I’ve been testing out instant-ngp recently, it’s an open-source software from Nvidia that generates neural radiance fields. That’s a 3D representation of an object that is fundamentally different from the points or verticies and faces we may be used to. Rather than representing an object through 3D coordinates, connections between them, and colours (i.e. vertices... Continue Reading →
Adding thickness to your scans for 3D printing. Or… Making 3D surfaces into solids.
I scan a lot of 2.5D things. That is to say, 3D, but only a surface. Think dinosaur tracks, like this: One of the problems you can come across is if you want to 3D print something like this, it needs thickness. Visualization can also be helped if there’s context for the edges. I’ll outline... Continue Reading →
Aligning and merging two halves of a scan: CloudCompare
This post will show you how to align a scan in two or more parts using CloudCompare. Or there's a video tutorial. Ideally, when you scan an object with laser scanning or photogrammetry, you want to get the whole thing in one go. With photogrammetry, that might involve what I've seen called the 'void' method... Continue Reading →
Free photogrammetry software review: 2017
Given how insanely popular my 'trying photogrammetry software' series has been this year, I thought I'd round up what I've tried, what's worked well, and what hasn't. Obviously I gave each piece of software in my blog posts a go with a standard dataset. That photo set was not ideal - it includes photos taken... Continue Reading →
Automating free photogrammetry: Scripts I use
[updated 17/12/17 to get rid of unnecessary meshlab portion] [updated 01/04/18 - Updated scripts for version 3.4+ of COLMAP] In a vain attempt to be useful, I want to share the script I'm currently using to automate my photogrammetry workflow. I'm using COLMAP in conjunction with openMVS on Windows 10 at the moment, and I... Continue Reading →
Photogrammetry Testing 11: VisualSFM & OpenMVS (and COLMAP+openMVS)
Part 1: Photoscan | Part 2: VisualSFM+MeshRecon | Part 3: VisualSFM+PMVS+Meshlab | Part 4: OpenMVG + MVE | Part 5: MVE | Part 6: ReMake | Part 7: SMVS (+MVE) | Part 8: COLMAP | Part 9: 3DF Zephyr Free | Part 10: MicMac | Part 11: VisualSFM + openMVS, & COLMAP + openMVS |... Continue Reading →
The importance of 3D for tracks -or- how big is your footprint really!
I should probably have made this post sooner, as it's about my chapter in the Great Dinosaur Track Book Of 2016: "Dinosaur Tracks: The Next Steps". It's a volume I was privileged enough to be an editor for, and it contains a number of excellent chapters. I wanted to post about my own... Continue Reading →
Photogrammetry Testing 4: OpenMVG and MVE (+TexRecon)
Here's the original post, and links to all posts I have previously outlined my goal of testing multiple photogrammetry solutions on a single dataset, and reporting times and results. I'm using a dataset based on photographs of this Styracosaurus model (I've had it since I was quite young): The dataset has 53 photos in total,... Continue Reading →
Photogrammetry Testing 3: VisualSFM + PMVS + Meshlab
Here's the original post, and links to all posts I have previously outlined my goal of testing multiple photogrammetry solutions on a single dataset, and reporting times and results. I'm using a dataset based on photographs of this Styracosaurus model (I've had it since I was quite young): The dataset has 53 photos in total,... Continue Reading →
Photogrammetry Testing 2: VisualSFM and MeshRecon
Here's the original post, and links to all posts I have previously outlined my goal of testing multiple photogrammetry solutions on a single dataset, and reporting times and results. I'm using a dataset based on photographs of this Styracosaurus model (I've had it since I was quite young): The dataset has 53 photos in total,... Continue Reading →