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Structure From Motion

Structure from motion (SfM) is a technique to generate 3D models from 2D images by estimating camera positions and 3D structure. SfM works by identifying common points across multiple images and using triangulation to determine the 3D position. It can produce detailed 3D point clouds and models without specialized equipment by leveraging advances in computing and digital cameras. SfM is commonly used for applications like mapping, modeling environments, and robotics.

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Ayesha Hussain
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110 views11 pages

Structure From Motion

Structure from motion (SfM) is a technique to generate 3D models from 2D images by estimating camera positions and 3D structure. SfM works by identifying common points across multiple images and using triangulation to determine the 3D position. It can produce detailed 3D point clouds and models without specialized equipment by leveraging advances in computing and digital cameras. SfM is commonly used for applications like mapping, modeling environments, and robotics.

Uploaded by

Ayesha Hussain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Structure from motion

Structure from motion


• Structure from motion (SfM) is the process of
estimating the 3-D structure of a scene from a
set of 2-D images. SfM is used in many
applications such as 3-D scanning.
• SfM can be computed in many different ways.
The way in which you approach the problem
depends on different factors, such as the
number and type of cameras used, and
whether the images are ordered.
Structure from motion
• SfM can produce point cloud based 3-D models similar
to LiDAR. This technique can be used to create high
resolution digital surface models.
• The relatively new technique has been made possible
by advances in computers, digital cameras and aerial
systems (UAS).
• Together, these advances have now made it feasible for
a wide range of users to be able to generate 3-D models
without extensive expertise or expensive equipment.
Structure from motion
• If the images are taken with a single calibrated
camera, then the 3-D structure and camera
motion can only be recovered up to scale.
• up to scale means that you can rescale the
structure and the magnitude of the camera
motion and still maintain observations. 
Structure from motion
• For example, if you put a camera close to an
object, you can see the same image as when you
enlarge the object and move the camera far
away. If you want to compute the actual scale of
the structure and motion in world units, you
need additional information, such as:
• The size of an object in the scene
• Information from another sensor, for example,
an odometer.
Structure from motion
• SfM is based on the same principles as
stereoscopic photogrammetry.  In
stereophogrammetry, triangulation is used to
calculate the relative 3-D positions (x,y,z,) of
objects from stereo pairs.  Traditionally these
techniques require expensive specialized
equipment and software.
stereo
• Common points (P and Q) are identified in
each image. A line of sight or ray can be
constructed from the camera location to the
point on the object. It is the intersection of
these rays (triangulation) that determines the
three-dimensional location of the point.
Structure from motion
• To create a 3-d reconstruction one simply needs
many images of an area or an object with a high
degree overlap, taken from different angles.
The camera doesn’t need to be specialized,
standard consumer-grade cameras work well
for SfM methods. The images are often be
taken from a moving sensor (UAVs for example),
but can also be taken by a person or multiple
people are different locations and angles.
Structure from motion
• Specialized software packages can
automatically identify matching features in
multiple images. These distinctive features are
often corners or line segments. These features
are tracked from image to image and are used
to produce estimates of the camera positions
and orientations and the coordinates of the
features. This produces a point cloud of  x,y,z,
coordinates for features.
Structure from motion

• While the minimum requirement is generally for features


to be visible in a minimum of three images, obtaining as
many images for SfM input as possible (within in reason
and feasibility) is recommended.
• For the fastest processing and model quality, all of the
images should be taken at the same time with the same
camera, but this is not a requirement.
• SfM methods have been employed using crowd-sourced
images to create 3-Dd models of historical building and
other monuments.
Applications
• There are many applications for SfM methods.
• SfM to can be used to create orthophotograph,3-D point clouds,
and digital elevation models.
• Orthophoto have many applications in mapping and
photogrammetry.
• 3-D point clouds have been used to determine tree biomass,
analyze geology.
• Digital elevation models created from  SfM processing are
generally high resolution and can be used to detect topographic
changes to monitor hillslope environments. In addition to natural
resource and geospatial applications, SfM is also used extensively
in robotics and self-driving vehicles.

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