Topography into sketchup

Gaieus

Is point cloud a term generally used in Terrain modelling circles? I used to pass by this script because the term was meaningless to me and I didn't have a need for making "clouds". I had no idea what it was for. So is this a common phrase and is it often that one gets this sort of "crosses" data rather than contours to work with?

Susan, I'm not sure if it is "generally" used (don't forget that ruby scripters are also "artists" in the sense how they name their scripts Also, Didier is French... )

Anyway, this script is just great; you have a simple text file with the exact definition of the xyz coordinates (one point in one line) and cloud.rb will create a "cloud of construction/guide points". Now there is the possibility to triangulate these points and create a mesh that can be put on a separate layer.

So it basically works like "From contours" in the sandbox tool except that it does not use contour lines but surveyed points (i.e. they surveyor, who first always measures points only, will not need to turn them into contour lines).

As we have this laser survey center at the museum, it is just a snap to measure some sites (you just put the cenzer down and walk around with the stick and measure as many points as you want). The output is a text file which you just rund through Didier's script and that's it.

Howard leslie

@sorgesu said:

Is point cloud a term generally used in Terrain modelling circles? I used to pass by this script because the term was meaningless to me and I didn't have a need for making "clouds". I had no idea what it was for. So is this a common phrase and is it often that one gets this sort of "crosses" data rather than contours to work with?

Susan,
Point Clouds are usually, but not exclusively, produced with some type of Laser.
This can be mounted on a tripod / stand a bit like a surveyors theodolite or flown by an aircraft for mapping applications eg LIDAR.
...
There are many applications for Point Clouds - they are not just used for mapping / cartography / producing terrain models.
They are also used quite a lot for reverse engineering.

See this info from FARO who produce Laser Scanning Equipment:
http://www.faro.com/content.aspx?ct=ENG&content=ind
...
See also PointTools, software for looking at Point Cloud Data (Millions of Points).
Look at the examples, remember they are x,y,z points not photographs - although they quite often appear as photographs. This means you can turn the data around and view it from different angles / take measurements etc.
http://www.pointools.com/ptview_screenshots.php
...
Regards
Howard L'

Didier Bur

Hi

@unknownuser said:

Is point cloud a term generally used in Terrain modelling circles?

Not really in the topographic circles stricly speaking, but more in the computer modelling world, DEM, geometric reconstruction calculation, and laser modelling.
I've seen it sometimes in english, but I must say not so often. It is widely used in french... .
I had to write this script to import models in Sketchup modelled with a laser and use them along with Geomagic http://www.geomagic.com/fr/products/studio/, a very good STL modeler.

sorgesu

Thank you so much for all of that information guys. I knew absolutely nothing about this and it is great to be able to understand something a little outside of my usual experience. Thank you for your time and patience in explaining it to me.

Gaieus

James,

I have sent you an email, please, confirm the delivery...

Kaladar

To create topography in SU I import a contours-only file from ACAD, then use Sandbox > Create from contours to get a DTM. Then I import a second ACAD file, roads and paths only, which I then stamp onto the DTM. Is there a way to fill only the stamped areas using the paint bucket with appropriate materials, eg, asphalt paving, gravel, etc?

Thanks all.

Gaieus

Normally a stamped surface is horizontal (and a single face only) that you should be able to paint separately.
Are you sure you are not talking about the drape tool?

Mr S

Hi All,

Can I pick your brains further on this subject?
I have read as much as I can here about creating terrain in SketchUp, and I have produced very basic surfaces which have served their purpose.
But I am now being asked to do this on a much more detailed level using site survey that has been supplied.
The data seems to be supplied only in 2D with different levels indicated by different colours. For instance the "general" lay of the land is in red, whilst steep embankments are in cyan. There seem to be other levels indicated too.

Can I ask you what you make of this data?
Would you ask for this data to be supplied in some other format for use in SketchUp?
How would you approach creating this terrain?

I have downloaded the "points_cloud_triangulation.rb" and "delauney2.rb ruby scripts and worked out how this works.
Is this the best way to go?

Hope you guys can point me in the right direction.
I wanted to attach the original .dwg drawing for you to see.
But it seems you can't upload that format here.
I have attached a skp file for you to view.

Thanks.
Mr S.

Topo.skp

Alan Fraser

For anyone doing any amount of site work like this, Simu Terra is the best option. It will not only get the data into SU, but will allow you optimise and edit it in a multitude of ways. Well worth the outlay (which is peanuts anyway).
http://www.compuneering.com/simuterra.php

Gaieus

Wow, that's insane! How are you supposed to know the z-value of all those points (texts do not import afaik and I cannot even see text).

Could you ask them to provide the text file of the co-ordinates they most probably got as a raw result of the survey? That would perfectly work with Didier's script. (There are some 2600+ component instances in the file!)

Mr S

Hi,

Well, I could ask my company to purchase Simu Terra, but I have no experience of this program and would be reluctant to ask them to pay for something i don't know anything about. I'll look in to this more.

I wanted to attach the .dwg file which does have text and colours and does provide more info. When imported in to SketchUp all that info especially the text seems to be lost.
Can I upload the .dwg file where you guys can download it?

Thanks.

Mr S

Hi,

If it helps any, i have uploaded the .dwg file here:

http://www.evilshare.com/44313196-279d-102b-b213-000b6aa2a5f8

Any further ideas or info appreciated.

Thanks

Mr S

Mr S

A thought has just occured to me.

Would using 3D Studio MAX help in any way?
Some of our other offices have this and I am sure I could gain access to it.
Does 3DS MAX have more powerful tools to handle this type of thing?

I was thinking that it may be possible to:

Import the .dwg file in to MAX.
Use the tools (which ones?) within 3DS MAX to create the terrain.
Simplify the mesh.
Export back to SketchUp.

Is this worth exploring or am I clutching at straws?

Thanks

Gaieus

You can also get SketchUp to display the items coloured by layer...

The problem here is that all the mesh data is at 0 z level and I don't know how to move those points up to the appropriate height (at least other than manually).

Whoever drew the dwg file must have worked from some kind of a datanase of the points. You should get access to that database. I think Max could also only draw a flat mesh from these points.

TIG

Here's an AutoLisp tool I wrote a while ago (it's zipped as .lsp files can't be uploaded 'raw'). Obviously you'll need AutoCAD with AutoLisp enabled to Appload and then run it on the DWG file BEFORE trying to import it into SUp. Basically it takes any selected Text such as Z-heights in metres, works out what the text is in real numbers, and then moves them in their Z to suit (this version takes m heights and moves in mm, BUT it's easy adjusted to do other unit combos), it then adds a 3D-point at the Text's origin - you might need to move the 3D-points over the +markers... For more info see the first few lines of the .lsp file itself... you can open it in a plain text editor (like NotePad.exe)... That's how I wrote it !!!

text2d3d[m].zip

Gaieus

TIG, I can't believe you have a tool (weapon) for everything.
Thanks a lot for all this care!

Kaladar

@gaieus said:

Normally a stamped surface is horizontal (and a single face only) that you should be able to paint separately.
Are you sure you are not talking about the drape tool?

Gaieus

Thanks for the reply. I used both the drape and the stamp tools over many faces and the stamp seemed to work better. But supposing I do use the drape tool, is there a way to fill the different areas with textures for roads, grass, etc?

Kaladar

Gaieus

Well, make sure to smooth the surface first and apply the drape tool second. If everything works well*, the draped lines separate the surfaces and you should be able to select/paint them separately.

*sometimes the drape tool won't precisely work and you may need to find the gapes between line segments and close them manually. In these cases turn on hidden geometry to see the original TIN as well and to be able to close them correctly.

Mr S

Hi,

I decided that the best solution, suggested by Gaieus, was to go back to the Data Survey company and ask them to send me data suitable for use in a 3D package. I mentioned that I may be able to use a tool that works with a simple text file.

I downloaded and installed Cloud V6 with its example.dat file.

Below I show samples of the example.dat file and the simple text file I was supplied with.
As you can see they are similar, but Cloud V6 won't process the survey file.
Error: "Only 1 data per line"
Any ideas? Any help appreciated.

Example.dat file:

-4290.989333,29509.42004,17271.801618
-4274.989333,29511.005136,17286.136452
-4289.989333,29488.014542,17264.960225
-4289.989333,29466.389034,17268.746701
-4275.989333,29491.061477,17295.038726
-4274.989333,29469.013192,17287.431288
-4273.989333,29448.496995,17278.538275
-4241.989333,29453.771813,17323.717654
-4242.989333,29494.627943,17327.292103
-4242.989333,29473.248948,17328.260914
-4226.989333,29474.834044,17342.595748
-4209.989333,29476.41914,17356.930583
-4225.989333,29430.887233,17333.782246
-4225.989333,29454.714121,17337.286444
-4239.989333,29409.851506,17322.714357
-4240.989333,29428.782607,17317.272535
-4223.989333,29412.202646,17336.406403

Site Survey.txt file:

017,NORM
001FORMAT(3D23.17)
003,ORDR,4=1,1,2,3,
080,B000, ,5= 0.0, 0.0,100007703
0.49837422321267177D+040.49869317927816728D+040.67812740300658106D+02
0.49794159350231557D+040.49846097107062114D+040.67878910415849163D+02
0.49776537255463436D+040.49836638683515694D+040.67878910415849163D+02
0.00000000000000000D+000.00000000000000000D+000.67878910415849163D+02
080,B001, ,5= 0.0, 0.0,100007703
0.49547870430138828D+040.50609582792710808D+040.65732765063426058D+02
0.49568466124033775D+040.50566385791095627D+040.65813697637536023D+02
0.49590731422961362D+040.50519860486242706D+040.66166417278662365D+02
0.00000000000000000D+000.00000000000000000D+000.66166417278662365D+02
080,B002, ,5= 0.0, 0.0,100007703
0.49512690401388672D+040.50511415069123086D+040.65929156188998277D+02
0.49550570526746833D+040.50527709423329316D+040.65901904671221885D+02
0.49558844990824973D+040.50510189197858554D+040.65944131344513437D+02
0.49520964865466813D+040.50493894843652324D+040.65971382851789116D+02
0.49512690401388672D+040.50511415069123086D+040.65929156188998277D+02
0.00000000000000000D+000.00000000000000000D+000.65929156188998277D+02
080,B003, ,5= 0.0, 0.0,100007703
0.49547896016676204D+040.50609597659579667D+04-.99900000000000000D+03
0.49605844595099497D+040.50638011225230885D+04-.99900000000000000D+03
0.49683981386075220D+040.50676027706360901D+04-.99900000000000000D+03
0.00000000000000000D+000.00000000000000000D+00-.99900000000000000D+03

Regards
Mr S

Anssi

Mr S,

It seems to me that Didier's script expects commas as the break symbol and uses a dot as a decimal symbol. Your file has some other method of distinguishing the x, y, and z coordinates, represented, perhaps, by the characters D+0. You might try opening the survey file with Notepad, and replacing all "D+0" s with commas. Maybe all the lines that clearly don't represent 3D coordinates should be deleted too.

Just a suggestion

Anssi

Edit: now that I look at it closer, I am not so sure about how the format could be figured out... Maybe you could ask the supplier.