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Processing Trimble SX10 Data

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 About this tutorial

About this tutorial

The Trimble SX10 scanning total station redefines the capabilities of everyday survey
equipment by providing the world's most innovative solution for surveying, engineering,
and scanning professionals. This versatile solution is capable of collecting any
combination of high-density 3D scan data, enhanced Trimble VISION imaging, and high-
accuracy total station data, allowing you to capture exactly what you need, saving you
time and money on every job.
In this tutorial, you will import and process data captured with the Trimble SX10. The
data includes two station setups and one scan station located on an unknown position.
You will use the Register Scans command to ensure that the scan captured by the scan
station is correctly aligned with the overlapping scans from the station setups, resulting
in a "rigid" point cloud.

Note: If you need additional help at any time you are using the software, press F1 to
display the online help.

Step 1. Create a new project and verify options

1. On the Quick Access toolbar located at the top of the TBC window, select New
Default Project.
The Plan View displays in the Trimble Business Center window.
If the Project Explorer is not already open, in the TBC ribbon, select Home > Data >
Project Explorer.

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 Step 1. Create a new project and verify options

You can perform the tutorial steps without saving this project file. However, if you
are interrupted while performing the tutorial, you can save it and then reopen it to
continue at a later time.
2. In the Quick Access toolbar, select Options.
3. In the Options dialog, click Point Clouds in the left navigation pane.
These options allow you to specify the following point cloud properties. (For this
tutorial, do not make any changes.)
 The maximum number of points to be used in a surface definition, volume
measurement, and spatial sampling algorithm. More points will result in higher
precision but slower performance, so you should specify a number that is a
good balance between precision and performance.
 The rendering memory cache size. Specify the amount of your computer's RAM
(up to 50%) you want to allocate to cache scan points. A larger cache provides
faster access to scan point details.

Notes:
- The rendering memory cache size setting is saved only if you have a project open.
- If you enter a cache size greater than 50%, it is automatically reduced to 50%.

 Whether to copy all original point cloud files to the project folder during import.
 Scan registration properties. Specify the colors to use for reference and moving
scan points when registering point cloud scans, and whether to include scan
names in the Reference Stations and Moving Stations tab labels. You will
perform a scan registration later in this tutorial.
 Whether to automatically colorize scans from scan stations linked to color
images during import. If checked, you will still be able to stop the automatic
colorization process during import (if, for example, it is taking too long) and
perform it at a later time.

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 Step 2. Import and view the data

4. Since you are not saving any changes, click the Cancel button.
You are now ready to import the SX10 data into your project.

Step 2. Import and view the data

The downloaded ProcessingSX10Data folder contains this PDF file and a Data folder. In
this step, you will import into the project the carquefou.jxl file from the Data folder. This
file includes station setup information along with total station observations and
references to linked photo images stored in the carquefou Files subfolder.

Note: The JXL file references the graphic files stored in the <JXL_name> Files subfolder.
Therefore, it is important that you not change the subfolder name. And, it must remain
a subfolder in the same folder as the JXL file.

1. In the TBC ribbon, select Home > Data Exchange > Import.
2. In the Import command pane, click the Import Folder Search button and locate
the downloaded folder ..\ProcessingSX10Data\Data.
The carquefou.jxl file is selected in the Select Files list.

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 Step 2. Import and view the data

3. Click the Import button.

The carquefou.jxl file uses a scale-only projection.
4. In the Projection Definition dialog, click OK.
During import, a message window displays showing the progress of the point cloud
normals computation. When that process is complete, a second message window
displays showing the progress of the scan colorization process. This process, which
takes several minutes to complete, colors each scan point based on its linked photo
images or panorama.
Note the following when colorizing point cloud scans:
 If a scan station includes a single linked panorama, the linked panorama is used
to colorize all of the scan points that overlap it.
 If a scan station includes a single linked panorama along with additional
unlinked panoramas, the linked panorama is used to colorize all of the scan
points that overlap it. Then each unlinked panorama is used, in chronological
order, to colorize the scan points that overlap it, replacing, if applicable, the
color that was derived from the linked panorama or an earlier unlinked
panorama.
 If a scan station includes associated photo images but no linked panoramas, the
associated photo images are blended and used to colorize the scan point.
For this tutorial, no panoramas have been created, so colorization is based on the
linked photo images captured with the Trimble SX10 total station.
When the import is complete, the data is displayed in the Plan View and the Project
Explorer.

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 Step 2. Import and view the data

In the Project Explorer, note that stations 100, 200, and S3 are included as both
Scan Stations and Photo Stations.

Also note that station S3 has no coordinate data (double-click to display its
properties) because it was not set up on a known position. Its purpose was to
capture autonomous scan data and photo images that would be aligned with data
from stations 100 and 200 in TBC. For this reason, station S3 is also not displayed in
the Plan View.
5. To better view the point cloud, in the TBC ribbon, select Home > View > 3D View.
Then, use your mouse wheel and right mouse button to navigate the view as shown
here.
The yellow arrows identify a scanned wall that is out of alignment with the rest of
the point cloud.

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 Step 2. Import and view the data

6. To better identify the unaligned scan, do the following:

a. In the TBC ribbon, select Point Clouds > Rendering > Scan Color (in Color drop-
down list) to display each scan in its unique scan color.

b. In the Project Explorer, right-click Scans > S3 > Scan 3 and select Toggle
Visibility.

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 Step 2. Import and view the data

Note that the unaligned S3 scan no longer displays.

c. Right-click Scans > S3 > Scan 3 and select Toggle Visibility again to display the
S3 scan.
d. In the TBC ribbon, select Point Clouds > Rendering > True Color (in Color drop-
down list) to display each scan in its natural color (as colorized from the station-
based imagery).
Next, to familiarize yourself with the scanned location, you will view the photo
images captured at each of the station setups.
7. In the Project Explorer, right-click Photo Stations > S3, and select New Station
View.
The photos captured by the SX10 at this station setup are displayed. You can use
your mouse to view all of the images. Note that this station setup did not include
360° photos as were captured with the other station setups.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

8. Use the Station drop-down list located in the bottom-right corner of the tab to view
the photos for each of the other two station setups.

Step 3. Register the scans

In this step, you will align Scan 3, which was captured with the S3 scan station set up on
an unknown position, with Scan 1 and Scan 2, which were captured with station setups
100 and 200.

Note: If the field crew had completed the SX10 work on known control and coordinates
in the field, you would not need to register the scan data at all. The scan data behaves
like any other total station data in TBC and responds to changes to the station setup,
just like conventional topo shots from a total station.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

To perform a scan registration, your project should include overlapping scans from both
survey station setups (for example, total stations with scanning capabilities) and scan
stations (for example free-standing scanners) set up on unknown positions. The purpose
of the registration process is to move the Scan 3 scan points captured with the S3 scan
station setup (referred to as moving scan points) as necessary to align them with the
non-movable Scan 1 and Scan 2 scan points captured with station setups 100 and 200
(referred to as reference scan points), and then refine the registration by performing an
additional adjustment of all of the scans to each other.

Note: If your project does not include scans from survey station setups, you can still use
the Register Scans command to register scans from scan stations set up on unknown
positions. In this case, you will register the scans to each other, but not to survey
control. However, you can use the georeferencing command to georeference the scans
to known survey points, if available. See the online Help for more information.

1. In the TBC ribbon, select Point Clouds > Registration > Register Scans.
The Register Scans command pane displays with the Plane-based tab selected. This
tab is intended for use with scan data that was imported from a Trimble TZF (.tzf) or
Faro FLS (.fls) file so that an automatic plane-based registration can be performed.
For this dataset, you will need to perform a pairwise registration.
2. Select the Pairwise Registration tab.
Three graphical tab views are displayed:
 Reference Stations tab - Shows the scan points from the station or station
group selected in the Reference stations drop-down list (in this case, stations
100 and 200 are selected by default). These are the points that will not move
during the registration.
 Moving Stations tab - Shows the scan points from the station or station group
selected in the Moving stations drop-down list (in this case, station 3 is selected
by default). These are the points that will move during the registration.
 Registration Results tab - Shows the combined reference (red) and moving
(green) scan points. After you perform the registration, the moving scan points
(Scan 3) should align with the reference scan points (Scan 1 and Scan 2).

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 Step 3. Register the scans

If your project includes more than one station setup, the stations are automatically
included by default in a single station group that is named by combining each of the
individual station names. In this case, survey stations 100 and 200 are automatically
included in a group named {100 (S1) ; 200 (S2)}. The station group is displayed only
in the Reference stations list since it scans are not movable.

Note: If your project includes only scan stations set up on unknown points, it is
recommended that you select a station near the middle of your scans as your first
reference station since its scan is most likely to overlap with other scans.

A yellow Resolve Conflicts button actively displays in the following situations:

 You select a scan station in the Moving selection drop-down list that includes
office-entered coordinates of Survey or Control quality so the station's scan
points cannot be moved. Click the Resolve Conflicts button to display the
Resolve Conflicts dialog in which you can choose to change the coordinates to
"Enabled as Check" (recommended, but will cause error flags to display), disable
the coordinates (no error flags will display), or not move (register) the station's
scan points.
 You select a scan station associated with a point that is also associated with a
station setup, so the point cannot be moved. Click the Resolve Conflicts button
to display the Resolve Conflicts dialog in which you can choose to rename the
scan station (resulting in a new movable point being created that is not
associated with another station; recommended), delete the conflicting survey
scan station (not recommended), or not do anything (the scan station's points
cannot be moved).

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 Step 3. Register the scans

Since your reference stations and moving stations are selected by default, you are
now ready to perform an automatic registration in which the program performs the
registration without the need for a manually selected point pair. This is the fastest
method to perform a registration and should typically be your first registration
choice. However, in some situations it may not provide satisfactory results,
requiring you to use manually selected point pairs instead.
3. Click the Automatically Register Pair button.
A progress bar displays at the bottom of the window showing the progress of the
registration computation.
4. When registration is complete, press F4 to re-compute the project.
The moving scan points (Scan 3) have moved to a new location and orientation (as
shown on the Registration Results tab) to more closely align with the Scan 1 and
Scan 2 reference scan points. This is the result of the scan station itself being
repositioned and reoriented.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

Before registration:

After registration:

You can also get some indication of the success of the registration by viewing two
key result indicators displayed in the Check Pair section located in the lower portion
of the Register Scans command pane:

 Residual error - Displays the residual error and a colored bar representing the
tolerance specified for the error.
 Overlap - Displays the overlap percentage and a colored bar representing the
tolerance specified for the overlap.
The following tolerance threshold colors are used:
 Red - Does not meet the specified minimal (low) tolerance threshold.
 Orange - Meets the specified minimal (low) tolerance threshold.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

 Green - Meets the specified high tolerance threshold.

Optionally, you can click the Results Display Settings button to change the low-
and high-tolerance threshold values.
In this case, the Residual error is small (good), but the Overlap is very low (not
good).
Note that it is possible to view excellent results on the Registration Results tab
while obtaining less than excellent results in the Check Pair section. Although you
should use both tools to make a determination of success, the results you view on
the Registration Results tab is the best indicator.
5. Click the Optimize Pair Registration button and again review the results.
Although you cannot see much difference on the Registration Results tab, the
Residual error has been reduced further and the Overlap indicator is now indicating
much better overlap, further solidifying and validating the results of the registration.

Although you would not normally need to do so after having obtained such
successful results, for this tutorial you will again register the scans, but this time
using two point pairs. This will help familiarize you with this procedure should you
find the need to perform it.
6. To manually select two point pairs to use in the registration computation, do the
following:
a. Ensure the Auto-align check box is checked to provide partial optimization when
using the point pair(s) to compute the registration.
In this case, the software will use the point pair(s) you select, along with internal
optimization routines, to perform the registration computation.

Note: Optionally, you can uncheck the Auto-align check box to specify not to use
the internal optimization routines. However, in this case you will need to select
three point pairs to use for the registration.

b. Click in the first cell in the Pick point pairs list. Then, using the cross-hairs
cursor, click on the corner of the building as shown on the Reference Stations
tab in the image below.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

When selecting a point pair, you must select a distinguishable object that is
visible on both tabs.
A point labeled 1 displays on the Reference Stations tab. The coordinates for
the point display in the first field in the Pick point pairs list. Your cursor
automatically advances to the second field.

Note: If it is helpful, click the Center button to center point 1 on the Reference
Stations tab.

c. Using the cross-hairs cursor, click on the same building corner as shown on the
Moving Stations tab in the image above.
The results of the registration using the new point pair are displayed in the
Check Pair section located in the lower portion of the command pane. Note that
the Overlap has improved very slightly.

d. Repeat this procedure to create a second point pair on the lower-right corner of
an open window near the corner of the building as shown here.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

The results of the registration using the second point pair are displayed in the
Check Pair section. Note that the Overlap has again improved very slightly.

e. Click the Optimize Pair Registration button and again review the results.
There is very minor additional improvement to the Overlap.
As you can see, in this case, the automatic registration process provided results very
similar to the point-pair process, and was much quicker to perform.
You are now ready to add the selected moving S3 station to the reference station
group. Note that the red Compute Project Needed button is displayed in the Status
bar.
7. Press F4 to re-compute the project.
8. Click the Add to reference button.
The S3 station (Scan 3) is added to the same station group as station 100 (Scan 1)
and station 200 (Scan 2) resulting in the new group: {100 (S1) ; 200 (S2), S3 (Q1)}.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

You are now ready to perform an overall refinement adjustment to further ensure
all of the stations in the registered station group are registered (aligned) correctly
with each other.
9. In the Register Scans command pane, select the Refinement tab.

The new station group is selected by default in the Select drop-down list.
The Fixed check box, which indicates the scans you do not want to move during the
refinement, has defaulted to showing station 100 and 200 as fixed and S3 as
movable. If a station is set up on a known location, the check box is checked by
default and cannot be unchecked. The non-checked station S3 will align to the fixed
stations 100 and 200 during the refinement process.
10. Click the Refine Overall Registration button to start the refinement process.
A progress bar displays at the bottom of the window showing the progress of the
refinement computation. When it is complete, you are prompted to view the
Project Scan Refinement Report.
11. In the Transformation Complete message window, click Yes to view the report.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

It includes the project file data, coordinate system information, reference stations
included in the refinement, overall results, and results by station group.
12. In the TBC ribbon, select Home > View > View Filter Manager. Then, in the View
Filter Manager, uncheck the Raw Data check box to hide survey data and "clean up"
the 3D View.

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 Step 3. Register the scans

This completes the tutorial. You can now make measurements, create deliverables, and
perform other point-cloud related workflows in the project.

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