PFTrack Hero Cloud

My apologies for the radio silence the past two weeks. I got smothered by a report deadline aligning with the launch of a new class, but back to it…

Last May, I was experimenting with the potential of efficiently creating useful site point clouds from GoPro drive-through video(s). As detailed here, the results were promising.

The idea of generating a point cloud that’s detailed and accurate enough to inform a recon (simulation, photogrammetry, diagramming, etc.) from a drive-through blows my hair back. Not long ago, accomplishing that feat required equipment that costs as much as my first house. But things are changing… both on the hardware and software fronts.

PFTrack recently launched a new tool, Hero Cloud, which allows the user to generate a point cloud from a tracked camera using Structure from Motion. So, I thought I’d reanalyze last May’s GoPro video to see what it can do. Here’s a screenshot of the process, and result.

There is hope here for sure. The process was quick and robust. However, the output wasn’t dense enough for my liking, even when the density setting was redlined. Nevertheless, this tool could come in handy in specific situations and I’m sure PFTrack won’t stop here. It’ll be interesting to see how this tool evolves.

On the hardware side, I’m keeping a keen eye on Ouster’s OS1. Thanks to Jarrod Carter for bringing this alien tech to my attention. It’s a vehicle-mountable laser scanner that natively captures color, without a camera! Here is a taste of what it can do.

The tech is moving lightning fast. Thanks for reading, keep learning!

Lou Peck
​Lightpoint | JSForensics