On several occasions I found myself to be looking for a particular post in that thread, so that I could redirect people there to help answer reoccurring questions. And while I am happy to help people out and answer questions, I figured it would be more convenient and in everyone’s best interests (including mine), to create a summary of the most vital information spread across the thread.
What can be created using an AEC workflow?
There are a lot of things that can be created, but I’ve listed the most important items using the flowchart below.
Examples:
- Architectural plans
- 3D visualizations
- 3D animations
- Interactive presentations
- VR experiences
As you might have seen in the flowchart, you don’t necessarily need a Matterport scan to create any of the examples above if there are architectural plans available. I do however highly recommend scanning a property, even if plans are available, since it speeds up the overall process.
What kind of data do we have?
So what kind of data can the Matterport camera provide for us, and how we can use it?
First of all, there is the virtual tour, that Matterport is best known for. These virtual tours, have already proved to be an amazing marketing tool for the real estate market, but can also be a valuable tool in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) world. If I have it available for one of my projects, I always have it open on a separate monitor, while creating current state CAD files. It’s great to quickly navigate to a specific area to see exactly what the current state looks like on that location.
And while that’s great to have while working on a project, the pointcloud data is even more valuable for AEC projects (not to be mistaken with the OBJ file, but more on that later). So what is this pointcloud data exactly?
Basically a pointcloud file is nothing but text file with 3 or 6 columns of data and a lot of rows (or lines). The information stored within those columns and rows can be read by 3D applications to give us a visual representation of a 3D object.
But how?
Like I mentioned each line in the text file has 3 or 6 values worth of information. The first value on each line being the X location of a point in 3D space in relation to the projects origin. The second value being the Y location, and the third being the Z location. These three values give you an exact location in 3d space. 3D Applications can draw a small dot on that specific location, and by combining the millions of lines that an average pointcloud can contain, you’ll get that visual representation of a 3d object or property.
What about the last 3 values? These are RGB values, so that each individual point has color data, resulting in a colored pointcloud.
A common misconception is that these pointclouds can be edited to create designs straightaway. These files aren’t editable however. (Yes you can edit the values with a text editor, but good luck with that with millions of lines of text)
So if they aren’t editable, how is this at all useful?
These pointclouds can be used as an underlayment (image1) to create the actual needed geometry by tracing it (image 2 and 3). Doing so is a lot faster and more accurate compared to creating a CAD file based on measurements taken by hand. So no more calculating the exact angle of a wall for example, using up valuable time that can better be spend on other tasks.
Image1:
Image2:
Image3:
Image4:
In the end it comes down to this: Using a pointcloud as un underlayment allows for faster current state CAD model generation, saving both time and money. And that’s what it’s all about in the end. Clients are more than happy to pay for a scan if it means they will have to pay less for the end product.
With all that out of the way, let’s quickly go over what the Matterport OBJ file is and how it is different from the pointcloud file. While it might not be the most interesting read, I think it’s important to mention since I noticed a lot of people tend to think they are the same thing.
Unlike a pointcloud file, an OBJ file is an actual 3d mesh file. The image below helps visualize how a mesh is constructed. You’ve actually got several points in 3d space called vertices (like in a pointcloud), which can be connected using edges. By connecting 3 or more of these vertices, you’ll end up with so called faces, making up the complete 3d model (a cube in case of the example below).
So why go through the trouble of creating own 3d CAD files, while Matterport allows you to download an OBJ file?
While these available OBJ files are great for the purpose they are created for (the dollhouse view in Matterport tours), they are close to useless to do some professional 3D-modelling with. Besides having a lot of unnecessary faces on flat surfaces and being a bit messy overall.. the UV maps are close to impossible to work with. UV mapping is the 3D modeling process of projecting a 2D image to a 3D model's surface for texture mapping.
I am not trash talking about OBJ files from Matterport, but editing them is just not what they are intended for.
Screenshot of a OBJ file:
Screenshot of a custom made CAD file of the same property (prior to materializing): 
I hope this recap post helps elaborate a bit more about how I utilize the Matterport scan data, and that it answers some of the reoccurring questions that some people have asked.
With kind regards,
Danny |
Do you have any specific questions that I might be able to answer?
