Sounds like you're wanting to do this in batch (don't blame you)
As STH said, looks like Global Mapper will indeed do batch conversions. Nice price as well.
FME Desktop can do using the RasterDEMGenerator transformer and a bit of linking with reader/writer, but you'll need the Pro version, not available in the ArcGIS Data Interop extension.
If free is more in your budget, gdal_grid should do it. You'll have to spend some time figuring out the extents of all your xyz files, but ogrinfo will make short work of that, and then writing a batch file/script to run it over each file.
Or you can use ArcGIS ASCII 3D to Feature Class (requires 3D Analyst) chained with Point to Raster, as described here and then batchify the process with ArcPy or ModelBuilder. If you don't have 3D Analyst, you can use any number of arcscripts or LASTools txt2Las and las2shp to get it in a format ArcGIS can work with. I know you didn't want to convert the txtfiles to intermediate feature classes but this isn't too labor intensive, and you already have access to the software.
The current option to import las files in ArcGIS is the LAS dataset data type. According to ESRI:
The LAS dataset provides fast access to large volumes of lidar and surface data without the need for data conversion.
If the surface (raster) you are trying to create is a bare-earth DEM refer to the following posts:
One option is the LAS dataset to Raster tool, but only when it is possible to filter1 the data by its ground returns. On the contrary, using the Cell Assignment Type argument equal Average or Minimum on unclassified data could (probably, 'would') result in bad DEMs. Mostly, the result will depend on the point cloud density, the terrain cover complexity, and the quality required in the output. It is important to (double) validate the DEM if going through this way.
1 Pay attention that to filter the LiDAR files in a LAS dataset it is necessary to generate a LAS dataset layer first (through the Make LAS dataset layer tool), or LAS dataset to Raster will consider all types of returns (just filtering using the LAS dataset properties for visualization won't work when processing data).
Another option for creating DEMs in ArcGis is to use the combination of Las to Multipoint tool for filtering ground points, and then, Point to Raster (it is probably less efficient than the first method, though).
Other workflows for creating DEMs from LiDAR data in ArcGIS are described in the post below. It also has insights about aspects which should be taken into consideration, when generating DEMs.
For working on DEMs starting from unclassified .las data I would suggest using more robust algorithms not yet available within the ArcGIS platform. For example:
On the other hand, if the surface (raster) is a Digital Surface Model - DSM refer to the following posts:
Input of .las/.laz files and conversion to .asc DSM (LASzip and Fusion).
Input of .las files and conversion to .asc DSM (LAStools).
Another option to import .las files in ArcGIS would be to convert them into ASCII (.txt, for example). Unless there is a specific reason for using plain text, previous options are better. The main differences working with .las or ascii files are approached in this post:
So, an alternative would be to use the command line LDA2ASCII from Fusion.
The LDA2ASCII syntax is:
LDA2ASCII InputFile OutputFile format
Suppose the following:
- Fusion is stored under
c:\Fusion.
- the las file name is
project.las.
project.las is stored in: c:\Lidar. - the new txt file will be saved at:
c:\LiDAR.
- its name will be:
project.txt
Hint: use an text editor to write Fusion's program commands (e.g. Notepad++). Save it with .bat extension. Then, write:
Retrieve the following information: X, Y and Elevation.
c:\Fusion\LDA2ASCII c:\Lidar\project.las c:\Lidar\project.txt 0
Or if the .las files contain other information such as: Pulse, Return, X, Y, Elevation, Nadir and Intensity:
c:\Fusion\LDA2ASCII c:\Lidar\project.las c:\Lidar\project.txt 1
Save the .bat file, and then execute it (shortcut = F5)
Open project.txt in ArcGIS.
Best Answer
ArcGis has a new LiDAR dataset at 10.1 which will allow you to view your LiDAR data directly and also see more information than what's in a raster... for example you can add to ArcMap and then filter down the display to just tree classes, or just first returns!
LiDAR data contains much more than just elevation, there's intensity that is stored by default (which can assist where no orthos are available) and they should be classified to ground/non-ground at the very basic; full classification is the most useful (ground, low/medium/high vegetation, buildings, water, bridges, powerlines...) for filtering depending on what you're looking for.
Should you have access to a 3d analyst licence you can convert your LAS dataset to a raster with any cell size you desire or you can view with facets...
IMO I think that it is very wise to get both a raster (use now and with existing processes) and LiDAR data (develop new processes) in a delivery.