Group members: Aaron Bronstone, Parker Johnson, Carl Zhang
Progress:
We have now taken, hopefully, all of the photos we need to create the 3D scan of Thorpe Pool’s interior. Since photogrammetry will work differently for an interior room versus an object, we have yet to see how the photos will work with the algorithm.
We still need to create a list of the story points we wish to display about important aspects of the team and the pool, but through taking a tour of the pool while the pictures were being taken, we were refreshed with many of the important details we hope to include.
Problems:
One problem right off the bat is that Matterport, which once had a free embedding service, is no longer free, and requires a paid subscription to maintain an embedded tour on any site. This is going to force us to use a Matterport alternative. One possibility is RealityCapture, but this needs to be further explored.
Another possible problem is that we don’t know if whatever software we use can properly create a 3D interior, since we don’t have experience with this concept yet. We also took much more photos this time around; with upwards of 300 photos, we might have to cut down on the amount of pictures we include, which could lead to a worse scan.
Additionally, we moved around quite a bit when taking the photos, and so many of the objects in the pool weren’t taken the same distance away picture to picture. However, this may not cause issues with whatever software we choose, but there is some uncertainty with regards to this.
These problems have not forced us to change our original plan, but this may have to happen if we cannot find a Matterport alternative. Once we find an alternative, we can formulate a proposed solution based on the challenges/benefits that this Matterport alternative provides.
Tools and techniques:
Currently, we are searching for alternatives to Matterport that will still give us the same virtual tour experience. One alternative we are looking into is RealityCapture, a downloadable program that could create a model, but it might not have the tour features that Matterport has.
Deliverables:
We have had some unrelated circumstances that have prevented us from sticking to our planned schedule. We now plan to have a model complete by the end of the week.
Personal messages:
Aaron: I unfortunately contracted COVID on Thursday, so my work on this project has been limited to online. Part of this work has included looking into alternatives to Matterport.
Carl: I helped out while Parker took photos for the 3D scan. We were discussing the best way to take photos in order to make a more complete model. Next week we’ll be able to work on constructing the 3D model with Matterport or some alternative to Matterport.
Parker: While we didn’t fully designate certain tasks to one another since we’ll be doing most of the work together, I helped take the photos for the 3D scan. I will also try to look into alternatives for Matterport.
9 thoughts on “Thorpe Pool 3D Tour Update”
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I am sorry to hear one of your members got covid. I am really excited to see your project which is why I have been commenting on all your posts. That is crazy you took 300 photos! This is going to turn out good. My friend named Sam is on the swim team and I am excited to show him your final product.
It’s unfortunate that Matterport is no longer free. After doing a quick search it seems that Metareal Stage may be a great alternative for your particular project. Your problem with the number of photos reminds me of when we had to digitally scan our artifacts. I could never quite tell if I was taking too many or too few photos.
I like that your group is rolling with the punches on this one—losing MatterPort to subscription is a tough hit, but it seems like you guys are keeping your head up. Of any project, I’m the most interested in the scale and ambition of this one, specifically how you’re choosing to utilize a technology that we haven’t really tested previously: I’m very excited to see where you take this!
Sorry to hear about MatterPort; it’s always tough when useful tools require payment. I never thought about having too many photos, but now that you mention it, it could be a problem. Too many could cause issues, but I think it will be ok as long as they are clear. Great job, and I can’t wait to see the final product.
I’m sorry to hear that MatterPort is no longer free but I believe you guys will figure out how to work with RealityCapture! It is impressive that you have taken 300 photos to create the model. I think your idea of creating a virtual tour experience is very cool, and I can’t wait to see how your project turns out to be.
Congrats to you guys for getting the photos done — I could see that being a time-consuming part of the project, so it’s great that you’re already done with it! I wish I could offer a good solution to the problems you outlined here, but I’m excited to see the final product!
Seeing the tool you’re relying on get taken away from under you is definitely terrible, especially after all the images you took and the work you put in. Nevertheless, I’m sure that some alternatives will be able to perform the same functionality, and if nothing else, you can always use a free trial!
This project sounds really interesting considering you’re using photogrammetry to create an internal model of a space rather than an external model of an object like we’ve practiced. It is unfortunate that you are running into so many problems that you are trouble shooting with no prior experience. I hope it turns out well, and I look forward to seeing it!
I am excited to see the final 3D Model. It’s a considerable endeavor working with such an ample space. I hope RealityCapture gets the job done and isn’t too hard to figure out. Good luck!