Video: Matterport Academy | Best Practices for Scanning Outdoors (Lesson 9) with Matterport Content Marketing Manager Amir Frank | Video courtesy of Matterport YouTube Channel (22 January 2021)

Hi All,

If you are just getting started with Matterport, here is Lesson 9 of 11 from the Matterport Academy: Best Practices for Scanning Outdoors (Lesson 9) (above) with Matterport Content Marketing Manager Amir Frank.

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Amir from Matterport and today we're going to talk about best practices for scanning outdoors. The Matterport camera is designed to scan indoors. While you can use it to scan outdoors, it can be quite difficult. That's why outdoor scanning is not an officially supported feature. However, you can still use the camera to scan outdoors.

For example, you may want to scan a patio, deck, pool, walkway or exterior stairs. You may also want to scan a path to a detached garage, garden shed or guest house. There's three key things to remember when scanning outdoors. First, use 360 Views whenever possible.

A 360 View is just like a normal 3D scan. However, it only collects 2D visual data and does not collect 3D depth data. Because it doesn't collect the depth, a 360 View is not aligned or connected to the other scans.

Viewers can access a 360 View through the Highlight Reel and 3D Showcase. 360 Views are great for getting the curved view or a spot in the middle of the backyard. If you only need one or two outdoor shots then capture a 360 View.

Second, save your outdoor scans for last to decrease the chances of alignment issues. If you want to capture a patio but still keep it connected to the other scans, first make sure you're in 3D scan mode. Scan the entire inside of the building first.

Saving outdoor scans to the end lowers the chance of misalignments which can cause trouble later. Third, scan when the sun is below the horizon.

This is right before sunrise or right after sunset when you can still see even though the sun is down. This is because of the way the camera works.

The Matterport camera uses invisible infrared light to gather depth data, which is then used to align or link scans together. When you scan outdoors, the sun floods the area with infrared light making it hard to gather depth data and to align the scans.

Even clouds cannot shield against infrared light. This is why you should wait until the sun is below the horizon. There is still enough visible light to capture a high quality image, but not too much infrared light to prevent scans from aligning.

Finally, when you scan outdoors, pay close attention to how scans are aligned. After every scan, look at the Capture app to make sure the scans are aligned or placed in the correct position in the mini-map.

If it was incorrectly placed, then delete the bad scan immediately, move closer to the last properly aligned scan and try again. If you are determined to scan outdoors, remember shorten the distance between scan positions.

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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)