Processing

Once you’ve completed scanning and transfered files to your computer, you can import scanned data to Artec Studio 18 to process them. (See Importing data to Artec Studio 18)

Before you start processing your point-cloud scans, ensure that the Current scanner type is Artec Ray II.

Editor

You may want to crop your scanned data leaving out unwanted areas.

1. Launch Editor → Eraser.

2. Mark the Select through checkbox.

3. Select the regions that you intend to preserve in the output.

4. Click Inverse to invert the selection. That is the way to quickly select unnecessary data.

5. Click Erase.

Global Registration and Alignment

Scans from Artec Ray II also need to be registered using the Global registration algorithm in the Tools panel. To run the algorithm successfully, the scan needs to be captured with targets. If no spheres or checkerboard targets were present during the scan, opt for Align.

Inspecting Quality Of Targets Clouds Registration

To increase the accuracy of scanning with targets and give users more control and flexibility, an ability to manually inspect the quality of target cloud’s registration is implemented in Artec Studio.

During scanning, each reference target is captured in a number of frames. The result of target capturing in a particular frame is called an instance. All instances representing the same target are grouped into a cluster. During global registration, Artec Studio calculates the deviations of each captured instance and cluster from the corresponding targets of the reference target cloud.

The deviation values are listed in the Features Panel. They are also shown in the 3D View window. For every instance, its position, its center and deviation can be viewed. The size and the color of the target represents how much it deviates from the reference position.

You can evaluate the deviation of each instance or cluster and exclude badly registered targets from the consideration of the global registration algorithm.

Features Panel

By default, the Features panel is available above the Properties panel at the bottom of the Workspace panel. It contains the list of clusters and instances of all targets captured during scanning, including deviations from their reference positions.

For the Features panel to display the list of captured targets, you need to select proper objects in the Workspace panel. These can be one or more scans with the global registration applied and/or the reference target cloud.

Tip

To work easier with the Features panel, drag it to the area of the 3D View window.

Evaluating Deviations

For each cluster and each instance inside the cluster, Artec Studio calculates its deviation. The value of the deviation depends on the type of objects selected in the Workspace panel:

• With one or more scans and the reference targets cloud selected, the deviation is calculated against the position of the corresponding reference target.

• With only scans selected, the deviation is calculated against the average position of the captured instances of the reference target.

• With only the reference targets cloud selected, no deviation is provided.

Figure 28 The list of instances belonging to a cluster and their deviations are displayed in the Features panel and in the 3D View window.

You can inspect the deviation of the entire cluster or analyze any of its instances separately. To view the list of instances inside a cluster, click the Next icon to the right of the number of instances. To return to the list of clusters, click All clusters.

Figure 29 The list of clusters and their deviation displayed in the Features panel and in the 3D View window.

Removing Badly Registered Instances/Clusters

To remove a badly registered target instances or clusters from further registration process, follow these steps:

1. In the Features panel, select one or more instances or clusters of the desired scans.

2. Open the context menu by clicking RMB on the selected object(s) and click Delete. You can also press Delete on the keyboard.

3. After you have excluded the selected targets, re-run the Global registration algorithm.

Note

You can also measure distances between individual instances in the targets cloud using the Measurement tool.

Obtain Model

To obtain a model, use either Sharp fusion or Smooth fusion. However, the fastest way to obtain a simplified polygonal mesh is through using Ray scan triangulation.

Table 3 Comparison between Fusion and Ray scan triangulation.

	Fusion	Triangulation
Number of scan to process	Any	1
Speed	Slow	Fast
Memory consumption	High	Moderate
Hole filling	Possible	Impossible
Accuracy control	Through resolution	Through the set of parameters, chiefly decimationStep

Export Data

Point Cloud

To export a point cloud as it is, mark a point-cloud scan in Workspace, select File → Export → Point clouds and then choose the required format. Universal formats are PTX and XYZ.

Mesh

To export 3D-data as a polygonal model, first mark the output of the Fusion algorithm, then select File → Export → Meshes.