2023's Top Photogrammetry Solutions
A brief overview of the latest photogrammetry capabilities for companies ready for Industry 4.0 in 2023
Solutions to speed up and democratize the development of RT3D assets are starting to proliferate as real-time 3D (RT3D) production becomes the norm alongside the growth of extended reality (XR) services.
With their user-friendly tools, RT3D engines like Unity and Unreal considerably speed XR production pipelines. A vital new tool that substantially shortens production pipelines by enabling speedy digital twin creation is neural radiation field (NeRF) and photogrammetry technology.
Additional beneficial RT3D tools include cloud rendering, XR content libraries, and animations that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
What is Photogrammetry?
RT3D content creators may instantly create a digital twin of a real-world object, location, or person thanks to photogrammetry/NeRF services.
The photogrammetry asset is then imported into an RT3D engine by a developer to be used as a component for numerous applications, such as immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences, augmented reality (AR) items, and cinematic VFX sequences.
Developers can change their imported assets with NeRF-enabled pipelines by adding new textures, lighting, and 3D models, which RT3D engines can anticipate or improve with AI algorithms.
NVIDIA Instant NeRF
In April 2022, NVIDIA unveiled Quick NeRF, a program that builds digital twins of real-world objects, people, and entire landscapes using 2D photos. With its built-in AI system, Instant NeRF can also add details, lighting, and shadows.
Additionally, the platform makes use of autonomous AI neural networks to lessen visual mistakes caused by obstacles and movement. Also, by employing Instant NeRFs multi-resolution hash grid encoding, XR designers using NVIDIA GPUs can shorten production schedules.
In addition to XR design, NVIDIA claims that its NeRF solution also benefits industries including automotive, robotics, manufacturing, and architecture.
The company described how its NVIDIA DRIVE system already uses Instant NeRF data to train AI models, such as acquainting robots and self-driving automobiles with real-world situations, during the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference 2022.
New scene building features were added to NVIDIA's NeRF product in February 2023. These tools enable users to more quickly and affordably create a complete VR environment from a collection of 2D photographs.
Users can now enter a NeRF-rendered space using a VR headset, according to NVIDIA, which highlights use cases across industries.
Moreover, NVIDIA and Siemens, a top industrial and infrastructure company, teamed up to develop industrial Metaverse services in July 2022.
The collaboration with NVIDIA's Omniverse 3D design and NeRF platforms accelerates the deployment of AI-powered digital twins via Siemens' Xcelerator tool.
Siemens and NVIDIA may now use the latter's "real-time AI immersive content development capabilities" and the former's "physics-based digital models" to create an industrial Metaverse service.
Epic Games: Reality Scan
Capturing Reality, a producer of photogrammetry technologies, was acquired by Epic Games in 2021 with the intention of incorporating the company's digital twin production tools into the Unreal Engine.
The following April, Reality Scan was released as a restricted beta by Epic Games, allowing XR designers to generate digital twins from within the Unreal Engine design environment.
With the help of a sister application, users may produce high-quality digital twins utilizing their phone cameras and Unreal Engine's user-friendly NeRF software. AR visualisations and feedback are used in the Reality Scan smartphone application to minimize visual mistakes.
By providing a substantial RT3D asset collection, Quixel also assists Unreal in enhancing the productivity of XR productions. To publish, share, and market RT3D content, Reality Scan additionally makes use of Sketchfab's cloud platform.
Google: RawNeRF
As an automated photogrammetry technique that can mimic the actual illumination of a scanned object, Google originally unveiled RawNeRF in 2020.
An XR designer must take multiple photos of the asset in order to turn it into a digital twin. Following the creation of the 3D digital twin of the object from the software's combination of the 2D photos, RawNeRF applies AI algorithms to forecast the lighting of the asset.
An XR designer can also apply post-processing components to their digital twin using Google's API, such as focus, dynamic ranges, and tone mapping.
Google's 3D street view and immersive maps are powered by the RawNeRF platform and data.
Matterport
Leader in digital twins and photogrammetry, Matterport collaborates with significant partners like Meta to develop photogrammetry solutions to new use cases. The company has years of experience in the industry.
To support the use of enterprise-grade digital twins, the company delivers photogrammetry tools to manufacturing, real estate, and retail businesses.
A wide range of photogrammetry devices is also available from Matterport. The Pro3 Camera, the company's most recent product, speeds up the construction of digital twins for businesses, allowing them to digitize an office or real estate environment.
RJ Pittman, the chairman and chief executive officer of Matterport, commented on the Pro3 Camera's introduction:
"Our new Pro3 camera and cloud platform create some of the world’s most accurate, immersive and stunning digital twins. The opportunity has never been greater for companies to embrace the power of Matterport digital twins to transform their business."
Moreover, Matterport offers a smartphone app for customers of various technical skills to build a digital twin of their house or other desired location.
The Verdict, More than Design
Not just RT3D developers and designers use NeRF and photogrammetry technologies. The technology is used by many XR-ready firms to launch their digital transformation initiatives with the new industry 4.0 tool.
For instance, Optelos introduced a drone airborne inspection service in May 2022 that makes digital twins of frontline environments, including building sites, using photogrammetry technology.
With drone-based photogrammetry technologies, Sony is also enabling the industrial 4.0 landscape. With assistance from SkyFish, the multinational electronics company joined the corporate XR market by mounting Sony Alpha cameras on drones to provide high-quality autonomous data of frontline workers.
Many potential exist for XR designers and industry 4.0-ready workplaces thanks to NeRF and photogrammetry solutions. With new updates, goods, and software, the ability for both parties to utilize the technology will only grow. This is because RT3D engines are becoming more user-friendly and low-barrier.
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