanced scanner configurations, are proposed. The workflow provides a versatile, reproducible framework for generating high-fidelity synthetic LiDAR datasets to advance perception research and strengthen sensor security in autonomous systems. Documentation and examples accompany this framework; samples of animated cloud returns and image sensor data can be found at this Link.