Advanced Data Processing /
Point Clouds
Data is everywhere, in different sizes and shapes. In this project, ^Point Clouds are visualized and processed in an interactive and immersive manner via Virtual Reality, 3D visualization and unsupervised Machine Learning
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^Point clouds are produced by 3D laser scanners using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and can be used to create CAD models, perform quality inspections, monitoring, and many other applications that involve 3D visualization and animation
The Need
To accelerate and simplify Point Clouds processing and analysis:
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Points visualization and manipulation
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Identification and manipulation of clusters and outliers
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Accurate measurement of distances and angles
The Solution
We knew from the beginning that the processing and analysis of three-dimensional data is a complex subject of ongoing research; therefore, in our approach we wanted to take advantage of the latest and greatest advances on Virtual Reality as a way to "bypass" most of the complexities of interacting with a 3D environment programmatically (via algorithms) and find ways where we can bring the innate smarts of the human brain to do some of the heavy lifting from a virtualized environment
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This is what we used:
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Point Clouds generated from handheld SLAM LiDAR 3D laser scanners provided by Caroni
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VR gear to provide the immersive and virtual experience
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3D game engine to render the virtual environment
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Classic unsupervised Machine Learning algorithms such as DBSCAN to aid with the finding of outliers - this is currently a work in progress but showing promising results
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, how about a video?
Benefits
This pilot implementation shows that Virtual Reality definitely has a key role to play in the manipulation and editing of three-dimensional objects such as Point Clouds
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Finally, as of 2022, the hardware technology is available and accessible to the masses and provides just the right level performance to be functional and applicable across different scenarios
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Our internal testing confirmed that indeed it is intuitive, easier and faster to interact with 3d structures within a 3d immersive environment
The Client
Caroni was established in 2019 with the vision of providing immediate insight from spatial data capture and the mision of preserving lives and assets whilst improving productivity through effective spatial solutions.