2D images to 3D virtualized landscapes workflow

I've spent a lot of time developing a workflow that allowed me to go from 3D point cloud data to a textured 3D model to serve as a modeling basis for games, visualizations, 3D printing and maquette work (CNC machines on foam). There were always annoying issues with software crashes, manual tweaks taking lots of time, too detailed models or models that had impossible geometry for texturing. This workflow here is fully automated and allows you to define the detail you require (in the point cloud sampling step and poisson surface reconstruction). You can use any tool you like for those steps, as long as you don't rotate, scale or translate the point cloud. The end result is not perfect, because texturing is a bit off, but hopefully someone solves that at some point.

The objective here is to show that a simple aircraft can be used to map a bit of terrain and deliver a textured 3D model within 24 hours to a group of modelers for virtualization without expensive tech like laser scanners and the likes. The model gives them the general shape and form of the terrain, the size and constraints of buildings, the locations of trees and this helps to shape custom meshes into size and position.

If you keep the area more constrained like a building, you should be getting better reconstruction results. The number of photos used here was a bit sparse.

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Comments

  • excellent...

  • That is amazing. It would be awesome to import 3D terrain of your favorite high risk FPV courses into a simulator and practice.

  • Wow, that is bloody amazing! I may be very out of the loop, but this blew my mind! Thanks for posting! I would love to make a whole textured 3D representation of my town!

  • Very nice!

  • 3692873680?profile=originalI found out why the texture wasn't lining up. The point cloud data was generated in different runs with different parameters in visualsfm. I reran the whole lot and this was the result. Very well aligned texture and really pleasing result.

  • Very Goog!

  • Moderator

    Nice, thanks

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