This tool allows you to pre-process your 2D-3D datasets and to generate an additional (.pxi) file which contains an index to all the data together with any additional information to run in PhotoCloud.
Note that this process does not modify any of your input data, but limits to store any additional information in the index file, and possibily generating a nexus 3D model.
After having installed PhotoCloud Index generator, run it by double-clicking on the "PhotoCloudIndexGenerator" icon on your desktop. A window will open like the following:
It features a sequence of tabs:
Initially, the Data overview tab is selected and it contains an empty Scene name field and an empty table which will host image-filenames and per-image associated data.
Select "File"->"Import..." to import your dataset. Input supported formats are: "mlp" (a MeshLab project file) and "pxi" (any previously generated PhotoCloud index file). In the opening file dialog, please indicate your index file and choose Open.
Next, the Scene name tag and the Hires image and Shots columns of the overview table will be filled similarly to the next image.
Here, you can only edit the Scene name tag, entering your preferred name (the default one is automatically guessed from the 3D model filename).
The filename of the 3D model will be hosted in another field of the Data precomputation tab.
Note that if your index file contains more than one 3D model, at this stage the PhotoCloud Index Generator will ask you to choose which one to use.
Select the Data precomputation tab.
It features four separate processings the data must undergo and which can be run in parallel:
Each is accompanied with an Update button and a progress bar. When new per-image data is ready, a corresponding field is filled in the overview table (in the first tab).
Note that you can process each independently from the others, except Image ordering and clustering, which is enabled only after the Depth of each view is completed.
This is required to tell PhotoCloud which images to display in the PhotoCloud thumbnail-bar. You have two options:
If choosing the use same of hires option, fewer images would be displayed in the PhotoCloud thumbnail-bar. Thus, leaving the default option selected is generally a better choice.
Then, click once the Update button. The progress bar will indicate the processing progress.
Note that if downsampling hires, a "thumbnails" subfolder will be created inside the folder which hosts your high resolution images and it will be filled with image thumbnails.
This step computes the depth of the 3D scene as viewed from the point of view of each image. This requires a 3D model to be specified: the larger the model, the slower the processing. By default, this field is filled with the filename of the input 3D model. You can also speficy a lower resolution version of your input 3D model in the side text field.
Then, click once the Update button. The progress bar will indicate the processing progress.
In the PhotoCloud thumbnail-bar, images are arranged in sequence - from the left side of the screen to its right side - following a predetermined order. In addition, images are clustered into piles, each grouping images which are similar with respect to a specific semantic function. Ordering and clustering are computed at this stage.
You can manually set the two functions by weighting differently the various parameters:
By default, the two functions are kept equal, but you can set them independently by un-selecting the cluster with same ordering function checkbox.
When you are ready, click once the Update button. The progress bar will indicate the processing progress.
Note that you can always recompute the ordering and clustering as many times as you want, by changing the two functions and clicking again the Update button.
PhotoCloud supports standard 3D model formats (ply, obj, etc.), but can adopt the Nexus multiresolution format for both visualization efficiency and scalability. If your 3D model is not small, it is strongly suggested to compress it with Nexus.
If you choose to compress your input model, please take care of selecting the point cloud option if the model is defined as a point cloud.
Then, click once the Update button. The progress bar will indicate the processing progress. This process can take a lot of time, depending on the size of the input 3D model.
Note that you must click the Update button even if you choose to use the input 3D model.
PhotoCloud presents the dataset with a set of default options, which can be modified when generating the index file. To change them, first select the View settings tab.
In this tab, we can distinguish the following options:
By selecting the Preview check box, the 3D model is rendered from the view of the starting shot and oriented according to the specified up-direction.
Once all data has been preprocessed and you have set your preferred view settings, you are ready to generate the PhotoCloud index file. Then, select the Output index (pxi) tab.
If everything has gone right, the Generate PhotoCloud index file button is enabled.
The index file has pxi extension (which is automatically associated to the PhotoCloud application during the installation). You can change the output filename at your preference, but be careful to keep it in the same folder where your input (mlp or pxi) file resides.
By default, the index file will contain all relative paths to the images, the image thumbnails, and the 3D model. This is particularly useful if you plan to change the location of your dataset (e.g. move it on some other PC).
Finally, click on the Generate PhotoCloud index file button. When finished, a dialog window will be displayed confirming the generation.