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Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration

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 About this tutorial

About this tutorial

The Scan Registration command enables you to register overlapping scans imported
from multiple scan stations to ensure they are correctly aligned. The command supports
two major registration workflows:
 Plane-based registration - If your raw scan data was imported from a Trimble TZF
(.tzf) or Faro FLS (.fls) file that does not include scan station position data, use this
workflow to easily perform an automatic plane-based registration of the scan
stations and their associated scans to each other, typically resulting in a single scan
station group and a rigid point cloud. This is the workflow covered in this tutorial.
 Pairwise registration - This workflow is applicable if your raw scan data was
imported in a format other than Trimble TZF (.tzf) or Faro FLS (.fls), or if it includes
both unmovable scan stations (for example, scanning-capable total stations set up
on known positions) and movable scan stations (for example free-standing scanners
set up on unknown positions). It is also applicable if you do not obtain satisfactory
results from a plane-based registration. See the tutorial Processing Trimble SX10
Data for an example of this workflow.
Plan View example of overlapping scan data before registration:

Plan View example of overlapping scan data after registration:

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 2

 Step 1. Create the project

This tutorial project includes both survey and scan data that was collected at a street
intersection. The survey data was collected with a Trimble SX10 total station. The scan
data was collected at a later time with a Trimble TX8 scanner.
In this tutorial, you will perform two major steps:
1. Register the scans to each other, resulting in a single rigid point cloud.
2. Georeference the new point cloud to the control points to ensure the cloud is
correctly positioned and oriented in the real world.

Note: If you need additional help at any time you are using the software, press F1 to
display the online Help.

Step 1. Create the project

In this step, you will create a new project and import the tutorial data. The data consists
of:
 Four TZF (.tzf) files, each of which was collected with a Trimble TX8 scanner and
includes a scan station setup and scan points
 A JXL (.jxl) file that includes four control points that were measured using data
collected with a Trimble SX10 total station at the same location where the scans
were recorded.

Note: The downloaded PerformingaPlaneBasedScanRegistration folder contains this

PDF file and a Data folder from which you will import data.

1. In the Quick Access toolbar (located at the top of the TBC window), select New
Default Project.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 3

 Step 1. Create the project

You can perform the tutorial steps without saving this project file. However, if you
are interrupted while performing the tutorial, you can save it and then reopen it to
continue at a later time.
2. Open your downloaded PerformingaPlaneBasedScanRegistration folder and do the
following:
a. Open the Data folder.
b. Select the four TZF (.tzf) files and the Natural Targets.jxl file.
c. Drag and drop all of the files on the Plan View in the TBC window to import the
data into your project.
The import will take several minutes to complete.
Because the TZF files do not include position information, after import the scan
stations and their scans are all positioned at 0,0 (1 below) in the Plan View. As you
can see, the scan stations are located a great distance from their real-world location
as represented by the survey control points (2).

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 4

 Step 1. Create the project

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 5

 Step 1. Create the project

Note: Each of the imported scan stations originally included multiple scans, but the
extra scans were removed from the tutorial data set to make the tutorial
downloadable ZIP file as small as possible to ensure the fastest download time.

The imported JXL file specifies the coordinate system to be used for the project,
which you will now verify.
3. In the Quick Access toolbar, select Project Settings.
4. In the left navigation pane of the Project Settings dialog, select Coordinate System.

This is the correct coordinate system for the project, so there is no need to make
any changes.
5. Click Cancel to close the Project Settings dialog.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 6

 Step 2. Perform the scan registration

Step 2. Perform the scan registration

In this step, you will first specify which scan station will remain stationary (referred to as
the reference station) and which stations will move to align with the reference station
during the automatic registration process (referred to as moving stations). Then you will
start the automatic registration process.
1. In the TBC ribbon, select Point Clouds > Registration > Register Scans.
2. In the Register Scans pane, select the Plane-based tab.
This tab is available for use only if your scan data was imported from a Trimble TZF
(.tzf) or Faro FLS (.fls) file.
The Reference stations drop-down list includes all of the scan stations in the
project, with the first one automatically selected and displayed in the list with the
Use check box checked by default. The unselected stations are displayed in the
Moving stations list with the Register check boxes checked by default.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 7

 Step 2. Perform the scan registration

The scan from the selected scan station in the Reference stations list will not move
during the automatic registration process. Instead, scans from all of the scan
stations in the Moving stations list with a checked Register check box will move to
align with the selected reference station's scan and with each other.
Because the imported stations do not have position data, the software simply
defaults to the first station in the list as the "un-movable" reference station.
Optionally, you could select a different station to be the reference station, but there
is no need to do so for this tutorial.
Optionally, you could uncheck the Register check box for any stations in the Moving
stations list that you do not want to include in the registration process. Or, you
could click the Unlink icon to remove a station from the Reference stations list and
add it to the Moving stations list.

Note: If Yes is displayed in the Leveled field for a moving station, it indicates that
the station’s leveling status is locked and its vertical axis will not change during
registration. This may be the result of the station level status being set to Yes in the
field, a previous registration in TBC, or a change to the leveling status in the station’s
Properties pane. See the TBC Help for more information.

3. Click the Automatically Register button.

The progress of the automatic registration process is displayed in the Status bar
located at the bottom of the TBC window. The process can take several minutes to
complete.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 8

 Step 2. Perform the scan registration

When the process is complete, you are prompted to generate a registration report.
4. In the Transformation Complete message dialog, click Yes.
The Scan Refinement Report displays on a new tab in the TBC window. The report
lists each station included in the automatic plane-based registration process and the
stations to which it is linked as a result. Each station link displays the associated
error, overlap, and confidence values. (The values in your report may differ slightly
from those shown in the example below.) If successful, the station link background
color in the report is green, as shown below. Otherwise, the background color may
be orange or red, indicating lessening degrees of confidence in the results. Before
you make a final decision on the success of the registration process, you should view
the resulting point cloud as described in the next step.

In the Register Scans command pane, the selected stations in the Moving stations
list have moved to the Reference stations list. In addition, the selected reference
scan station is now a scan station group and its name in the drop-down list has been
appended with each of the added station names, separated by a semicolon:
{Selected reference station ; selected moving station 1 ; selected moving station 2 ;
selected moving station 3}. The scan station group represents a single, rigid point
cloud.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 9

 Step 2. Perform the scan registration

Note that the red Compute Project Needed icon displays in the Status bar.
5. Press F4 to re-compute the project.

Note: Unlike the Pairwise method for registering scans, the Plane-based method
does not benefit from a separate Refinement process because refinement is
included in the plane-based registration algorithm.

6. In the Quick Access toolbar, select 3D View to open the 3D View tab. Then use your
mouse and mouse wheel to navigate the 3D scene.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 10

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

The four scans are now correctly registered into a single rigid point cloud. However,
the cloud needs to be georeferenced to the survey control points to correctly
position it in the real world.

Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

In this step, you will georeference the new point cloud to three of four control points
(P1 through P3) that were measured using Trimble SX10 survey data collected at the
same street intersection at which the scans were captured. This will cause the point
cloud to move, scale, and rotate as necessary to achieve the correct position and
orientation in the real world. You will do this by mapping a corresponding scan point to
each of the three control points.
Note that one or more georeference point pairs can be selected to perform a point
cloud transformation:
 One point pair - The point cloud will be translated (moved) only.
 Two point pairs - The best transformation that keeps the Z axis unchanged will be
used.
 Three or more point pairs - The best transformation based on all point pairs will be
used. If the point cloud was leveled, the resulting transformation will be constrained
in the Z axis. (You will use this option.)
The following image, which was captured after georeferencing was completed, shows
each of the three control points (P1 through P3) to which you will georeference the
point cloud and their location around the intersection. It also shows a fourth control
point (P4), which you will not use to georeference the point cloud but will use to help
verify a successful result.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 11

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

1. In the Register Scans command pane, select the Georeferencing tab.

The new scan station group is selected in the Select drop-down list.

2. In the Point ID file, enter P1.

The following photo, which is not included in the project, shows the specific location
of control point P1.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 12

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

3. In the 3D View, zoom in on the sign shown in the photo above, which is located on
the northwest corner of the intersection. Then, click in the Scan point field and click
a scan point on the upper arrow on the sign post as shown in the photo.

The coordinate for the selected scan point is displayed in the Scan point field.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 13

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

The following photo shows the specific location of control point P2 on the street in
the southwest corner of the intersection. This is the next control point to which you
will georeference the point cloud.

4. Click in the second Point ID field and enter P2. Then click in the Scan point field and
click in the 3D View to select a scan point on the street striping on the southwest
corner of the intersection as shown here.

The following photo shows the specific location of control point P3 on the filling
station sign on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 14

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

5. Click in the third Point ID field and enter P3. Then click in the Scan point field and
click in the 3D View to select a scan point on the following sign feature, which is
located on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Although there is an additional control point that we could use for georeferencing
the point cloud, three points are adequate to compute the transformation (as
described at the beginning of this step).
6. Click the Georeference button.
7. Click the Close button to close the Register Scans pane.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 15

 Step 3. Georeference the point cloud

8. With the 3D View displayed, in the TBC ribbon select Home > View > Zoom Extents.
Then zoom in as shown here.
You can see that the control points now align with the selected scan points (even
P4, which you did not georeference) and the point cloud is now correctly
positioned.

This completes the tutorial. You can now make measurements, create deliverables, and
perform other point-cloud related tasks in the project.

Performing a Plane-Based Scan Registration 16