Video: Matterport Academy Coping with Sunlight (Lesson 6) with Matterport Content Marketing Manager Amir Frank | Video courtesy of Matterport YouTube Channel (28 September 2017)

Hi All,

If you are just getting started with Matterport, here is Matterport Academy | Uploading to the Cloud (Lesson 5) (above) with Matterport Content Marketing Manager Amir Frank.

Video Transcript

Hi. I'm Amir from Matterport, and today we're going to talk about coping with sunlight. It's important to understand how the Matterport camera works so you know how to deal with issues when they arise. The Matterport camera captures both visible light and invisible infrared light.

Infrared light is the same light used in remote controls and similar devices. First, the camera projects a pattern of infrared dots and then uses the reflection to gather depth data about the space. The Capture app then uses this depth data to align the new scan with previous scans.

Alignment errors happen when the camera can't distinguish its own infrared light from ambient infrared light in the environment. From the camera's point of view, the environment appears to be washed out or empty. While you can't avoid sunlight, you can close curtains, lower blinds or return when there's less direct sunlight.

Surfaces covered with direct sunlight or even too much indirect sunlight are invisible to the camera. Therefore, depth data can't be collected and the 3D mesh that represents the surface won't be built correctly. Without a good 3D mesh, visitors can have a bad navigation experience such as walking through walls or floors.

Because of issues with infrared light, we do not recommend you 3D scan outside. If you need to scan outdoors, change to 360 View mode. A 360 View is like a 3D scan, but is not aligned to other scans. Therefore, it won't add to the dollhouse or floor plan.

If you want to 3D scan a path to an unattached building such as a shed or guest house, wait until the sun is below the horizon and then scan. Even if it's cloudy or the camera's in the shade, there can still be too much ambient infrared light to properly align a scan.

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Best,

Dan

P.S. For in-depth Matterport Training, please see the WGAN-TV Training U (in Matterport). We included a 1+ hour training on the Matterport Capture and 3D Showcase Apps by Matterport Content Marketing Manager Amir Frank as well as 6+ hours on Matterport Workshop 3.0 (also by Amir)