The rise of videogrammetry enables 3D modeling for everyone: making the process easier and reducing barriers to adoption.
The following is a guest post by Bobby Ouyang, CEO of SkyeBrowse. SkyeBrowse is an innovative software that allows 3D modeling by videogrammetry. DRONELIFE does not accept or offer payments for guest posts.
The concept of aerial 3D modeling has been around for centuries, dating back to Leonardo da Vinci and beyond. It was used for surveying battlefields, building cities, astronomical exploration and everything in between. Certainly the world has made huge technological advancements in drone technology, how 3D models are produced and how they can be used. So what’s the next step?
More recently, photogrammetry (a term originally coined in 1867) has been used to create 3D models through various software that processes images captured from drones. This approach was a game-changer, as it took the old practice of manual photography and automated it with the data acquisition and increasing computing power of modern times. In short, a supercomputer would process hundreds or even thousands of images and merge the available data to produce a 3D model.
While photogrammetry-based software has expanded the use of 3D modeling in many industries, it is complex and laborious, and therefore its use has been relatively limited. This 3D modeling method takes time, both for data collection and processing. Capturing hundreds of individual photos can take hours and requires extensive software training. Flight is time consuming and subject to increased risk as the drone must slow down to take hundreds or thousands of individual photos. The pilot may also need to manually make adjustments to percent overlap, sample-to-ground distance, and photo resolution. This means that if a traffic accident is captured, the scene may not be erased for hours until proper 3D modeling photos are taken. Additionally, still photographs provide limited data and must be processed one at a time. It may take days.
However, there is a new alternative. Born out of a series of research projects at Rutgers University, 3D modeling using videogrammetry has become available to everyone in the form of software that allows anyone to make 3D models using their smartphone in minutes. only.
Videogrammetry is the process of creating 3D models using videos instead of images. The advantages are numerous: for starters, videos provide much more data than photos. Video images, which are naturally shot in sequence, provide much more usable data than still photographs taken individually. From the recording point of view, the whole process is much faster because the drone flies at maximum speed to record video, saving time when capturing the scene and getting the most out of it. drone battery life.
In addition, processing the 3D model only takes a few minutes and the results actually appear more clearly than models based on photogrammetry. Video-based 3D models do not display blended edges: the blending of the edges of two objects, such as the base of a building and the ground it sits on, which is commonly seen in video-based models. photogrammetry. Thanks to the greater amount of data available in videos, this problem is easily avoided in videogrammetry.
Videogrammetry is a relatively new technology that is changing the landscape of the drone industry, just like photogrammetry did years ago. This means that evidence of a car accident can now be captured in just minutes so the scene can be erased. This means it takes less time, effort, and risk for roofing inspectors to do their job by simply flying their drone over the site, getting a pattern, and moving on. This means that a construction site can be captured in minutes without stopping any activity on the site. Reducing traffic jams, decreasing the time police officers spend collecting evidence, and increasing the productivity of business operations are just a few of the immediate benefits of videogrammetry. These low barriers to adoption will help the technology scale quickly in many other industries.
The speed, convenience and simplicity of videogrammetry also means the technology is more affordable than photogrammetry, making 3D modeling accessible to everyone. Today, anyone can create 3D models in minutes with their smartphone; it no longer requires extensive training, time or resources to process. Anyone who wants to harness the true power of 3D modeling can now do so in minutes with videogrammetry software like SkyeBrowse.
Bobby Ouyang, CEO, SkyeBrowse
Bobby is an international speaker, published author and inventor. He did software development and research on the Air Traffic Incident Management System (Air-TIMS) funded by the US Department of Transportation in 2016. This research led to the invention of autonomous drone flight from SkyeBrowse, video-based 3D modeling and fly-tap simplicity. Bobby co-authored the patent proposal for SkyeBrowse’s crash site reconstruction platform. He also trains law enforcement in various training workshops on drone piloting best practices. With his work on SkyeBrowse, Bobby introduced the simplicity of 2 clicks to create a 3D model worldwide.
Miriam McNabb is Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a marketplace for professional drone services, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. Miriam has written over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized industry figure. Miriam is a graduate of the University of Chicago and has over 20 years of high tech sales and marketing experience for new technologies.
For drone industry advice or writing, email Miriam.
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