Use Case

Underwater Wreck Scans

Gaudi said that "there are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature", and that's especially true for anything found underwater. The challenge of representing extremely bumpy and barnacle-encrusted objects in a computer highlights the shortcomings of triangle-based 3D approaches. Technical scuba diving means going beyond the recreational 40 meters in depth, and that's where Brett Eldridge finds most of the wrecks that he scans with photogrammetry. We are proud to show how not one, but multiple of his hugely detailed scans can now be viewed in a browser, on a phone, or in mobile XR headsets - without compromising on size or detail!

Problem

Photogrammetry output can't be shared without discarding data

Undecimated photogrammetry data is hugely detailed and heavy, which runs up against hard limits imposed by conventional 3D technologies: they typically can't handle more than tens of millions of triangles - while Brett's raw underwater scan output often contains a hundred times as much geometry! The necessary reduction in size and detail to even view the results defeats much of the hard work and purpose of capturing these sites.

Solution

Multiple sites can now be easily conveyed without compromise

With the Atomontage platform's breakthrough approach to progressive streaming and efficient client-side rendering on common/mobile devices, hard limits are no longer imposed on the geometric size and detail of these incredibly enthralling reality captures. Entire wrecks along with every scanned detail can be preserved and easily shared through a URL, without losing any of the sub-millimeter geometry or color accuracy of the data.

How it works

From capture to living World

Step 1 - Capture

Underwater photogrammetry capture

Brett's photogrammetry is a painstaking process of taking thousands of overlapping photos at technical diving depths. (Photo © Drew Wilson)

Step 2 - Photogrammetry

The photogrammetry software processing

Using existing software solutions, the many photos are then turned into a 3D reconstruction of the scene or object.

Step 3 - Uploading

Uploading ALL the data to Atomontage

The undecimated output exported from photogrammetry workflows is uploaded to our backend, and processed.

Step 4 - World making

Assemble many datasets into a single World; edit them with intuitive tools

Heavy scans can be interactively arranged and improved with intuitive tools to remove artefacts - all in a browser.

Step 5 - Sharing

Sharing the finished World with a URL; sending viewers to a specific vantage point

The whole World can easily be shared with anyone else in the world, sending them to a chosen place inside to meet.

Step 6 - Viewing

Recipients of the World URL can view ALL captured details on almost any device

Seconds after clicking the link, viewers can interactively experience it all - in their browser, phone, or mobile XR.

"It is very cool to have several of my airplane wreck scans in one space - at a level of detail that I previously couldn't share in even a single model! I have been working on high resolution underwater photogrammetry for a while, but lacked the ability to easily show my output to other people with the proper level of detail. For any professional (archaeologists, doctors, etc.) who is looking to put 3D data online for others to view, I think Atomontage is a great solution."