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Dome LP File and LP file Operation Sequence?


leszekp

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How do you use the Dome LP File and LP file Operation Sequences in RTIbuilder? I assume that they're to allow you the option to load in images for which you already have an LP file, and don't need to use the highlight detection features. But there's nothing in the manual about them, and I've been unable to figure out through experimentation how to get them to work.

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First, I'll point out that if you shot a highlight capture sequence and processed it, and then want to reprocess it, for example to use the hshfitter after having created a ptm, then you should follow the instructions for "reprocessing an image set on page 23 (the last page) of the User Guide.  If you follow these steps you won't have to go through the highlight detection steps again, you will just load your image set and go to the last page where you can create a new rti.

 

Another note about this:  the User guide is actually the "Guide to Highlight Image Processing" and it covers how to prepare your images for use in RTIBullder as well as the way to process image sets captured using the highlight method.  We made a decision not to call it the RTIBuilder user guide, because we really have different kinds of users, and the most common case is for folks using the highlight method. We didn't want to confuse those users with information about dome processing, which can vary  depending on what dome and dome software you are using, among other factors.

 

The 2 "LP file" paths are really there for backward compatibility.  They were available in older versions of RTIBuilder before we added the ability to reprocess an existing project, which is a much better method, with better record keeping, etc.  We don't really use those or recommend them.  We are considering removing them, since reprocessing using the project log file was intended to replace them.

 

As for the dome path(s), when you have dome data you have an already calculated light position (or LP) file for your device.  There are no spheres and no need to calculate light positions.  However, there is some pattern matching that has to occur for the lp file to be applied to the set of files you have collected.  For example, a dome lp file might just have a simple numbering scheme and then the normalized x,y, and z coordinates of the light positions.  However, the images you capture using a dome likely have more meaningful filenames for your specific object.  Those have to be mapped to the light positions for your dome.  Also, the lp file uses absolute (or full) pathnames for the files, so the must be added for the current set of images you wish to process.  If you really have dome data or data from a calculated template, it should work with RTiBuilder as long as you give the software the location of the lp file, the name o the project level folder, and the folder where the images reside.  However, it will only work if there is a numbering scheme in your lp file that can be matched with the numbering scheme of the images you captured.  For example, lp_01.jpg, with it's x,y and z light position coordinates in the lp file would get mapped to /Users/carla/Desktop/coin/coin_01.jpg with those same coordinates then following it.

 

More about the light position file and how to normalize the vectors can be found here: http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/MakingPTMsViaLP.htm

 

I realize this explanation is a bit hard to follow. I think if you read more about the .lp file it will make more sense.  And really if you are a highlight RTI person, then just use the "open an existing project" approach and don't worry about this other stuff.

 

Carla

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Thanks, Carla. I'm looking to put together a dome, and wanted to play around with an LP file and associated photo set created using highlight detection to get a feeling for how to process photos taken in the dome. I thought I had the photo file paths correct, but reading your response, I'm guessing the paths probably had a mistake somewhere, and that's why I kept getting messages about all the images not being found. I plan to create a "template" LP file using highlight detection, then modify it to incorporate the full names and paths of the dome artifact photos in proper sequence to match the LP positions.

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You don't need to modify your "template" lp file to match the paths of the images.  RTiBuilder will take care of that for you.  You do need to have a number sequence that it can match for each image so it can be "mapped" to the correct x,y,z light position coordinates in the template lp file.  

 

You can make the lp file by shooting a sphere in your dome, as you suggest.  Then take the .lp file which RTiBuilder creates (found in the assembly-files folder) and remove the file paths, leaving just a file name.  Make sure that the filenames of your images end with something like "_01.jpg" followed by "_02.jpg" etc.  Then make sure the images that you shoot in the dome also use the same numbering/naming convention for the last part of the file name.  Then RTiBuilder can do the pattern matching and file path handling for you.  I hope this makes sense.

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Yes, absolutely makes sense, thanks; will give it a try. I'm wondering whether it might be easier for me to:

 

1. Put all the images from a single sequence into one folder;

 

2. Write a program that reads in all the filenames in the correct sequence, matches them to the correct light position from the "template" file, then writes an lp file with the correct image names/path. That way, I don't have to worry about changing the last digits in the image's filename to match the "template" sequence.

 

When I'm ready in a month or so, I'll try it and let you know which I prefer.

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You shouldn't need to do any renaming.  Somehow when you shoot the images in your dome you will get filenames with numbers, yes?  Whatever that mechanism is, then you need to use the same numbering for when you shoot the sphere to get the LP file, and when you shoot the data sets of objects.  

 

If you are capturing images to your camera's card, then you might have to manage this some other way.  

 

The domes we have built all have software that allows you to set the filename prefix and where you want the images stored.  Then it adds the image number for each image.  In this, way, it's easy to manage, and nothing else has to be done.

 

Carla

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  • 1 month later...
Okay, so I've actually written a program that takes an RTI photo sequence, renames the photo files so that the last digits are sequential (e.g. test_01.jpg, test_02.jpg, test_03.jpg etc.), then creates an LP file with exactly those filenames and the correct file path for every file. I then tried loading that into RTIBuilder with the following results:

 

1. LP File (PTMFitter): Loads in the images correctly after I select the Light Position File and the Project Folder. When I get to the final screen where the PTMfitter is executed, the image screen on the left is black, so I can't crop the image. When I "Execute", I get an "Unknown Error" popup. Looking in the PTMFitter Output Information, I can see that RTIBuilder is telling PTMFitter that the images are in a "jpeg-exports" subfolder of the Project Folder, even though the lp file specified their exact folder location. However, if I manually copy the image files into a "jpeg-exports" subfolder of the Project Folder, an image shows up at left that can be cropped, and a PTM file is generated successfully after pressing Execute.

 

2. LP File (HSHFitter): Loads in the images correctly after I select the Light Position File and the Project Folder. When I get to the final screen where the HSHfitter is executed, the image screen on the left is black, so I can't crop the images. When I "Execute", I get a popup window titled "JPEG Library Error", and the message "Improper call to JPEG library in state 200". No file is created. This is followed by an "Unknown Error Detected" popup. In the HSHfitter Output Information window, it says:

 

Sample Image -> W: 3539140 H: 3551192 Channels: 1095519311

Parameters read successfully

HSH matrix : Rows= 4 Columns=42

Number of Threads : 8

 

But if I manually create a jpeg-exports folder and copy the images  there, as with the PTMFitter, I now see an image in the left of the "Execute" window which can be cropped, and an RTI file is generated successfully after pressing Execute.

 

I think it might make things less confusing if the program:

 

- Specifies the original image location to PTMFitter and HSHFitter, rather than using "jpeg-exports" subfolder of the project folder, or

- Gives a warning message about how the images need to be in the jpeg-exports subfolder of the Project Folder right from the start, or

- Copies the images from their original location into a  "jpeg-exports" folder in the Project Folder, so that the fitters will find them there, and lets the user know it's done that.

 

3. Neither of the LP Dome Fitter options (HSH or PTM) worked at all. I specify the lp file, the Project Folder, and the folder that contained the images, and nothing happens - no images get loaded, no error message, nothing. This is true when I specify the original image locations, and also when I specify "jpeg-exports" as the image location after I've copied the image files into that subfolder of the Project Folder.

 

You mentioned that you would be eliminating the LP File option in a future version. Given that the LP File options seem to be the only ones working right now, please don't do that!
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Well, I thought the LP option was working, but there's a bug in it. Here's the first 4 lines of my original LP file:

 

 

21
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_01.jpg 0.95020884 -0.0991746 0.29541084
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_02.jpg 0.7782148 -0.13303308 0.6137458
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_03.jpg 0.6559495 -0.16346425 0.7368919
 
And here's the first four lines from the LP file in the assembly-files folder, after processing it with the LP File option in RTIBuilder:
 
21
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_01.jpg 0.29541084 -0.0991746 0.95020884
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_02.jpg 0.6137458 -0.13303308 0.7782148
C:\Users\Leszek\Desktop\test_PTM_Images\No_space_PTM_Project_Folder\jpeg-exports\No_space_03.jpg 0.7368919 -0.16346425 0.6559495
 
The program is swapping the first and last angle parameter for every photo; hilarity ensues in the final PTM as a result. Same thing happens for both PTM and HSH fitting. Data gets processed correctly if I run PTMFitter and HSHFitter from the command line with the correct LP file.
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A couple of notes about this.  First we decided a few weeks ago that we would leave in the lpfile path in RTIBuilder, in case there were people using it.  It won't be as well tested as other areas, but the functionality will be there.

 

I've asked the primary developer on RTIBuilder to take a look at your situation.  We are working on some other aspects of the 2.1 RTiBuilder update right now, so this might need to wait a little while, before he can look at it. 

 

Carla

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Thanks, Carla. Sorry for the delay in responding, but my dome showed up on my doorstep last week, and I've been busy finishing assembly on the system and testing it (It works! Really well!). Not a critical issue for me - I've written a program that will take a list of all the photos in a directory and combine that with the LP calibration data from my dome to generate an LP file, then create PTM/RTI files directly using the fitters. So while it would be great to have this working in RTIBuilder, it's not a showstopper for me. Let me know if there's any more information you need.

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