<p>Yes that is possible using <strong>photogrammetry</strong> like @SimonF mentioned in his comment. There is plenty of commercial and free software. Peter Falkingham has a great <a href="https://peterfalkingham.com/blog/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog with many reviews</a> mainly for the free tools.</p>

<p>Here is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84MwuupHKg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">video of scanning a mountain</a> using my favourite open-source solution. Specialists do much more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuZUSe87miY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">extreme scanning</a> using their tools, the resulting Matterhorn point-cloud dataset is used by some of my research colleagues as well.</p>

<h1>Requirements</h1>

<p>To cover a mountain, you will need a lot of photos. Depending on the peak size and required precision you may end up with thousands to hundreds of thousands of photos. To process all of them, it needs a lot of RAM and powerful GPU(s). I did a reconstruction for 10k photos on a <em>Ryzen 2700X</em> with <em>64 GB Ram</em> and a <em>1080 Ti</em> inside... it took 10 days to complete.</p>

<p>There are two critical phases: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Alignment to create the sparse point cloud is partly CPU-based and requires a lot of RAM. Once the system starts to swap to the HDD, you've lost.</p></li>
<li><p>Patch-match for the dense point cloud heavily uses the GPU and takes most of the reconstruction time.</p></li>
</ol>

<h1>Scanning procedure</h1>

<p>In ideal case all photos would be taken in exact the same moment. When you fly around it takes time and the sun moves. Shadows change. That is often a problem at reconstruction so cloudy days are generally better. Try to get all footage on one day and as fast as possible. The atmospheric conditions may change the next day(s). I hope there is no snow and no water, those are the most difficult to reconstruct due to reflections :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T09:23:37.417Z
Great, thanks. Did you mean 10000 photos or photos that are 10k in resolution?
Timotej Leginus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T10:12:54.357Z
It was 10.000 photos of different resolutions, some were 4K some were 8K. Resolution is not that important, since you can always downsample and the 3d reconstruction frameworks often do that automatically. The number of photos is the crucial factor for computational complexity. There has to be enough overlap between them, but too much of it (like taking each video frame) is an overkill. Finding a sweet spot is important to balance the result quality vs. computation time.
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T10:20:29.393Z
Btw I see you are from Orava @TimotejLeginus. I ♡ Tatry :) Will be glad to help you with any details!
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T11:03:16.887Z
Oh I noticed you're from Slovakia too. Thanks for the help. I am planning to make a 3D model out of Osobitá, or some peak in Roháče, to be used in a game (something similar to Mýrdalssandur, Iceland or Fushimi Inari, virtual walkthrough games). It is generally forbidden to visit Osobitá, it's restricted to only some time a year, so people can virtually visit it. How much photos would you assume that a peak like Osobitá would take? Check it out on Google Earth.
Timotej Leginus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T12:54:47.553Z
Yes, I know it. Please be aware that Osobita has a local nature reserve status within TANAP. Flying an UAV over there is a double violation of the park rules. That being said, the # of photos depends on the details you want. I would go for a combination of a reconstructed model enhanced with stock assets like rocks and generated foliage. You should be good with 5k-20k photos then. Before starting big, try it in small scale (e.g. a single object from ~50 photos, then something bigger with ~ 500, e.g. some boulder) so that you get a feeling for the workflow and expected results quality.
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T12:54:51.413Z
Btw have you seen this beautiful game (just released) made by a small studio from Brno? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzPOmcgup9o It includes detailed scenery from Czech woods, all hand modeled.
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T13:01:04.060Z
Ou and this amazing new Unreal Engine demo! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC5KtatMcUw
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T13:09:04.793Z
Thanks for the the help! The UE5 demo looks stunning, so does the Brno game! Yeah, I would like to start with some small object. I am aware of Osobitá's status and I want to stay within the law all the time. I'll try it with smaller objects, thanks.
Timotej Leginus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T13:14:48.230Z
Also it could also be a manned air vehicle though, if that matters. Is it more viable to do it via a drone or just being there and taking photos?
Timotej Leginus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T13:24:37.203Z
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/108038/discussion-between-isolin-and-timotej-leginus).
Isolin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-15T00:34:29.843Z
2020-05-15T00:34:29.843Z
Isolin
<p>Couldn't find any resources on this, so I'll ask here.</p>

<p>For example, I want to create a game model of a mountain peak.</p>

<p>I took lots and lots of drone footage, almost from every side, photography footage, just lots of it. (Realistically viable amounts of footage)</p>

<p>Could I somehow, import, or make a 3D model out of these footages so I could import it into the game.</p>

<p>It should be a 3D model. Thank you.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-14T15:04:13.007Z
You could perhaps try searching for the term "Photogrammetry" ?  A quick search, for example, gives this approach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-C-OOFsX8  or perhaps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY  but there are no doubt others.
Simon F
<3d>
Is it viable to create computer graphics via terrain scanning?
Timotej Leginus
# Is it viable to create computer graphics via terrain scanning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-14)

Couldn't find any resources on this, so I'll ask here.

For example, I want to create a game model of a mountain peak.

I took lots and lots of drone footage, almost from every side, photography footage, just lots of it. (Realistically viable amounts of footage)

Could I somehow, import, or make a 3D model out of these footages so I could import it into the game.

It should be a 3D model. Thank you.

**Tags:** 3d

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You could perhaps try searching for the term "Photogrammetry" ?  A quick search, for example, gives this approach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-C-OOFsX8  or perhaps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NTf0hMjtY  but there are no doubt others.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-15. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

Yes that is possible using **photogrammetry** like @username_1 mentioned in his comment. There is plenty of commercial and free software. Peter Falkingham has a great [blog with many reviews](https://peterfalkingham.com/blog/) mainly for the free tools.

Here is a [video of scanning a mountain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84MwuupHKg) using my favourite open-source solution. Specialists do much more [extreme scanning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuZUSe87miY) using their tools, the resulting Matterhorn point-cloud dataset is used by some of my research colleagues as well.

# Requirements

To cover a mountain, you will need a lot of photos. Depending on the peak size and required precision you may end up with thousands to hundreds of thousands of photos. To process all of them, it needs a lot of RAM and powerful GPU(s). I did a reconstruction for 10k photos on a *Ryzen 2700X* with *64 GB Ram* and a *1080 Ti* inside... it took 10 days to complete.

There are two critical phases:

1. Alignment to create the sparse point cloud is partly CPU-based and requires a lot of RAM. Once the system starts to swap to the HDD, you've lost.
2. Patch-match for the dense point cloud heavily uses the GPU and takes most of the reconstruction time.

# Scanning procedure

In ideal case all photos would be taken in exact the same moment. When you fly around it takes time and the sun moves. Shadows change. That is often a problem at reconstruction so cloudy days are generally better. Try to get all footage on one day and as fast as possible. The atmospheric conditions may change the next day(s). I hope there is no snow and no water, those are the most difficult to reconstruct due to reflections :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Great, thanks. Did you mean 10000 photos or photos that are 10k in resolution?  
> **username_2**: It was 10.000 photos of different resolutions, some were 4K some were 8K. Resolution is not that important, since you can always downsample and the 3d reconstruction frameworks often do that automatically. The number of photos is the crucial factor for computational complexity. There has to be enough overlap between them, but too much of it (like taking each video frame) is an overkill. Finding a sweet spot is important to balance the result quality vs. computation time.  
> **username_2**: Btw I see you are from Orava @username_0. I ♡ Tatry :) Will be glad to help you with any details!  
> **username_0**: Oh I noticed you're from Slovakia too. Thanks for the help. I am planning to make a 3D model out of Osobitá, or some peak in Roháče, to be used in a game (something similar to Mýrdalssandur, Iceland or Fushimi Inari, virtual walkthrough games). It is generally forbidden to visit Osobitá, it's restricted to only some time a year, so people can virtually visit it. How much photos would you assume that a peak like Osobitá would take? Check it out on Google Earth.  
> **username_2**: Yes, I know it. Please be aware that Osobita has a local nature reserve status within TANAP. Flying an UAV over there is a double violation of the park rules. That being said, the # of photos depends on the details you want. I would go for a combination of a reconstructed model enhanced with stock assets like rocks and generated foliage. You should be good with 5k-20k photos then. Before starting big, try it in small scale (e.g. a single object from ~50 photos, then something bigger with ~ 500, e.g. some boulder) so that you get a feeling for the workflow and expected results quality.  
> **username_2**: Btw have you seen this beautiful game (just released) made by a small studio from Brno? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzPOmcgup9o It includes detailed scenery from Czech woods, all hand modeled.  
> **username_2**: Ou and this amazing new Unreal Engine demo! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC5KtatMcUw  
> **username_0**: Thanks for the the help! The UE5 demo looks stunning, so does the Brno game! Yeah, I would like to start with some small object. I am aware of Osobitá's status and I want to stay within the law all the time. I'll try it with smaller objects, thanks.  
> **username_0**: Also it could also be a manned air vehicle though, if that matters. Is it more viable to do it via a drone or just being there and taking photos?  
> **username_2**: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/108038/discussion-between-username_2-and-username_0-username_0).  

---

