[v0.1.21] 2026-06-07

- Updated helios-core to v1.3.73

## Context
- Added `clearAllPrimitiveData(label)` and `clearAllObjectData(label)` to remove a named data field from *every* primitive/compound object in the Context (including hidden ones) and release the registered data type for that label, complementing the existing per-UUID/per-objID `clearPrimitiveData()`/`clearObjectData()`.
- Added `deleteTimeseriesDataPoint(date, time, label=None)` to delete a single timeseries data point at a given date/time — for one variable when `label` is given, or across all variables when `label` is `None`.
- `Location` gained an `altitude` field (meters above sea level, default 0.0); `setLocation()` accepts an optional `altitude` in its float form, `getLocation()` now returns it, and `make_Location()` accepts an optional 4th argument. Existing 3-argument usage is unchanged. Note Helios's non-standard longitude convention (+W / −E), which is auto-flipped to the standard +E convention when written into camera EXIF metadata.

## Radiation
- `CameraProperties` gained a `manufacturer` field (helios-core v1.3.73 maps it to the EXIF camera *Make* tag; empty ⇒ "Helios"). Like the other `CameraProperties` string fields, it is exposed on the Python class for forward compatibility but is not yet plumbed through to the native camera. Camera images written via `writeCameraImage()` embed EXIF/XMP metadata (camera intrinsics, orientation, and GPS derived from the Context `Location`) automatically on the native side.

## LiDAR
- `LiDARCloud.addScan()` gained optional `range_noise_stddev` (meters) and `angle_noise_stddev` (radians) arguments that drive realistic anisotropic positional error during `syntheticScan()` (along-beam range noise and across-beam beam-pointing jitter). Both default to 0.0 (disabled), preserving prior behavior. Query them with `getScanRangeNoiseStdDev(scanID)` / `getScanAngleNoiseStdDev(scanID)`.
- Added `exportScans(filename)` to write all scans as an XML metadata file plus one ASCII data file per scan (auto-named `<base>_<scanID>.xyz`), re-loadable with `loadXML()`.

Author: bnbailey-psl

docs/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
 # Changelog
 
+# [v0.1.21] 2026-06-07
+
+- Updated helios-core to v1.3.73
+
+## Context
+- Added `clearAllPrimitiveData(label)` and `clearAllObjectData(label)` to remove a named data field from *every* primitive/compound object in the Context (including hidden ones) and release the registered data type for that label, complementing the existing per-UUID/per-objID `clearPrimitiveData()`/`clearObjectData()`.
+- Added `deleteTimeseriesDataPoint(date, time, label=None)` to delete a single timeseries data point at a given date/time — for one variable when `label` is given, or across all variables when `label` is `None`.
+- `Location` gained an `altitude` field (meters above sea level, default 0.0); `setLocation()` accepts an optional `altitude` in its float form, `getLocation()` now returns it, and `make_Location()` accepts an optional 4th argument. Existing 3-argument usage is unchanged. Note Helios's non-standard longitude convention (+W / −E), which is auto-flipped to the standard +E convention when written into camera EXIF metadata.
+
+## Radiation
+- `CameraProperties` gained a `manufacturer` field (helios-core v1.3.73 maps it to the EXIF camera *Make* tag; empty ⇒ "Helios"). Like the other `CameraProperties` string fields, it is exposed on the Python class for forward compatibility but is not yet plumbed through to the native camera. Camera images written via `writeCameraImage()` embed EXIF/XMP metadata (camera intrinsics, orientation, and GPS derived from the Context `Location`) automatically on the native side.
+
+## LiDAR
+- `LiDARCloud.addScan()` gained optional `range_noise_stddev` (meters) and `angle_noise_stddev` (radians) arguments that drive realistic anisotropic positional error during `syntheticScan()` (along-beam range noise and across-beam beam-pointing jitter). Both default to 0.0 (disabled), preserving prior behavior. Query them with `getScanRangeNoiseStdDev(scanID)` / `getScanAngleNoiseStdDev(scanID)`.
+- Added `exportScans(filename)` to write all scans as an XML metadata file plus one ASCII data file per scan (auto-named `<base>_<scanID>.xyz`), re-loadable with `loadXML()`.
+
 # [v0.1.20] 2026-05-08
 
 - Updated helios-core to v1.3.72
@@ -26,6 +42,10 @@
 ## Radiation
 - Added `addSIFCamera()` (vec3 lookat and SphericalCoord overloads) plus the new `SIFCameraProperties` (extends `CameraProperties` with `excitation_bin_width_nm` and `excitation_scattering_depth`) and the `isSIFCamera()` query. SIF cameras source per-band emission from the Fluspect-B kernel rather than Stefan-Boltzmann; Helios auto-creates internal excitation bands covering 400–750 nm at the requested bin width.
 
+## LiDAR
+- Exposed per-hit scalar data and metadata that `syntheticScan()` already computes: `LiDARCloud.getHitData(index, label)`, `doesHitDataExist(index, label)`, and `getHitScanID(index)`, reaching `intensity`, `distance`, `timestamp`, `target_index`, `target_count`, `deviation`, `nRaysHit`, and any column-format fields. Added bulk single-call exports `getHitDataAll(label)` and `getHitsXYZRGB()` for large clouds.
+- Generalized the synthetic scan's primitive-data → hit-data transfer to be driven by the scan's column format: any non-standard label in a scan's `column_format` is now sampled from the struck primitive (FLOAT/DOUBLE/INT/UINT) onto each hit, replacing the previously hardcoded `object_label`/`reflectivity_lidar` pair (`reflectivity_lidar` retains its intensity-modulation behavior). `LiDARCloud.addScan()` gained an optional `column_format` argument (default keeps prior behavior); the previously auto-copied `object_label` must now be listed in `column_format` to transfer.
+
 # [v0.1.19] 2026-04-16
 
 - Updated helios-core to v1.3.71

docs/file_io.md

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ The Context can automatically import Stanford .ply files [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
 
 ```python
 from pyhelios import Context
-from pyhelios.types import vec3, SphericalCoord, RGBcolorcolor, RGBcolor
+from pyhelios.types import vec3, SphericalCoord, RGBcolor, RGBcolor
 import math
 
 context = Context()
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ from pyhelios.types import vec3, RGBcolor
 
 context = Context()
 
-context.loadOBJ("relative/path/to/someobjfile.obj", vec3(0, 0, 0), 0, SphericalCoord(1, 0, 0), RGBcolorcolor(1, 0, 0))
+context.loadOBJ("relative/path/to/someobjfile.obj", vec3(0, 0, 0), 0, SphericalCoord(1, 0, 0), RGBcolor(1, 0, 0))
 ```
 
 ### Writing PLY (Stanford Polygon) Files {#PLYwrite}

docs/plugin_lidar.md

@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ Each scan has a set of parameters or "metadata" that must be specified in order
 <tr><td>Rotation</td><td>\<rotation></td><td>Global spherical rotation (theta,phi) to be applied to the entire scan, including the origin and all hit points.</td><td>Use `coordinateRotation()`</td><td>No rotation</td></tr>
 <tr><td>Beam exit diameter (meters)</td><td>\<exitDiameter></td><td>Effective diameter of laser beam exiting the instrument. Only used for full-waveform synthetic data generation.</td><td>`exit_diameter`</td><td>0 (discrete return)</td></tr>
 <tr><td>Beam divergence angle (rad)</td><td>\<beamDivergence></td><td>Angle of laser beam divergence after exiting the instrument. Only used for full-waveform synthetic data generation.</td><td>`beam_divergence`</td><td>0</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Range noise std. dev. (meters)</td><td>\<rangeNoiseStdDev></td><td>Standard deviation of zero-mean Gaussian noise added to the measured range (distance) of each return during synthetic scan generation, displacing the hit point along the beam direction (along-beam error). Only used for synthetic data generation.</td><td>`range_noise_stddev`</td><td>0 (no noise)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Angular noise std. dev. (rad)</td><td>\<angleNoiseStdDev></td><td>Standard deviation of zero-mean Gaussian jitter applied to the pointing direction of each pulse during synthetic scan generation, producing the across-beam (lateral) error that grows with range. Only used for synthetic data generation.</td><td>`angle_noise_stddev`</td><td>0 (no jitter)</td></tr>
 <tr><td>ASCII point cloud file</td><td>\<filename></td><td>File containing point cloud data to be read.</td><td>Loaded via `loadXML()`</td><td>No file will be read</td></tr>
 <tr><td>ASCII file column format</td><td>\<ASCII_format></td><td>Labels for columns in ASCII point cloud file. See section below for possible values and examples.</td><td>Loaded via `loadXML()`</td><td>x y z</td></tr>
 </table>
@@ -498,6 +500,7 @@ Results of data processing can be easily written to file for external analysis.
 <table>
 <tr><th>Function</th><th>Description</th><th>PyHelios Status</th></tr>
 <tr><td>exportPointCloud(filename)</td><td>Write the entire point cloud to ASCII file.</td><td>✅ Available</td></tr>
+<tr><td>exportScans(filename)</td><td>Write an XML metadata file describing all scans plus one ASCII point cloud file per scan (auto-named `&lt;base&gt;_&lt;scanID&gt;.xyz`). The XML can be re-loaded with `loadXML()`.</td><td>✅ Available</td></tr>
 <tr><td>exportTriangleNormals(filename)</td><td>Write the unit normal vectors [nx ny nz] of all triangles formed from triangulation.</td><td>✅ Available</td></tr>
 <tr><td>exportTriangleAreas(filename)</td><td>Write the areas of all triangles formed from triangulation.</td><td>✅ Available</td></tr>
 <tr><td>exportLeafAreas(filename)</td><td>Write the leaf area contained within each voxel.</td><td>✅ Available</td></tr>

docs/plugin_solarposition.md

@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ from pyhelios.types import *
 
 with Context() as context:
     # Set date and time
-    context.setDate(1, 5, 2015)  # May 1, 2015
-    context.setTime(30, 12)      # 12:30
+    context.setDate(2015, 5, 1)  # May 1, 2015
+    context.setTime(12, 30)      # 12:30
 
     # Create SolarPosition with location (UTC offset, latitude, longitude)
     with SolarPosition(7, 31.256, 119.947, context) as sun:
@@ -223,8 +223,8 @@ from pyhelios.types import *
 
 with Context() as context:
     # Set the current time and date
-    context.setDate(1, 5, 2015)  # May 1, 2015
-    context.setTime(30, 12)      # 12:30
+    context.setDate(2015, 5, 1)  # May 1, 2015
+    context.setTime(12, 30)      # 12:30
 
     # Initialize the SolarPosition class with coordinates
     # Arguments: context, utc_offset, latitude, longitude
@@ -250,8 +250,8 @@ import math
 
 with Context() as context:
     # Set the current time and date
-    context.setDate(1, 5, 2015)  # May 1, 2015
-    context.setTime(30, 12)      # 12:30
+    context.setDate(2015, 5, 1)  # May 1, 2015
+    context.setTime(12, 30)      # 12:30
 
     # Initialize the SolarPosition class
     with SolarPosition(context, 7, 31.256, 119.947) as sun:
@@ -327,8 +327,8 @@ import math
 
 with Context() as context:
     # Set the current time and date
-    context.setDate(1, 5, 2015)  # May 1, 2015
-    context.setTime(30, 12)      # 12:30
+    context.setDate(2015, 5, 1)  # May 1, 2015
+    context.setTime(12, 30)      # 12:30
 
     # Initialize the SolarPosition class
     with SolarPosition(context, 7, 31.256, 119.947) as sun:
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ from pyhelios import Context, SolarPosition
 
 with Context() as context:
     # Set current time, date, and location
-    context.setDate(16, 7, 2023)  # July 16, 2023
+    context.setDate(2023, 7, 16)  # July 16, 2023
     context.setTime(12, 0)         # Solar noon
 
     # Initialize SolarPosition with location

docs/user_guide.md

@@ -34,35 +34,35 @@ Vector types can be initialized directly. For example, `i2 = int2(1, 2)` creates
 
 ### R-G-B(-A) color vectors
 
-There are several predefined RGB color vectors (see RGBcolor) that can be used, which are tabulated below:
-
-| Color | RGB Values | Color Swatch |
-|-------|------------|--------------|
-| RGB::black | (0,0,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);border:1px solid #ccc;"></div> |
-| RGB::white | (1,1,1) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);border:1px solid #ccc;"></div> |
-| RGB::red | (1,0,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,0,0);"></div> |
-| RGB::blue | (0,0,1) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,255);"></div> |
-| RGB::green | (0,0.6,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,153,0);"></div> |
-| RGB::cyan | (0,1,1) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,255,255);"></div> |
-| RGB::magenta | (1,0,1) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,0,255);"></div> |
-| RGB::yellow | (1,1,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,255,0);"></div> |
-| RGB::orange | (1,0.5,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,127,0);"></div> |
-| RGB::violet | (0.5,0,0.5) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(127,0,127);"></div> |
-| RGB::lime | (0,1,0) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,255,0);"></div> |
-| RGB::silver | (0.75,0.75,0.75) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(191,191,191);"></div> |
-| RGB::gray | (0.5,0.5,0.5) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(127,127,127);"></div> |
-| RGB::navy | (0,0,0.5) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,127);"></div> |
-| RGB::brown | (0.55,0.27,0.075) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(140,69,19);"></div> |
-| RGB::khaki | (0.94,0.92,0.55) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(240,235,140);"></div> |
-| RGB::greenyellow | (0.678,1,0.184) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(173,255,47);"></div> |
-| RGB::forestgreen | (0.133,0.545,0.133) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(34,139,34);"></div> |
-| RGB::yellowgreen | (0.6,0.8,0.2) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(153,204,51);"></div> |
-| RGB::goldenrod | (0.855,0.647,0.126) | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(218,165,32);"></div> |
-
-Note that the above colors can be directly used with RGBAcolor to specify an alpha (transparency) value:
+PyHelios does not provide predefined named color constants; construct colors directly with `RGBcolor(r, g, b)` (values normalized to 1). The table below lists common colors and their RGB values for convenience:
+
+| Color | RGB Values | `RGBcolor(...)` | Color Swatch |
+|-------|------------|-----------------|--------------|
+| black | (0,0,0) | `RGBcolor(0, 0, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);border:1px solid #ccc;"></div> |
+| white | (1,1,1) | `RGBcolor(1, 1, 1)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);border:1px solid #ccc;"></div> |
+| red | (1,0,0) | `RGBcolor(1, 0, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,0,0);"></div> |
+| blue | (0,0,1) | `RGBcolor(0, 0, 1)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,255);"></div> |
+| green | (0,0.6,0) | `RGBcolor(0, 0.6, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,153,0);"></div> |
+| cyan | (0,1,1) | `RGBcolor(0, 1, 1)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,255,255);"></div> |
+| magenta | (1,0,1) | `RGBcolor(1, 0, 1)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,0,255);"></div> |
+| yellow | (1,1,0) | `RGBcolor(1, 1, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,255,0);"></div> |
+| orange | (1,0.5,0) | `RGBcolor(1, 0.5, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(255,127,0);"></div> |
+| violet | (0.5,0,0.5) | `RGBcolor(0.5, 0, 0.5)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(127,0,127);"></div> |
+| lime | (0,1,0) | `RGBcolor(0, 1, 0)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,255,0);"></div> |
+| silver | (0.75,0.75,0.75) | `RGBcolor(0.75, 0.75, 0.75)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(191,191,191);"></div> |
+| gray | (0.5,0.5,0.5) | `RGBcolor(0.5, 0.5, 0.5)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(127,127,127);"></div> |
+| navy | (0,0,0.5) | `RGBcolor(0, 0, 0.5)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(0,0,127);"></div> |
+| brown | (0.55,0.27,0.075) | `RGBcolor(0.55, 0.27, 0.075)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(140,69,19);"></div> |
+| khaki | (0.94,0.92,0.55) | `RGBcolor(0.94, 0.92, 0.55)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(240,235,140);"></div> |
+| greenyellow | (0.678,1,0.184) | `RGBcolor(0.678, 1, 0.184)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(173,255,47);"></div> |
+| forestgreen | (0.133,0.545,0.133) | `RGBcolor(0.133, 0.545, 0.133)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(34,139,34);"></div> |
+| yellowgreen | (0.6,0.8,0.2) | `RGBcolor(0.6, 0.8, 0.2)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(153,204,51);"></div> |
+| goldenrod | (0.855,0.647,0.126) | `RGBcolor(0.855, 0.647, 0.126)` | <div style="width:50px;height:30px;background-color:rgb(218,165,32);"></div> |
+
+Any color can be used with RGBAcolor to specify an alpha (transparency) value:
 
 ```python
-from pyhelios.types import RGBAcolor, RGBcolorcolor
+from pyhelios.types import RGBAcolor, RGBcolor
 
 # Create red color first, then use its components
 red = RGBcolor(1, 0, 0)
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ The Context is usually passed to plugins, which gives them access to geometry an
 
 ### Geographic Location {#Location}
 
-The Context stores a geographic location used by plugins such as SolarPosition and RadiationModel for sun-position calculations. Location is represented by the immutable `Location` dataclass with three fields: `latitude` in degrees (+N / -S), `longitude` in degrees (+W / -E per Helios convention), and `utc_offset` in hours (+ moving West).
+The Context stores a geographic location used by plugins such as SolarPosition and RadiationModel for sun-position calculations. Location is represented by the immutable `Location` dataclass with four fields: `latitude` in degrees (+N / -S), `longitude` in degrees (+W / -E per Helios convention), `utc_offset` in hours (+ moving West), and `altitude` in meters above sea level (default 0.0). The non-standard +W longitude convention is automatically flipped to the standard +E convention when written into camera EXIF metadata.
 
 ```python
 from pyhelios import Context
@@ -115,12 +115,13 @@ from pyhelios.types import Location
 context = Context()
 
 # Set location explicitly
-context.setLocation(38.55, 121.76, 8.0)             # latitude, longitude, UTC offset
-context.setLocation(Location(38.55, 121.76, 8.0))   # equivalent
+context.setLocation(38.55, 121.76, 8.0)                    # latitude, longitude, UTC offset
+context.setLocation(38.55, 121.76, 8.0, altitude=16.0)    # with altitude (meters)
+context.setLocation(Location(38.55, 121.76, 8.0, 16.0))   # equivalent
 
 # Read it back
 loc = context.getLocation()
-print(loc.latitude, loc.longitude, loc.utc_offset)
+print(loc.latitude, loc.longitude, loc.utc_offset, loc.altitude)
 ```
 
 Once the Context location is set, downstream plugins can read it instead of taking explicit lat/lon arguments.
@@ -203,15 +204,15 @@ Triangles are added by specifying the (x,y,z) coordinates of the triangle's thre
 
 ```python
 from pyhelios import Context
-from pyhelios.types import vec3, RGBcolorcolor
+from pyhelios.types import vec3, RGBcolor
 
 context = Context()
 
 v0 = vec3(-0.5, -0.5, 1)
 v1 = vec3(0.5, -0.5, 1)
 v2 = vec3(0, 0.5, 1)
 
-UUID = context.addTriangle(v0, v1, v2, RGBcolorcolor(1, 0, 0))
+UUID = context.addTriangle(v0, v1, v2, RGBcolor(1, 0, 0))
 ```
 
 This will add the Triangle shown below. (Note that the addition of the checkerboard ground and the 'Visualizer' plugin is needed to replicate this image, which is not shown in the example code.)
@@ -230,7 +231,7 @@ For box-shaped geometry, use:
 
 ```python
 from pyhelios import Context
-from pyhelios.types import vec3, int3, RGBcolorcolor
+from pyhelios.types import vec3, int3, RGBcolor
 
 context = Context()
 
@@ -239,7 +240,7 @@ size = vec3(1, 1, 1)
 subdivisions = int3(1, 1, 1)
 
 # Use addBox for voxel-like geometry
-UUIDs = context.addBox(center, size, subdivisions, RGBcolorcolor(1, 0, 0))
+UUIDs = context.addBox(center, size, subdivisions, RGBcolor(1, 0, 0))
 ```
 
 ![Voxel geometric primitive](images/primitives/Voxel.png)
@@ -500,14 +501,14 @@ Primitive data values can be scalar or a one-dimensional array of values.
 
 ```python
 from pyhelios import Context
-from pyhelios.types import vec3, vec2, RGBcolorcolor
+from pyhelios.types import vec3, vec2, RGBcolor
 
 context = Context()
 
 center = vec3(0, 0, 0)
 size = vec2(1, 1)
 
-UUID = context.addPatch(center, size, RGBcolorcolor(1, 0, 0))
+UUID = context.addPatch(center, size, RGBcolor(1, 0, 0))
 
 eps = 0.9
 context.setPrimitiveDataFloat(UUID, "emissivity", eps)