Hi everybody,
I wanted to know if it is possible and how to use the Leica BLK360 scanner in Pix4D. The scanner gives a very accurate point cloud, but it doesn’t give a texture. The procedure followed in other software is to take a 360 image from the same point that the scanner is placed, but I don’t know if Pix4D accepts this type of images. I also don’t know how to place this images in the exact position of the scanner.
If someone had already used it, it would be great, but I think that knowing how to import and place such images would be enough.
Thank you all!
Buenas a todos,
Quería saber si es posible y como utilizar el escaner Leica BLK360 en Pix4D. El escaner da una nube de puntos muy certera, pero no da imagen. El procedimiento que siguen en otros softwares es tomar una foto 360 desde el mismo punto que colocan el escaner, pero no se si Pix4D acepta este tipo de imagenes. Tampoco se como se podría colocar la imagen en la posición exacta del escaner.
Si alguien lo hubiese usado ya sería genial, pero creo que con saber como importar y colocar ese tipo de imagenes sería suficiente.
Muchas gracias a todos!!
Dear Ismael,
As mentioned in the private message, Pix4Dmapper can process spherical cameras such as Leica BLK360. To achieve the necessary steps, please read the article How to process images of a spherical camera.
The Leica BLK360 is an imaging laser scanner that captures full-colour panoramic images overlaid on a point cloud. From my understanding, scanner should be a synonym to camera. Regarding this statement " scanner gives a very accurate point cloud, but it doesn’t give a texture", could you please elaborate on this?
What are the final results you would like to obtain?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Teodora
Dear Teodora,
First of all, thank you por your quick response.
After talking to the Leica team I understood that the BLK 360 does not have a camera. It is necessary to place a camera on the same tripod with the same position, next to a rotating head. This allows us to have HD images that the software can then join to the point cloud and from this to get the 3d mesh with the best possible resolution.
I want it to do a good photogrammetry focused to VR. Outdoor this is so difficult and slowly if the point cloud is not accurate.
sincerely,
Ismael
Dear Ismael,
Pix4Dmapper is mostly used for 3D reconstruction based on images, while the point cloud itself is also derived from the images captured. If you wish to combine an external point cloud with images, I recommend using a 3rd party software such as CloudCompare. We are constantly working on adding new functionalities that improve the analysis of 3D data and we recommend checking out our most recent updates.
Cheers,
Teodora
Sorry Teodora,
I spoke to the Leica team again and they confirmed what you were saying, the BLK 360 has a good quality camera. I misunderstood them the first time. In this case it is possible to use Pix4D to process the point cloud.
Thank you very much.
Ismael.
Dear Ismael,
Sounds good! Thanks for letting me know and I am happy to see that things got clarified 
Enjoy using Pix4D and feel free to write anytime!
Sincerely,
Teodora
Teodora,
I wanted write the last one as a question, but i don’t do it…sorry
In this case, is it possible to use Pix4D to process the point cloud?? and then how do I have to proceed to import BLK360 datas?
Thank you,
Ismael.
Dear Ismael,
To me, it sounds like this point cloud is external, i.e. provided by Leica BLK360. External point clouds can only be imported in Pix4Dmapper to create outputs such as the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Orthomosaic that are created in step 3. DSM, Orthomosaic and Index. Here is the article that summarizes this topic : https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202560049
If the point cloud was derived from the images, then Pix4Dmapper is able to process it. Otherwise, I recommend using CloudCompare or something similar. We are constantly improving our functionalities, so stay tuned for news and latest updates on our blog: https://www.pix4d.com/blog
Best,
Teo
Thank you so much, Teo,
You’ve been very helpful to me.
Best,
Ismael
Dear Ismael,
I wish I could help more…Good luck with the project! As I said, Pix4D is constantly improving its tools and functions, because we always have an open ear for our users
All the best,
Teodora