Exporting 3D models from Reality Scan

Tutorial by D. Ronchi (CNR ISPC)

Reality Scan is a free tool from Epic to create detailed 3D models (digital replicas) from images and laser scans with ease. Exporting multi-resolution 3D models for ATON using the Cesium 3D Tiles standard is quite easy.

In your Reality Scan project, go to SCENE 3DTOOLS Export and Click Level of Detail

Select Cesium 3D Tiles

You are using an experimental feature: ignore and click ok

Model is not geo-referenced: if not geo-referenced ignore and click ok

This dialog below is shown when the Cesium 3D Tiles format is selected. Hierarchical level of detail splits the model into a hierarchy of so-called nodes of varying quality. When displaying the model in a compatible viewer (like all ATON-based Web3D applications), only some of the nodes are requested and displayed to sustain rendering performance, while showing detailed geometry and textures. Provided that the model being exported is geo-referenced, the geospatial location of the model is preserved.

  • Initial simplification: This lets you simplify the model before exporting. This directly controls the maximum detail that can be found in the exported model.
    • Set Type to None to omit initial simplification
    • Set Type to Relative in order to reduce the triangle count with respect to the original model
    • Set Type to Absolute to specify a custom triangle count
  • Iterative simplification: This specifies the simplification step used to generate the next level of detail. Currently the only allowed setting for Type is Relative.
  • Export textures: This controls whether textures are exported. Please note that the exported model must have a texture in order to be able to export.
  • Source Layer This selects which texture layer will be used for texturing.
  • Texel size Specifies the best texture quality that can be found in the exported model. A lower texel size corresponds to increased quality.
  • Texture Format Chooses the format for the texture, the options are .webp, .jpg or .png. (.png.or jpg for better compatibility)
  • Maximum node triangle count: This determines the granularity of decomposition of the model into nodes. Decreasing this value results in a finerhierarchy of nodes.
  • Bandwidth Scale: This will give a faster streaming, lower quality model on settings below 1, and a slower streaming higher quality model on Settings above 1.
  • Altitude:This is used to tweak the height of the model above the terrain.
  • Compression set to NO

The resulting folder with all the tiles can be now uploaded into your ATON collection and used in a 3D scene!