Messages

16

General / Re: Help needed by algining photos

« on: January 30, 2014, 05:05:02 PM »

Thanks for your Info,

so is it generally possible to get such detailed 3D models ?

How is it by having photos of surfaces that are shiny (e.g. vehicles or buildings with lot of windows) ?

Best regards

Objects with shiny surfaces can't generally be used.  You must find a way to alter the lighting or the surface of the object to eliminate such surface properties.

Cheers,

MC

17

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Charging 50+ Cameras / Batteries

« on: January 24, 2014, 08:15:33 PM »

Whilst you might get away with turning on /off "at the wall" a few times,I would not advise this as a long term method.

This is excellent advice!

Cheers,

MC

18

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: January 23, 2014, 08:30:37 PM »

- Anyways im quite happy!

Cheers!

You should be -- really nice result!

Keep up the great work.

Cheers,

MC

19

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: January 20, 2014, 03:15:33 PM »

Interesting, I'm just starting out, so I only ask because as I was reading this thread I saw he has six cameras and wasn't getting the ears and he was getting two more cameras for the ears. As I am trying to set up a system to get an output like theres was curious how many cameras I would actually need, and what the best cameras are to use. Any help would be great

Ok, I'm not trying to be a pain, but honestly, the answer to this question is the more cameras you can have the better.  If you are scanning humans then the problem will always be depth-of-field and occlusion and the only way to currently combat those issues are with more cameras... you simply can't have too many.  So start off with a few and just keep building up your rig, little by little.

BTW - there are lots of threads on this forum with the topic of how many cameras has been discussed many, many times so you may want to search for more information.  20 - 30 cameras is a good range for heads... for bodies anything over 50 cameras generally and even better if you can double that number.  Of course, you can always shoot your subjects on a turntable, which can reduce the number of cameras needed... but then you have to deal with all the problems associated with movement... not to mention it makes it very hard if not impossible to shoot dynamic poses which sort of defeats the whole purpose of a photogrammetry based rig anyway.

Once again, my advice is to just build up your rig/equipment overtime... little by little.  Before you know it, you will have reached your goals.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

MC

20

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: January 19, 2014, 07:46:32 PM »

Any chances to improve PS and make a system with calibration panel?

Well obviously that's a question for the Agisoft developers but as with all things there are pro's and con's to both methods.  From my point of view, one of the best aspects of Agisoft is the very fact that a lengthy calibration process is NOT necessary in order to scan... this is a HUGE time saver, especially when you are working with talent on location somewhere.  Also, remember that a system where pre-calibration is required is often far less flexible... you can only work within a very specific volume/range and you are stuck with that.  Yes, it would be interesting if Agisoft also had the ability to use a specific calibration...but then again, it might be somewhat limiting in other ways.  I've used active/passive photogrammetry systems by Dimensional Imaging, 3DMD and others... in fact both INFINITE and Ten24 also have had direct experience with Dimensional Imaging... and notice that both of them are also using Agisoft, so I think that speaks pretty clearly.   I also have an active photogrammetry machine that uses pre-calibration and I prefer the no calibration needed, passive Agisoft way of working myself.  It really all depends on what you need to achieve... again, pro's and con's to everything and every system... there is no one one size fits all solution....yet.

Cheers,

MC

21

General / Re: Generating mesh stuck at 100% but overall progress bar not done..

« on: January 19, 2014, 04:45:28 PM »

I wish there was the ability to use distributed computing to build these meshes though, as I have servers sitting idle while one machine chomps away at it.

Would have to agree 100%  IMHO, this is currently the weakest point in Agisoft.

Cheers,

MC

22

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: January 19, 2014, 04:38:00 PM »

Just curious, anyone know how ShapeShot by Direct Dimensions is pulling of such great ear to ear models with 4 cameras. I had a chance to have a picture taken at the makerbot store in NY when they had it, all 4 cams take one shot and its perfect. I was shocked. I attached my ugly mug 

LOL!  For the record, Direct Dimensions isn't doing anything special whatsoever... nor is there anything special about their "system".  DD's shapeshot system is based on the system built by Dimensional Imaging http://www.di3d.com/index.php.  All DD has done is bolt a fancy cover on their system, put their logo on it and attach a flash.  The reason the DD system can do it with 4 cameras and get great results is because in reality it is actually a Dimensional Imaging system and that requires you to pre-calibrate the system before using it.  The system calibration is the crucial factor...along with the fact that the Dimensional Imaging system uses active photogrammetry rather than passive.

Cheers,

MC

23

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Camera setup for scanning hands

« on: January 14, 2014, 05:11:49 PM »

Hi, I am trying to scan a closeup of a hand.

Can anyone give me an idea of what the camera setup should be and how many images.

Thanks!

Vince

similar to this: http://www.3dscanstore.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=159

It's really no different than what you would use for scanning a head... honestly.

Cheers,

MC

24

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: January 13, 2014, 05:41:01 PM »

Awesome!

Cheers,

MC

25

General / Re: A better scan of a Car

« on: December 31, 2013, 11:46:13 PM »

Well, I've only taken a look at the images of your Jag, however, the problem is that it is a white car, no texture to speak of and pretty much a featureless surface.  That in-itself is problematic because agisoft will not be able to easily match points on such a surface.  You will need to get some sort of "texture" onto the surface of the vehicle.  You may want to consider projection of a speckle noise pattern... or perhaps getting the car good and dirty.

Kind Regards,

MC

26

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Scan Data Refinement

« on: December 24, 2013, 08:45:10 PM »

I'm also doing some hand made models.

Mr_Curious,
    I totally agree with you, but the noisy girl model is not my scan data, I fix it for my client.

-Chris

Awesome!

BTW - I totally understand, sometimes you just have to work with the data you have.  Please don't take my comments the wrong way, I think you are doing awesome work!

Greetings,

MC

27

General / Re: Agisoft with High-resolution images

« on: December 18, 2013, 06:41:45 PM »

Hi,

What is the behavior of Agisoft with images 36 MP - 40 MP and 60 MP, with an amount of not less than 2000 - 4000 - 8000 or 10000 pictures.

That should have hardware settings, looking the above parameters.

Currently I have the following configuration:

Nvidia GTX 580
Intel Core i7 950 3.07 GHz
24 GB RAM
DD 2 TB

Thank you.

Well, depending upon what settings you use for your reconstruction, it is likely that you are going to require a WHOLE LOT more memory than 24 GB.... that's for certain.

28

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Face scanner - Prototype

« on: December 11, 2013, 02:54:08 PM »

Very innovative concept - love it!

Keep up the great work.

29

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Type of pattern projection

« on: December 10, 2013, 04:47:22 PM »

Thank you a lot Mr_Curious, this lot of information is more than good enough for me to start moving things.
I?ll probably start buying two strobe light projectors and see the results. (My budget is not very high) (And im just scanning 180? of the face at the moment, not 360? head)
- What i meant with the loose of the diffuse illumination was not for the texture, but for the feature point calculation (to have some parts of the head in shadow because of the projector flash)

I?ll keep you informed.

xManuel.

Awesome!

Keep at it, experimentation is the key to success.

30

Face and Body Scanning / Re: Type of pattern projection

« on: December 10, 2013, 04:19:39 PM »

I?ll try it this week and post results
Do you think the results (Improvements in the n? of points detected) is worth the money investment ?
Do you use more than one strobe light projector for the sides of the head ? or just one ?

- I?ve been thinking on using it because some girls have a really smooth skin, this would cause problems.

Thank you!

Yes, I do think it can be helpful, especially on objects that are smooth and lack features and would otherwise fail, such as smooth skins and fabrics.

I would suggest that you try using strobes first... see what results you get as it will produce the same if not better results than the projector at a fraction of the cost.

Like I said, the only downside of the strobe is that setup is a serious pain, but if you have a studio where you can leave things set up, then once you have everything working, you can leave it be.

One tip, getting the focus just right can be made easier if you shine a bright light (such as a flashlight /torch through the camera back/slide transparency in very dark room onto your test subject.  This will make it easier for you to get the lens in focus initially..which is really the most difficult part of using a strobe based projector.

Regarding multiple projectors, I've collected many of them over the years.  The answer is yes, I generally use multiple projectors, so that at least 180 degrees can be covered at once.

If you have 4 projectors you can place them at each corner of the room and assuming that your subject is placed in the center all beams can converge for 360 degree coverage.

Regarding the washing out of your diffuse textures, the solution to this is to have your system fire twice.  What I mean by this is that you can first take a shot with the speckle pattern being projected and then a split second later, take another this time with the projection muted. The second shot will NOT have patterns projected and this can be used for your texture.  Provided that the subject doesn't move much it will work. The key to this is to have the 2nd shot fire as fast after the first as possible. To do this you will need to use some sort of flash delay control device (such as the camera axe or pocketwizard max). This can also be done with dlp projectors, but a custom shutter system will have to be constructed, either electronic or mechanical.

I hope this will give you some ideas :-)

Good luck with everything and please post your results so that others can learn from your experience.