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How to do Matterport Scanning Faster?5846

WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by @IanA
Hi everyone! My name is Ian and I work for my sister-in-law at a real estate company ...

I've been using the Matterport camera for about 2 weeks now and the boss thinks I'm going way too slow. I've done 7 of our listings so far.

What I've found is that the alignment takes approximately a minute (if it aligns) and anywhere from a minute and a half to almost 2 if it doesn't align. I'm using an Ipad 3 for the Capture app. Everything works great, no problems with high numbers of scans, big open rooms are easy, love the finished product. My only issue is doorways so I've been reading the posts on tips so I'll try some of those next week.



Love this forum - lots of great interaction and lots of helpful hints.

I think I just need more practice - took almost 8 hrs yesterday and the day before to do a 5 bedroom, 3 story, turn of the century home. Took 155 scans of which 45 were alignment errors.

Thanks in advance for any help down the road!

Ian
Post 1 IP   flag post
Orange, California
craigsauer private msg quote post Address this user
Your iPad is too old and slow. Get a newer one and you'll get fewer alignment errors and alignment will go MUCH faster.
Post 2 IP   flag post
Hartland, Wisconsin
htimsabbub23 private msg quote post Address this user
That does seem like a long time. I am not sure the square footage of the house but we quote out 1 hour per every 1,000 square feet after the first 1,000 which is quoted at 1.5 hour because of setup and making sure the house is setup ready to scan (lights on, doors in position, and everything tidy). My first thought is that you may want to upgrade the iPad. I would say for us to scan a point and it to load into the iPad takes about 1 minute total. My second thought is to make sure the camera is level on every scan. If you are not leveling it you will have huge alignment errors. The last thing is learn angles. Think of what the camera is seeing and where it needs to go next to get the next spot. Also every spot doesn't need scanned. We don't put it behind couches or in bath tubs. sometimes there will be black on the floor-plan as you scan and that's OK, unless you need the client to stand and see that exact spot. for example down a hall way it needs to be in front of every door and then inside every door. Those scans can be about 3-4 feet apart usually, no more. Lastly make sure nothing is moving at all while you scans, such as doors.

I think if you accomplish all these you'll improve your speed greatly.

Good luck and keep at it!
Post 3 IP   flag post
JonJ private msg quote post Address this user
@IanA,

Your speed will improve with practice, but I do agree with the above comments regarding your iPad being a bit old, in theory. If you are able to get hold of a newer iPad, you may want to do a comparison to see if the older iPad is in fact causing you the alignment issues and if so, upgrade to a newer version. If it is not, then there is no need to spend the money on new equipment if there is no benefit. Also, as a rule of thumb, in moderately furnished spaces, you can usually cover 1000 sqft with 20-30 scans. This can give you a better idea of the amount of time it will take you to scan a property.

As for other items that may be slowing you down, it is possible to complete a scan every 45 seconds to 1 minute. In order to achieve this speed, it will take practice and trial & error.

When you first get to a property, you will want make sure that the space is in the exact condition that it will be when you scan the space. Having to reposition items while scanning will take up additional time and may lead to alignment errors if there are significant changes in the space where you may have already scanned.

Before you begin your scan, you will want to survey the room and make mental notes of potential scan positions. When doing so, you will want to keep 4 objectives in mind.

1) Try to scan in straight lines with even spacing to create a smooth 1st person walk-through experience
2) Consider where to place the camera to minimize "black holes" in the floor plan view and dollhouse view
3) If you are using the snapshots from the tour, determine where to place the camera for the best composition of those photos.
4) Plan you scan path to ensure you have sufficient overlap from scan to scan to give you the best possibility of alignment for newly added scans.

Once you begin scanning the space, be use a branching strategy if you are unsure if your newly placed scan will align to the existing scans. To explain the branching strategy, let's say your last completed scan was in at the end of a hallway with 3 rooms adjacent. You could place the camera in one of the rooms and try to complete each room in its entirety before moving on to the successive rooms, or you could complete one scan in each of the rooms before completing any one of the rooms. Since it is common to get alignment errors when moving between rooms, this will minimize the time lost on successive scans if the initial scan in a room does not align.

Also, bear in mind that you do not need to wait for a scan to align before beginning a new scan. Once you are able to move the camera, move it to the next position to be scanned and once the transfer is complete, you can then start your new scan. The alignment of the previous scan will usually occur during the scanning phase of the new scan. Using this strategy, will maximize the benefit of the branching strategy above.

One additional thought when scanning would be to point the handle of the camera in the direction you will take to hide. This will allow you enough time to press the scan button and retreat to your hiding place before the camera sees you. So, you will not have to wait until you are hidden before you begin your scan. Incidentally, by point the camera in this direction, you are also able to approach the camera while it is in its last scan position so that you can move it as soon as it is done with the scan (please be aware of any reflections or shadows that you may cast if employing this technique).

Hope that helps!
Jon J
Post 4 IP   flag post
IanA private msg quote post Address this user
Thanks everyone for the advice and tips - it all helps!!

We purchased an Ipad Pro 256GB 10.5" with the A10X Fusion processor yesterday.
Just finished testing it here in the office.

The old Ipad 3 had the following times:

transfer time: 4 to 6 seconds
alignment time: 60 to 90 seconds

Ipad Pro:

transfer time: 3 to 4 seconds
alignment time: 2 to 3 seconds

it helps when you have the right tools!

Ian
Post 5 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@IanA

Thank you for the insight. When you can, please do update us on how using the new, faster iPad Pro is making a difference for you.

Happy holidays,

Dan
Post 6 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@IanA

By the way, this episode of WGAN-TV may be helpful for you.

Dan


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