PhotoMesh v7.2 PhotoMesh v7.2 fully automates the generation of high-resolution, textured, 3D mesh models from standard 2D photographs, offering a significant reduction in cost and time compared to traditional modeling methods. PhotoMesh s breakthrough technology is based on the highestperformance photogrammetry, computer vision, and computational geometry algorithms. Combining any number of photographs, in a wide range of formats and resolutions, PhotoMesh generates highly-detailed 3D models that can be viewed and queried using TerraExplorer or other 3D and GIS products. What s New in PhotoMesh v7.2 This new release introduces significant performance improvements, improved point cloud and mesh quality, expanded build output capabilities, and an array of usability enhancements. Improved AT Success Rate and Quality Better handling of unordered and low-overlap datasets. Improved AT result (lower median error). Automatic extraction of features from all levels. Multi-AT calculation. Support for external aerotriangulation results from professional systems (Inpho, Bingo). Improved Point Cloud and Mesh Quality Improved dense point cloud mechanism Clustering avoids memory overload cases and often produces denser cloud. Enhanced reconstruction of trees and solid surfaces using multi-resolution point cloud model. Load Full Motion Video Files Full motion video (FMV) files can be loaded, and their frames automatically extracted and added to the project. In the easy-to-use video editor, a video can be previewed and the start and end times for the extraction easily defined. All popular video formats are supported. Water Bodies Import and export of water body polygons and enhanced water body editing tools make it easier to accurately define your water body area. 1
Build Outputs Subset areas of a project can be defined using reconstruction area polygons. Accurately cut 3D model. SPK tool converts I3S output to a compressed SPK package. Usability Enhancements Relative to Base Supports data collection with altitude relative to base (drones). Reorganization of tab commands and addition of new View tab make it easier for you find the commands you need. Loading of raster and 3D mesh layers from SkylineGlobe Server. Disconnected PM - New ability to load base terrain from a local file enables you to work in a disconnected environment. Objects, layers, control points, and water polygons can now be added also in Review mode and even when a build is in progress, thus allowing initial build results to be immediately incorporated in the final build. Color-coded coverage map displays camera coverage based on either the photos original positions or their calculated positions. Water body polygons can be imported from a shapefile or KML making it easier to accurately define your water body area. 2
Product Capabilities High Quality - PhotoMesh generates a full-3d mesh model that faithfully reproduces even smallscale details such as cars, trees, fences, and walls - all with advanced color balancing and highquality texturing. Ground control points can be easily added or imported to improve model positioning accuracy. Cost and Time Efficient - PhotoMesh offers a significant reduction in cost and time when compared with traditional modeling methods. Reconstructions that would generally take weeks using manual modeling methods can be completed in mere hours using PhotoMesh. Scalability - PhotoMesh efficiently handles even hundreds of thousands of photos using an elaborate tiling mechanism. PhotoMesh exploits multi-computer architecture (fusers) to further accelerate database creation, running a single project simultaneously on hundreds of machines. Output Formats - PhotoMesh s result can be exported in various multi-resolution 3D models (3DML, OSGB DAE, OBJ, Cesium, I3S/SPK), rasters (Orthophoto, DSM, DTM/DEM) and point clouds (LAS), ensuring full interoperability with 2D/3D GIS solutions. High Performance - PhotoMesh can run its efficient algorithms fluidly on standard GPUs, or exploit multi-core and multi-computer processing to further accelerate database creation. A single project can run simultaneously on hundreds of fuser machines, processing tens of km 2 per day. Source Image Flexibility - PhotoMesh supports most standard image formats (Jpg, Tiff, etc.), generating complete, true 3D mesh models from professional or drone-captured standard, unordered oblique, nadir, and ground photos. Efficient Management - PhotoMesh Manager provides comprehensive information on the progress of each build step and the active fusers, highlighting tiles with errors, and allows the viewing of intermediate data while the build is in progress. Detailed build reports provide meaningful statistical and graphical information about the build process. Intuitive GUI - PhotoMesh provides powerful visualization capabilities and tools, including photo projection on the terrain and project preview, which facilitate accurate evaluation and adjustment of photo and camera parameters. Color-coded coverage map makes it easy to evaluate camera coverage in each area of the project. Easy Integration with Third Party Applications - Streamlined process of exporting models for geometry editing and re-importing them back to PhotoMesh. 3
PhotoMesh Installation To install PhotoMesh: Note: On some operating systems, administrative privileges may be required. 1. Place the PhotoMesh license file next to the PhotoMesh.msi file in the installation folder. 2. Double-click the PhotoMesh.msi file. The PhotoMesh Setup dialog box is displayed. PhotoMesh Setup 4
3. Click Next. The End-User License Agreement is displayed. End-User License Agreement 4. Read the License Agreement and then select the I accept check box. 5. Click Next. The Setup Wizard installs PhotoMesh. 6. In the dialog box that is displayed when the installation process is complete, click Finish to exit the wizard. 5
Getting Started with PhotoMesh Step 1: Imagery Acquisition The first step in creating a 3D model is imagery acquisition. All visible surfaces of the intended object or scene must be photographed from multiple overlapping viewpoints. The accuracy of the resulting 3D mesh model is affected by several factors including: input image resolution and quality, lens distortion, overlapping ratio, directionality, and lighting. While PhotoMesh optimizes the accuracy of the 3D mesh model by selecting the best photos for an area, each factor can affect the overall output or cause varying levels of accuracy and quality in different areas of a project. Step 2: Creating a PhotoMesh Project Before beginning to work in PhotoMesh, you must create a new project or open an existing project. Step 3: Loading and Preparing Photos Photos can be loaded into a project from an Excel/XML file, from photo files, or even by automatically extracting individual frames from a video file. To load from an Excel file, use the PhotoMeshSample.xlsx template in the installation folder. See PhotoMesh User Guide for more information. Step 4: Managing Fusers Fusers allow you to share the workload involved in processing the different build steps (photo preparation, AT, point cloud, mesh model, texture, 3DML/other outputs) between several computers on the same network. The master computer utilizes the computing power of the network s client computers by connecting to PhotoMesh fusers on the client machines. Connect PhotoMesh Manager to each of the fusers by doing the following: 1. In the PhotoMesh Options dialog box set the Working Folder to a shared folder that can be accessed by all of the fusers. 2. Open the PhotoMesh fuser on each machine and set the Working Folder to the location of the shared folder. 6
Step 5: Building the Model After all photos are added to the project and all properties are set as required, you can launch PhotoMesh Build Manager to begin the build process. The build process provides flexibility both with regard to the area of the project being built (entire or selected area) and the build steps that are to be performed. Step 6: Managing and Reviewing the Build Throughout the build process, you can monitor build progress from PhotoMesh Build Manager and view the build data already created in the PhotoMesh 3D Window. As soon as a build step is completed for a tile, its build data is viewable in the 3D Window. You can also view point cloud, 3D model, and texture data for one or more tiles once this build step for the selected tile is completed. After reviewing build data, you can easily rebuild any of the following: the entire project, error tiles, or selected tiles. 7