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I just downloaded this last weekend! I’m trying to find a good simulator where I can import models generated with photogrammetry. I’ve been using a cell phone c

I just downloaded this last weekend! I’m trying to find a good simulator where I can import models generated with photogrammetry. I’ve been using a cell phone camera and OpenSfM + OpenMVS to make 3D models of real world environments, and I want to be able to run them in sim. I see this is built on Unity. In the past I tried UnrealEngine but it was such a big mess of software for simple RL tasks. I’ll have to see if Unity is cleaner. I’m building a mostly 3D printed four wheel drive Rover vehicle I designed, and I’m using an Nvidia Jetson Xavier to try to make it autonomous using only cameras for sensors. Currently I’ve got some stereo cameras but I’m considering a synchronized 4 X 4K camera rig. Hopefully I can release some scans once I get something good. The rover is public domain open source so please check it out if you’re curious! It can support a 10-20lb payload with the right springs: https://youtu.be/ToGT3KokPZA https://youtu.be/ToGT3KokPZA

heyitsguay 7y ago
This sounds super cool! Can you say a bit more about your OpenSfM + OpenMVS stack? I've been idly interested in building 3d models from cell phone video for a while.
- TaylorAlexander 7y ago
  Thanks! Yeah I’m essentially running OpenSfM exactly as described in their documentation usage example. Then on that page they also show how to export to OpenMVS, and from there I follow similar example usage documentation from OpenMVS. OpenSfM has a config file and the defaults are fine, but I’d recommend reading the description for each possible parameter so you know what to tweak if you don’t like the default results. Oh and OpenMVS uses a lot of memory if you use lots of photos, but remember you can use swap. At first I used GCE instances with huge amounts of physical ram and that was a silly waste of money in hindsight. I simply didn’t think of using swap at first.
ClumsyPilot 7y ago
This is quite cool, why cameras only though? Intel realsense, ultrasound? Are you avoiding them due to cost?
- TaylorAlexander 7y ago
  Hello and thanks! No I am not avoiding either of those due to cost. I’ve worked with ultrasonics on a robot before and I found them pretty unimpressive. I have seen a demo of some advanced ultrasonics but the guy also told me he patented the technology. Normal ping pong ultrasonics return such ambiguous information they aren’t very useful. Regarding intel realsense, they have two different technologies. Some realsense devices are stereo cameras, so they are “just cameras” in the sense of this discussion. But I’d rather run the algorithms myself and build a complete perception system than use the built in computation of for example the realsense tracking camera. The other technology they use is structured light, and such technology doesn’t work well or at all in sunny environments. I want to build a complete perception and navigation stack for outdoor robots, and aside from some sensors inside the robot, cameras are the technology I’m most interested in learning how to use. I just think cameras are the future. Passive vision is how most every living thing on earth perceives the world.

heyitsguay 7y ago

This sounds super cool! Can you say a bit more about your OpenSfM + OpenMVS stack? I've been idly interested in building 3d models from cell phone video for a while.

TaylorAlexander 7y ago
Thanks! Yeah I’m essentially running OpenSfM exactly as described in their documentation usage example. Then on that page they also show how to export to OpenMVS, and from there I follow similar example usage documentation from OpenMVS. OpenSfM has a config file and the defaults are fine, but I’d recommend reading the description for each possible parameter so you know what to tweak if you don’t like the default results. Oh and OpenMVS uses a lot of memory if you use lots of photos, but remember you can use swap. At first I used GCE instances with huge amounts of physical ram and that was a silly waste of money in hindsight. I simply didn’t think of using swap at first.

ClumsyPilot 7y ago

This is quite cool, why cameras only though? Intel realsense, ultrasound? Are you avoiding them due to cost?

TaylorAlexander 7y ago
Hello and thanks! No I am not avoiding either of those due to cost. I’ve worked with ultrasonics on a robot before and I found them pretty unimpressive. I have seen a demo of some advanced ultrasonics but the guy also told me he patented the technology. Normal ping pong ultrasonics return such ambiguous information they aren’t very useful. Regarding intel realsense, they have two different technologies. Some realsense devices are stereo cameras, so they are “just cameras” in the sense of this discussion. But I’d rather run the algorithms myself and build a complete perception system than use the built in computation of for example the realsense tracking camera. The other technology they use is structured light, and such technology doesn’t work well or at all in sunny environments. I want to build a complete perception and navigation stack for outdoor robots, and aside from some sensors inside the robot, cameras are the technology I’m most interested in learning how to use. I just think cameras are the future. Passive vision is how most every living thing on earth perceives the world.