New PIX4Dcloud processing wizard with advanced processing pipelines and output selection.

PIX4Dcloud
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Introduction

Starting on 17-07-2024, PIX4Dcloud introduced an important change in the processing wizard.

Both the UX and the internal processing has been changed and all of the projects will use an advanced processing pipeline with the following advantages and changes.

Important: Nothing will change for API users or those creating the project in PIX4Dmapper and uploading to PIX4Dcloud for processing.

Advantages

It has some advantages with respect to the previous pipeline:

  • Better coordinate system support.
    • Vertical coordinate systems and geoids are now supported.
    • WKT2 files coming from site localization are supported. That means that a flight can be processed in a given local system defined by that WKT2 file .
  • Faster processing.
  • Better results.
    • Point cloud:
      • More points in challenging areas (low texture areas, cables…)
    • Better 3Dmesh.
      • As the point cloud is more dense in challenging areas, the 3Dmesh quality is also better
      • Better quality of the 3Dmesh visualization in the viewer: A new technique based on cesium tiles is now used to display the 3Dmesh when the projects are processed with this new processing pipeline
  • Able to process larger projects.
  • Users can select what outputs are to be generated (e.g. an ortho can be selected even if the processing to use is oblique).
  • The oblique pipeline includes a sky segmentation applied by default that avoid large sky or water areas to be used in the computation.

The outputs and their formats are the same as before and available for download for users:

  • Orthophoto and DSM in Geotiff format
  • Point Cloud in LAZ format
  • 3Dmesh in OBJ format
  • Quality Report in PDF format

Changes

  • The Quality report is different to the one generated by PIX4Dmapper and it does not contain the same exact information.

  • No compatibility with PIX4Dmapper desktop → When a project is processed from PIX4Dcloud user interface, it is not compatible with PIX4Dmapper so it cannot be opened in the desktop. The download section in PIX4Dcloud will not contain the “Export to mapper” feature.

  • Output coordinate system definition is now separated from the processing options selection.

  • Some previous templates are not existing any more:

    • Multispectral → Multispectral images are not supported in PIX4Dcloud.The recommendation is:
      • use PIX4Dfields and upload the results to PIX4Dcloud via Share to Cloud.
      • use PIX4Dmaper to create the project and upload to cloud for processing.
    • 2Dorthomosaic → It has been replaced by the Nadir template with the Flat Terrain check box enabled.
    • Building reconstruction → It has been replaced by the new oblique process.
    • Rapid templates → All processes are now using full scale, there is no rapid template available.

How it works

1.User creates a dataset from PIX4Dcloud dashboard (map, card or list):

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2.A data set name is typed in:

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3.Images to process are selected:

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4.User defines an output coordinate system (either a known one or importing a wkt1 or wkt2 file):

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5.User defines processing options and outputs:

  • Processing type
    • Nadir Flight → For aerial nadir images
      • Flat terrain → For aerial flights with flat terrain or low texture images (crop fields, graded construction sites, beaches…)
    • Oblique Flight → For projects including oblique images (it can include nadir images too)
  • Outputs to be generated (by default all are selected)

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Nothing changes with respect to the use of GCPs

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