Miraco Pro - Observations and questions VS Artec MHT

Discussions
1

Hi,
CONTEXT:

  • Ive had the Miraco 2 days, Ive had the Artec 13 years. So my knowledge needs help for the Miraco…
  • I mainly scan aircraft. I do the landing gear, wheel well/cavity, cockpit/controls, bathroom, a seat, engine guts, luggage compartment, interior detailing. And any other parts that are complicated to model without scan reference.
  • a cockpit is the heaviest, usually about 10000 frames with the Artec.

1 - why is the software so slow for post-production? Running on the same fast PC, Artec Studio 18 is very fast to load scan frame sequences and manipulate data. Factor of 10x over RevoScan 5 maybe? Software seems to run at the same speed on the unit as it does on the PC, which is strange. Any plans to multi-thread?

2 - Can I cut frames from a scan sequence to be a ‘new’ scan? This is invaluable when trying to fine-tune scan registration (line up frames). If the scanner loses registration during scanning, there seems to be no way to move the frames in post. Only delete them? So if it loses registration during scanning, should I start again?

3 - is the scanner extremely sensitive to high contrast lighting scenarios? I tested in and around my car, which was in the shade, but it was a bright day. And also at home in the night time. The car was a disaster, at home it scanned well. Is low light much better?

4 - can I ‘cheat’ adjustments in windows folders…ie: copy folders, delete frames, rename folders etc?

5 - when using ‘Auto’ for exposure… does it dynamically change exposure? Or does it set it at the beginning of the scan and that value remains in place until the end of the scan?

6 - Registration issues - how do you rectify registration issues in post? Ive not yet done a scan where Im not seeing offset frames. In Artec Studio i can isolate these individually or as small sequences, then cut/paste to a new scan. Then, as I have both scans (extracted from the same original sequence) I can align them using the Align feature (semi-manual or auto).

Honestly, I appreciate the simplicity of the toolset, but the scanner is not robust enough in its tracking to allow for such simplicity. I just cant get good scans of my chosen subject matter. Mainly due to inflexibility in fixing registration issues. Any help MUCH appreciated.

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2

Why it is so slow ? Well it was very fast but users where complaining that their precious CPU’s was used too much .
I do not agree on that , and from my knowledge the dev team is working on to change the speed on the processing .

That function do not exist at this moment in Revo Scan 5.

The scanner using infrared structure light technology, meaning it can’t scan outdoors where the level of infrared is very high on a day time on a sunny day , best results are 1 hour before or after the sunset .
Indoor light do not affect scanning as long the light don’t produce infrared light .

You can remove frames from the folders , making sure you do not leave partial frames behind like fir example you scanned in color , and removed just color frames , this project will not load proper after , if you remove frames make sure you remove both according to the frame number .

Do not change names of the project folders inside the project , that include all files .
You can change only the main project folder .
If you change a folder names inside the project it will prevent you to open the project again .

Yes , after you change the depth exposure to Auto , it will adjust itself automatic depending of the exposure level and that is very recommended to use it while on Auto for best results .

Function like that currently don’t exist in Revo Scan 5 , you can only remove the frames automatic using raw frame editor .

After you cleaned you scans you can merge ( align ) them using feature or marker mode under merge tab .

Revo Scan is very young software just released not long time ago , you can’t compare it to Artec software , but it growing and new features are developed as we speak .

MIRACO scanners relays on features , it is a visual scanner , for that reason your scanned objects need to have level of features so you can be able to scan , without features you need to use Marker mode if your scanned object don’t have enough features .
I guess 2 days is not enough to justify a scanner and new technology . I would recommend you practice a little more and learn better your tool and the way it works .
The software still needs lots of improvements in the future and more editing features .

You welcome to check the forum Tutorial section to watch some of the Miraco videos in action , if you need any assistance or have more question let me know .

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Sorry, what? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

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Yes it is ridiculous… but also true
The CPU calculation speed was downgraded on purpose because of all the complaints and crying out loud that it was running on full power .

At that time I was for a settings to allow users to use specific amount of threads for their liking , but sadly it never happens.

Hopefully soon it gonna change , because nobody have the time to wait 2 hours for editing simple frames .

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Wow. I could see complaining about high idle time usage, and the sleep-prevention thing going on is also worthy of complaint. But not processing speed.

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Most of the old post was removed after RS 5 arrived .
It was not all perfect to begin with.

We should have manual settings and use it according to our needs, However the team is working on it so hopefully soon .

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This is a great response, thank you. I’d like to add a couple of words of encouragement:

When I bought the Artec in 2011, we decided it was not production ready. It went in a closet and saw very limited use for the next ten years. When I next took it out to show someone, the software had another 10 yrs dev put into it. I also had a much stronger laptop… The change in the scanner was remarkable.
I have a hunch that the Miraco will be the same. I think Im going to put it away for a while, wait for the software to mature. I think better toolset will come quickly, I also think AI tools will be able to enhance the results shortly too.
First thing they need to develop is the ability to cut frames to a new scan to edit in isolation, then be merged back into the project. Then the main error that I assume everybody will face can be solved. That problem being badly registered frames.
I think maybe the image data being loaded for every frame may be the thing that slows the frame load times? A simple code change would allow just loading every 10th frame in color?
I’d be happy to beta this stuff with Miraco.

I invited Miraco to come on our next survey. I think they would learn alot by doing so. The Miraco will be road tested along side the Artec.

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8

Hi @Tom_FlightFX
As I said the software is very young , not even a year old , things like that needs time especially if everything is developed from scratch.

As I mentioned early , it depends on your object features , no features no proper alignment , you are using visual scanner that relays imon object features for tracking , that is the number one issue with bad aligned frames , lack of features .
There are supporting option to avoid it all together , a better solution than cutting stuff and mess up with the data the old way . That is not satisfactory.

You should not put it on the side and wait for solution , you just used it for couple of days . Learn the way of MIRACO, it will make your work much easier in progress as with all new tools you need to develop your own workflow .

After 12 months of usage almost daily, I am still finding my new ways as each object requires it’s own attention and strategy planning , but problems like yours are almost none to zero . Practice makes it perfect !

Hopefully as the time goes we get more features for the software for better editing , everything needs time .

Thanks for your suggestions !

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9

I think that these are two very different scanners. Both “throw” patterns of light onto the object and compare the reflection with the original pattern to determine shape and texture, but the Artec used light, and the Miraco used infrared. The Artec could be considered a video camera. The Miraco is disturbed by other infrared sources, and the sun is a powerful one! In direct, bright sunshine, the Miraco will not do well.

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10

Well that is only ridiculous to you because you have a fast computer.

11

Now take a flash light on a sunny day and try to see it on on the side walk … obviously you will not see any light source from the flash light.
The same for infrared , the sun is the biggest infrared producer , it will overpowering the sensors that only capture and see infrared .

Don’t be suggested by the preview camera , it is just video feedback not actual what the MIRACO capture , what the Depth sensors see are in the 3D preview .

BTW I was able to scan in a direct sunlight using Near mode , it was indoor and the sun shines on the table, some of the sun infrared was probably filtered by the window glass … however Far mode is too weak to perform direct in sunlight .

No matter what both use , still a visual light scanning technology . Controlled ambient light source provide the best results for both.

And as always , the scanners are as good , as are their software they running on .I don’t think it is a good comparison at all , apple and oranges . All they have to do with each other is just the word " 3D Scanned" :joy:

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12

Not really @Rogier if you CPU is running at 99-100% you will be not able to do anything else while waiting for finish the processing .
No matter the power you have .

I believe what @TheBoatScans means by ridiculous was that it was changed because nobody wanted their CPU to run at 100% , but it was the reason …
Sadly they killed the full speed including processing .

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I know part of the brand strategy is that Revopoint scanners don’t require a beefy computer, but there’s a big difference between requiring one and not being able to take advantage of one. Making computers non-responsive is bad design, but capping performance at some arbitrary level is lazy design (assuming the assertion is true).

Just seems like an arbitrary decision with a flimsy rationale implemented in the simplest way.

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14

The only sort of functional way to do it from within Revoscan would be to make a copy of the project and delete the extraneous frames from each copy in the Frame Edit mode. Through the interface these edits are permanent although it doesn’t actually delete any files.

@X3msnake has some Python utilities that are extremely useful for merging and splitting up projects.

Luckily Revoscan is fairly robust when it comes to out of sequence frames in a scan, so you can identify frames using Frame Edit mode, then copy them out of the scan folder instead of using the built-in delete function. I posted some Python code a while back that will “undelete” deleted frames (why this isn’t in the program I have no idea because it’s super simple) which can help avoid the file copy part (delete, fuse remaining, export point cloud, undelete, delete more, fuse remaining, export point cloud, repeat forever).

If you manipulate the files, you have to reload the project. If you don’t it will either crash or not register your changes due to some sort of caching.

Creating new scans from subsets of frames has been top on my wish list since the day they introduced the frame edit mode. Even better would be frame groupings within a scan that can be fused and aligned independently.

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15

Yes forgot about that @TheBoatScans
Sadly not many people payed attention to it .

16

That is still a thing I can’t get over … I know why … but can’t understand why not ?
And seriously the processing time in the latest versions is too painful, and at the slowest ever … that is a fact

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