Stitch 6.4 – Auto Scan Alignment & Initial Pano Angle

Stitch has changed and has a few new features that will hopefully save time and allow for greater control over your iGUIDE’s appearance. These changes are reflected in the toolbar (see figure 1) and are detailed below.

Figure 1. Stitch Toolbar

The rotate floor button has been removed.

To rotate all data at once:

1. Select Move/rotate scan
2. Select all of the scans you would like to rotate (or Ctrl+A).
3. Right click, hold and drag to rotate all selected scans.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Pressing F will work as a shortcut to steps 1 and 2.

Set the initial or starting angle for any panorama. This will configure the starting angle for the first pano on iGUIDE load as well as any other panorama when it’s corresponding position is clicked on the iGUIDE. The icon for this feature represents a scan centre as viewed in Stitch when fully zoomed in. The darkened segment of the circle represents the initial angle. The default angle is still the same: the centre of the first fisheye image.

To use this feature in Stitch:

1. Select a pano in Stitch by clicking on it’s folder in the project tree
2. Click on the Set initial pano button (see Figure 2).
3. Move your mouse from left to right to choose a suitable angle. The initial angle is represented by the visuals displayed within the white box.
4. Click anywhere on the preview image or the laser measurement data when you have chosen your preferred view. A blue/orange box will remain to show you what you have selected.

You can use the box as a guide or use the scan centre.

Differently from previous Stitch versions, this option will not set/change initial panorama anymore. In order to do that, right click over the desired pano folder and select Set as initial pano. An orange dot will appear over the pano folder and the initial pano angle box will turn orange.

Figure 2. Set initial pano menu location

The option to set the initial pano on exporting is still available and its behaviour didn’t change in this release. It means that it will set both the initial pano angle and the initial pano.

Align all scans interactively in the order that they were captured. Stitch will attempt to automatically align the laser measurement data for each scan to all others in the order that they were shot. Each time Stitch can’t align one scan to the previous ones, a new group is created. If a group can’t be aligned, it will be placed under the other groups when the process is finished.

Align any selected scan to all others. This will snap a single or multiple selected scans into alignment with any other scan data present on the current floor. If Stitch couldn’t match it correctly on the first attempt, using this option again will cycle through all other candidates.

Align any selected scans locally, using data that is nearby.

Rotate all scans to better align to vertical, horizontal or 45º degree axis. This is and excellent last step before submitting data to be drafted. Pressing Ctrl while using this option will square up all other floors as well, so that they match the compass rotation.

• Workflow 1 – Align all scans

Useful for a property where little to no alignment was done on site. This kind of data can be very confusing and this can help you make sense of it. Follow the steps below:

1. Click Align all scans
2. Stitch may ask “Are these scans in the correct position?” if multiple locations are detected. Choose Yes to confirm and move on the next scan. Choose No to see the next location. Choose Close to stop the process. If you choose to close, any alignment that was completed will be retained but any scans that remained unaligned will be placed without alignment of any kind.

• Workflow 2 – Align selected scans

Useful for quick placement of unaligned scans as well as sequential alignment of an entire property.

1. Drag the first scan away from all other data.
2. Select the next scan (press N).
3. Click Arrange selected scans (or press 2) to snap the scan into place
4. If a scan appear in an undesirable location click Arrange selected scans as many times as required to see alternate locations. You may need to adjust it manually if you cannot find a suitable match.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until the entire property is aligned.
6. Click Square up floor

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. If you are unhappy with the results of auto alignment you can click undo to reverse the process.
2. Automatic alignment are intended to assist you when aligning data in post processing. They are not a replacement for aligning data in the field or for properly aligning data before it is submitted for processing. The biggest advantage of aligning data in the field still remains the ability to identify any areas of the property that may have incomplete coverage. This greatly reduces the risk of missing data by giving you the chance to identify incomplete coverage and address it immediately by capturing more data. Please use auto alignment wisely.
3. Result will greatly improve if most scans are connected to each other. Connected scans are defined as scans that present overlapping laser data and this data contains at least two corners in common. Corners are required since a flat wall doesn’t provide sufficient information. From our experience, it should require for some photographers 1 or 2 extra scans per floor, usually near the doors in a hallway. Most photographers already do that so no change may be required to their workflow. Keeping doors open and immobile also helps since it increases the amount of matching data. Partial scans have less data so alignment may be more difficult. As a general rule, if auto-alignment can’t be performed in Stitch, chances are high that Drafters will also have some difficulty aligning it manually, so having the extra scan(s) is a good thing. Garages and exterior scans are special cases were it may not worth the effort of having it connected.
4. Align all scans is intended to be used in small/medium (up to 30 scans) and highly connected floors. Otherwise it can be very time consuming and possibly ineffective.