iSTAR & Agisoft PhotoScan

[Application note – Queensferry Road, Edinburgh]

Date: 12 November 2015
Author: Araceli Perez Ramos, Application Assistant
Organisations involved: NCTech, Agisoft PhotoScan
Products used: NCTech Immersive Studio, iSTAR and Agisoft PhotoScan

Point clouds using NCTech iSTAR 360 HDR images

The iSTAR 360° degree camera provides rapid, automatic HDR (High Dynamic Range) 360 ° imaging and can
be used as a standalone device to create point clouds, especially indoors or in challenging lighting conditions.
iSTAR can be used to provide HDR imagery rapidly with up to nine exposures and a total EV range of 27 f-stops.
The aim of this report is to test the Agisoft PhotoScan software, using iSTAR images to create 3D point clouds
and/or a digital surface model (DSM). The results of the project showed that iSTAR provides the ability to
efficiently capture HDR colour images for point cloud creation, even in low light conditions.

NCTech Ltd. 20-22 Braid Road, Edinburgh EH10 6AD UK

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00.Content.
The aim if this report is to show the required workflow to achieve a high
quality coloured point cloud using NCTech iSTAR imaging and Agisoft
PhotoScan.

01. Software installation.

02. Photo Capture.
03. General Workflow.
04. Results.
05. Conclusion
06. Acknowledgements.

01. Software installation.

Installing NCTech Immersive Studio:
https://www.nctechimaging.com/immersive-studio/
Installing Agisoft PhotoScan: Img. 02.01. Low light condition in which iSTAR can provide high
http://www.agisoft.com/downloads/installer/ quality results working with HDR ON values.

02. Photo Capture. “Capture with current analysis” iSTAR mode: This is a default iSTAR
setting which activates automatically after taking the first photo. When
Before loading photos in PhotoScan it is required to select those most the iSTAR camera takes an image, it first analyses the whole scene to
establish the appropriate exposure value averaged across the 360° degree
suitable for model reconstruction. Considering general environmental
view. These settings are then saved by default, meaning analysis time can
requirements for Agisoft PhotoScan performance: be saved between multiple captures within similar conditions. However,
for scenes with very changeable light conditions between shots the
 Avoid un-textured, shiny, mirror or transparent objects. function should be cancelled by pressing the green arrow on the top left
 Avoid unwanted foregrounds. corner, the new scene is then analysed during the next capture.
 Avoid moving objects within the scene to be reconstructed

02.01. PLANNING STATIONS. Planning capture strategy in

advanced is critical. You should consider the following
recommendations:

 Ensure the number of photos gives enough coverage to

avoid blind zones. To reconstruct an area, it is necessary for
it to be visible in at least two images.
 Image overlapping should be 60% or more.
 The object to be reconstructed should take up the maximum
area in the photo.

02.02. CAMERA SETTINGS.

ISO value: in general, the ISO level should be set to the lowest value.
The lower the ISO value, the lower the noise. Nevertheless, depending Img. 02.02. “Capture with current analysis “mode activated.
on the light conditions, a lower ISO value may increase the exposure
time greater than desired, in which case a higher ISO value can be
used.
03. General workflow.
HDR value: iSTAR can be set as “Single exposure”, “HDR ON” (5
exposure levels), or “HDR PRO” (9 exposure levels). In general, General iSTAR workflow within Agisoft PhotoScan differs slightly from
“HDR ON” gives excellent results for indoor capture. However, standard, which commonly uses frame images instead of panoramas but
it is nevertheless still user-friendly. The aim of this section is to explain
where the lighting conditions are very extreme with very high levels
the general workflow using iSTAR data within Agisoft PhotoScan
of light and dark shadows to be captured in the same scene, HDR PRO workflow.
will provide better results for building point clouds.

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03. 01. PROCESSING PANORAMAS INTO NCTECH 03. 02. LOADING PHOTOS, SENSOR TYPE AND
IMMERSIVE STUDIO. CALIBRATION.

Firstly, it is necessary to process iSTAR raw data using NCTech After processing iSTAR raw data, *jpg panoramas must be imported
Immersive Studio in order to produce stitched equirectangular images. into Agisoft PhotoScan (1. Add Chunk 2. Workflow>Add Photos or
The Immersive Studio stitching process uses the specific iSTAR corresponding icon) then select the appropriate sensor type for
calibration file which is created in controlled conditions during iSTAR. (Tools> Camera Calibration, Camera types: Spherical).
NCTech the factory calibration process for each camera. Processing
images in NCTech Immersive Studio therefore means the user
benefits from this precision calibration with reduced stitching error.
AutoPano Giga 4.2 produced by Kolor, can also be used for stitching
of iSTAR images as it works with iSTAR raw data.

NCTech Immersive Studio automatically sets the output image

resolution to maximum (10K), or alternatively resolution can be
selected from several other pre-set options (2K, 4K or 16 Mpixel).
Resulting point cloud resolution and therefore accuracy, relates
directly to the input image resolution, therefore maximum resolution
is recommended.

NCTech Immersive Studio has a simple and user-friendly interface. Img. 03.03. Camera Calibration window in Agisoft PhotoScan.
To process iSTAR raw data in Immersive Studio just drag and drop
the corresponding image folders on to the Immersive Studio window, Note that calibration parameters are disabled. Because calibration
or select the corresponding directory. Both options lead to the same parameter characteristics for each iSTAR camera have already been
result. By default, the output directory is set the same as the input applied during the Immersive Studio stitching process (See 03.01.
directory, but can be changed easily by clicking on the dotted button. Processing panoramas into NCTech Immersive Studio) no further
For further information about how to use Immersive Studio visit calibration data needs to be applied in the Agisoft PhotoScan
https://www.nctechimaging.com/immersive-studio/ workflow.

03.02. CAMERA ALIGNMENT.

Agisoft PhotoScan searches for common points on input photos and

automatically matches them. At this stage PhotoScan calculates the
positions of each photo station/placement and its external orientation
(Workflow>Align Photos) from which a sparse point cloud and
camera positions are obtained.

Img. 03.01. NCTech Immersive Studio interface.

After processing iSTAR raw data in NCTech Immersive Studio,

panoramas will appear into an “Output folder” in *.jpg format.

Img. 03.04. Camera Alignment in Agisoft PhotoScan.

03.03. BUILDING DENSE POINT CLOUD, MESH AND

TEXTURING
Building the dense point cloud, mesh and texture doesn’t require any
change from standard workflow using frame images instead of iSTAR
spherical images, so a detailed explanation of these functions are not
Img. 03.02. Panorama in *.jpg format, after processing in Immersive included in this Application Note. The General workflow
Studio. corresponding to the specifically required process is however
considered to show that it does not change from the frame images
common workflow.

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T: +44 131 202 6258 E: enquiries@nctechimaging.com www.nctechimaging.com
Based on estimated camera positions and pictures, a dense point cloud 04. Results.
is obtained after camera alignment stage (Workflow>Build Dense
Point Cloud).
Coloured point clouds, meshes or intermediate outputs of the process can
be obtained using the described workflow in Agisoft PhotoScan. The aim
of this section is to show the results that can be achieved using the
NCTech iSTAR camera within Agisoft PhotoScan.

The project selected for the purpose of this standard workflow

explanation required 11 panoramas, 5 of them under the archway and 6
external to it.

Img. 03.05. Dense point cloud in Agisoft PhotoScan.

PhotoScan reconstructs the 3D polygonal mesh based on the dense

point cloud (Workflow>Build Mesh).

Img. 03.09. Camera positions used in the current project in Agisoft

PhotoScan

Img. 03.06. Mesh in Agisoft PhotoScan.

After geometry is reconstructed, the model can be textured

(Workflow> Build Texture).

Img. 03.10. Coloured point cloud. 496.728 points.

From these 11 panoramas a point cloud of 5,496,728 points and a

mesh of 702,577 faces was obtained, following the general Agisoft
PhotoScan workflow as described above.

Img. 03.07. Textured Mesh in Agisoft PhotoScan.

Img. 03.08. Textured mesh. 702,577 faces.

NCTech Ltd. 20-22 Braid Road, Edinburgh EH10 6AD UK

T: +44 131 202 6258 E: enquiries@nctechimaging.com www.nctechimaging.com
 06. Acknowledgements.
NCTech greatly thanks the Agisoft PhotoScan Team
http://www.agisoft.com/ , specially Alexey Pasumansky for their
collaboration and technical support in this Application Note.

Img. 03.07. Textured Mesh (detail). Notice the quality of texture

provided by NCTech iSTAR within Agisoft PhotoScan.

05. Conclusion.
High quality coloured point clouds can be obtained from using iSTAR
within Agisoft PhotoScan, following the general workflow as
described here. The benefits of working with NCTech solutions
combined with the Agisoft PhotoScan for high quality coloured point
clouds and meshes are:

Only one iSTAR shot is needed to cover a 360 environment surface,

which means saving time against taking a larger amount of images to
cover the same area with a non 360 camera.

Larger surface covered per lens. The iSTAR fisheye lens not only
covers a 360 view, but also a larger area per lens.

A knowledge of photography techniques is not needed since

iSTAR analyses the whole scene and automatically calculates the
most suitable camera settings for the full 360 view.

Simple to use, minimal training needed. iSTAR and NCTech

software are designed to be highly automated and user friendly,
minimal training is required.

High performance output in difficult lighting conditions. iSTAR

can provide high visual quality images in a wide range of lightning
environments thanks to automatic HDR settings and EV range of 27
f-stops.

Texture Quality. iSTAR’s whole scene analysis in combination with its

HDR imaging enables the creation of high resolution models with high
quality surface textures.

To conclude, iSTAR provides imaging which is highly suitable for

photogrammetry purposes within Agisoft PhotoScan. It provides For further information about iSTAR or NCTech software visit NCTech
particularly strong benefits in low light or high contrast environments, website https://www.nctechimaging.com or contact us
indoors and where there are complex architectures.
enquiries@nctechimaging.com

NCTech Ltd. 20-22 Braid Road, Edinburgh EH10 6AD UK

T: +44 131 202 6258 E: enquiries@nctechimaging.com www.nctechimaging.com