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Photo2Topo presents AC/R
Albedo Color and Roughness
Capture is Everything
Best practices aside, what distinguishes Photo2Topo from common photogrammetry is the type of color information recorded during capture, which you can learn more about under Technical Study below. The three case studies showcase what’s possible with relighting, with empirical-based PBR materials, with an extremely mobile capture system capable of delivering spectacular virtual replicas of practically anything anywhere. Until now, this level of fidelity has only been possible in a studio. Photo2Topo revolutionizes photogrammetry by enabling this quality of capture in virtualizing large-scale environments, including places way off the beaten path where the sun don’t shine. And remember, even where the sun does shine, ambient (arbitrary) light poses a serious constraint for photography aimed at volumetric capture.
Common photogrammetry typically captures scenes with ambient lighting (as we have done in these comparisons). The limitations and challenges of common photogrammetry are well known – shadows and specular reflections are “baked” or trapped in the photography. Details remain hidden in the shadows, and color remains hidden behind specular reflections, both conditions thwarting scene reconstruction. Attempts to extract details from low-light areas result in noise in the form of ratty geometry, and in the case of highly occluded environments the capture data is mostly useless. The efforts of modelers and texture artists aimed at cleaning up common photogrammetry are time-consuming and costly.
The comparisons demonstrate a clear difference in quality between untouched common photogrammetry and CAR. Artists working with common photogrammetry seeking to simulate realistic lighting rely on experience and technique. Whereas CAR captures the actual (empirical) material properties used to relight the environment, removing the subjective element of an artist’s interpretation, while at the same time saving costly labor.
Testimonials
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