Measure and Analyze

The following measurement tools are available:

§   Distance and Area

§   Volume

§   Query Tool

§   Elevation Profile

§   Contour and Slope Maps

§   Viewshed

§   Swipe and Compare

§   Inspector (only in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus)

§   Clear Path (only in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus)

§   High and Low (only in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus)

§   Cross Section (only in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus)

§   Save and Display Measurement and Analysis Objects

§   Spatial and Attribute Queries

 

Measure Distance and Area

 To measure distance:

1.      On the side toolbar > > Tools tab > Distance.

2.      Click any point on the terrain or on an object to define the start point of the measurement. Click to set the second point and then again for each additional segment. Right-click to finish. If you want too delete the last point drawn, click Delete Last Point   The aerial, horizontal, and vertical distance measurements and slope are displayed in the distance measurement panel as well as in the 3D Window. Use the switches in the panel to turn on/off the display of any of these measurements in the 3D Window.

3.      If you want to calculate a terrain profile for the path defined by the line you drew, in the measurement panel, click Terrain Profile . When calculation is complete, a terrain profile graph is displayed, showing the terrain elevation profile.

4.      Turn on the information you want indicated on the graph: polyline waypoints, min/max altitude and max slope.

 

 To measure area on an arbitrary plane or the terrain:

1.      On the side toolbar > > Tools tab >  Area.

2.      For area on terrain, click Horizontal Mode . For area on an arbitrary plane, click 3D Plane Mode .

3.      Click any point on the terrain/plane to define the start point of the measurement, and then click to set the second point and again for each additional point. Right-click to finish the measurement. The calculated area and perimeter area displayed in the area measurement panel, while only the area measurement is displayed in the 3D Window.

Measure Volume Added or Removed

Analyze the volume of the terrain or model removed or added by drawn horizontal planes. This tool is only available in Chrome and Edge browsers.

 To measure volume:

1.      On the side toolbar > > Tools tab >  Volume.

2.      Click Draw Area, and then in the 3D Window, draw a polygon on the terrain or model, defining a horizontal plane. Click to add the first point of the horizontal plane polygon. The first point placed defines the altitude of the polygon. Click again to add additional points of the polygon until you have marked the entire shape. Right-click to finish marking the polygon. The analysis results are displayed.

Query Any Point or Object in the 3D World  

Query any point or object in the 3D World: This tool is only available in Chrome/Edge browsers.

 To perform a query:

1.      On the side toolbar > > Query.

2.      Click on the point or object for which you require information. The longitude, latitude, and elevation are displayed. When an object or layer is selected, general information about the object and attribute information, if available, is displayed.

Calculate Elevation Profile

 Display the terrain/model elevation profile along a defined path:

1.      On the side toolbar > > Tools tab >  Elevation Profile.

2.      Select a quality level. This determines the distance between sample points along the polyline for which the elevation profile is being calculated. High Quality will yield a more accurate result but take longer to calculate.

3.      Click Draw Line and then click any point on the terrain or model to define the start point of the measurement. Click to set the second point and then again for each additional segment. Right-click to complete.

4.      When the calculation is complete, an elevation profile graph is displayed, showing the elevation profile.

5.      Select the checkboxes of the information you want indicated on the graph: polyline waypoints, min/max elevation and min/max slope.

Overlay Terrain with Contour and Slope Maps

 Display a contour map on the entire terrain :

§   On the side toolbar >   > Maps tab > Contour Map. A contour map overlays the entire 3D Window.

 Display a slope map

§   On the sidebar >   > Maps tab > Slope Map. A slope map overlays the entire 3D Window. Slope map colors are rendered on terrain textures as well as on 3D models.

 

Calculate Viewshed

The 3D viewshed calculates and marks all areas on the terrain and on 3D models and objects that are visible from a selected point on the terrain. 

 To create a viewshed:

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Viewshed.

2.      In the 3D Window, click to define your viewpoint for the 3D viewshed, and then click again to define your desired endpoint (defining the distance of sight). The viewshed appears on the terrain as a sector of a circle, where the center point is the viewpoint and the arc is the endpoint (marking the end of the distance of sight analysis). Within the sector, areas that are visible from the viewpoint are colored green, whereas areas that are not visible from the viewpoint are colored red.

3.      In the viewshed property sheet that is displayed, set its properties:

Property	Description
Description	The description or name of the 3D viewshed (read-only). This text appears in the sidebar’s Analysis tab as the name of the object.
Altitude	The altitude above the ground for the viewer location.
Field of View	Drag the slider to set the angle limits, in degrees, of the viewshed.
Distance	The length of the viewshed analysis from the viewer in meters.
Direction	The horizontal angle of the camera when viewing the viewer location.
Visibility Distance	Sets the distance from the camera at which the viewshed disappears.

4.      The initial viewshed is for preview only. Once you have adjusted the properties as required, if you want to generate a precise viewshed, click Calculate.

5.      Set some additional properties:

Property	Description
Spacing	Distance between each of the rays that is sampled. The lower the value, the more accurate the viewshed but the longer it takes to calculate.
Add Viewer Altitude	To set an altitude above the ground for the viewer location, enable this option, and then set the Viewer Altitude.
Color Scheme	Select a color scheme, either for a single viewshed measurement or for two viewshed measurements.
Target Altitude	Sets the required altitude for the target.
Second Altitude	When "Two Measurements" was selected in the Color Scheme, this setting allows you to specify the altitude for the second target.

6.      Click Calculate. The 3D viewshed is saved and is available from the Project Tree tab section of the side toolbar’s Layers tab.

Viewshed Calculation - Resolution Variation with Distance and Field of View:

The resolution of the calculated viewshed is directly affected by both the distance from the selected observed viewpoint and field of view.

Resolution Variation with Distance:

Resolution is highest near the viewpoint and gradually decreases with increasing distance, as follows:

§   1 km: 0.375 m/px

§   2 km: 0.75 m/px

§   4 km: 1.5 m/px

§   8 km: 3 m/px

Resolution Variation with Field of View Within 1 km of the Viewpoint:

Within 1 km of the viewpoint, resolution is also influenced by field of view. As the field of view increases, encompassing a wider viewshed area, resolution decreases as follows:

§   30° arc: 0.5 m/px

§   60° arc: 1 m/px

§   120° arc: 2 m/px

Additionally, within 1 km, query points will also be displayed on the walls of the model.

Viewshed Display – Distribution of Query Points:

For distances of sight up to 1 km, query points are evenly distributed every 2 meters. Beyond 1 km distance, a grid-based approach is used due to resource considerations and the complexity of long-range visibility assessments. This approach optimizes resource usage while providing meaningful visibility information. The area is divided into grid cells, and within each cell, query points are evaluated for visibility (green for visible, red for hidden):

If all points in a cell are green (visible) or all are red (hidden), the system selects the center point of the cell for display.

§   If a cell contains both green and red points, the system selects the topmost green point (most visible) and the bottommost red point (least visible) for display.

  

 

Swipe and Compare

The Swipe Layers tool helps you detect the changes between two layers in the same location of any of the following types: mesh, point cloud, or imagery, or between one of these layer types and the base terrain. Using the tool, you can horizontally swipe between them, dynamically revealing and hiding parts of each layer.

 To swipe and compare two layers: 

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Compare.

2.      In the Swipe Compare panel, click any of the following: 3D Mesh, Point Cloud, and Imagery to filter the selection to the layer type(s) you want.

3.      Select the layers for comparison from the two dropdown lists, and click Start.

4.      Slide the slider all the way to the right to completely show the first layer, and all the way to the left to completely show the second one. As the slider moves between these extremes, the first layer is gradually clipped to reveal the second one.

5.      Click Auto-Repeat   to automatically loop the slider value between 0-100% to dynamically change the top layer clipping. Click Freeze at any point to freeze the slider at a specific value.  

Inspector

The Inspector tool displays the photos used to generate a 3D PhotoMesh model so you can view and inspect any section of your model (tower, bridge, construction site, etc.) without distortions or filters. Photo Inspector makes it easy to navigate within the model and between the model and its associated photos, providing real world coordinates for each photo pixel, so you can find the best photos for each area of the model. This tool is only available in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus.

The Photo Inspector also provides a set of drawing and measurement tools to mark areas and locations on the model with inspection points, polylines, or polygons.

To perform photo inspections, the Photo Inspector tool requires access to the PhotoMesh 3D model output (3DML) and the photos layer generated by PhotoMesh's aerotriangulation process. The tool also needs access to the folder or server containing the original photos used by PhotoMesh.

 

 To inspect your model: 

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Inspector.

2.      The Photos Layer field is automatically populated with the AT   Calculated Photos layer in the project. If there are multiple Calculated Photos layers, select the required layer from the dropdown list.

3.      Click Start. The Photo Inspector Quick Guide is displayed.

4.      To set an inspection point, click Zoom in  to view the inspection area.

5.      Click Set inspection point  (Shortcut key: "m") and then click on the model in the point of interest. The photos looking at the point are listed in the Photo Inspector lists under the main and secondary viewers. In the 3D Window, photo icons are displayed for each of the photos looking at the point.

6.      If the photo viewers are displayed, you can select a new point of interest by clicking Set inspection point , and then clicking on one of the photos.

7.      Use the Reset  button on the toolbar to clear the inspection point, close the photo viewers and reset the visibility filter on the photo’s layer in the 3D Window to view all photo icons.

 

 To mark and measure areas in your 3D model or on photos in the Photo Inspector and generate an HTML or PDF inspection report:

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Inspector.

2.      The Inspection Layer field is automatically populated with all polyline or polygon feature layers in the project in the project. Select the required layer from the dropdown list. Only choose a layer for which you have Edit access.

3.      Click Start. The Photo Inspector Quick Guide is displayed. Do any of the following on the Photo Inspector toolbar:

§   To add an inspection line or polygon, click Draw inspection line on model or photo . You can draw the lines on the 3D model or on the photos:

§   To add an inspection point, click Draw inspection point on model or photo . Then click anywhere on the model or on a photo.

§   To measure distance, click Start distance measurement . Click any point on the model or on a photo to define the start point of the measurement. A yellow line extends from the start point. Click again to add additional measurement points. Right-click to finish the measurement.

4.      To view a list of markings and measurements to an inspection layer, on the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Show list of inspection drawings .   The Inspections List is displayed, showing a table of all the inspections markings and measurements in the layer.

5.      Do any of the following:

§   Click View  to zoom in the model in the 3D Window to the selected inspection marking or measurement.

§   Click Show Photos  to open the Photo Viewer and show photos looking at the area marked by your inspection feature.

§   Click Edit  to open the Inspection Properties dialog for the selected inspection marking or measurement. Then enter the inspection attributes: title, severity level, and author. Perform any of the following operations in the Inspection Properties dialog:

·          Click Delete   to delete the inspection drawing.

·          Click Redraw  to redraw the inspection drawing.

·          Click Zoom in  to zoom in to the inspection drawing.

·          Click Show Photos  to open the Photo Viewer and show photos looking at the area marked by your inspection feature.

Settings

Settings for your current inspection project can be viewed and edited from the Photo Inspector Settings dialog. These settings include general project information, viewer properties, photo filter settings, and inspection layer properties. The settings are saved separately for each photo layer and applied when closing the Settings dialog (either by clicking X or Close).

To view and modify photo inspector settings:

§   On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Settings , and view/modify the settings as required:

Parameter	Description
Settings
Camera Symbol Size	Enter the size of the camera symbols that should display for each photo.
Search Distance (m)	Search distance, in meters, for photos looking at the selected point. Enter a value that is suitable for the effective range of photos in your project.
Max Results Per Viewer	Number of photos that will be listed in the photo viewer photos list (for both the main viewer and secondary viewer).
Secondary Viewer
Show Secondary Viewer	In a single viewer mode, the main viewer shows photos from all directions. When a secondary viewer is shown, it displays alternative photos to the main viewer: either from alternative directions or non-RGB photos (depends on the Secondary viewer settings).
Attached to Main	Attaching the secondary viewer to the main one links the two viewers so that the secondary viewer moves to focus on the same center point as in the main viewer, whenever you drag or zoom in the main viewer.
Secondary Viewer	Select what to display in the secondary viewer: §   From alternative direction - Photos looking at the point of interest from the left, right, and behind §   Non-RGB photos - e.g., NIR, thermal
Inspection Layer
Inspection Layer	Select the required inspection layer.
Draw Mode	Select the drawing mode for the inspection markings: §   Polyline §   Freehand line §   Polygon
Line Width	Line width of the inspection markings.
Max Symbols per Photo	Maximum number of inspection markers and measurements to display on each photo viewer. A large number of drawings may affect the tool's speed.
Measurement Units	Select Metric or U.S. Imperial.
Project Information
Project Name	Name of project.
Project Description	Free text describing the project.
Created for	Free text identifying the company commissioning the project.
Author	Name of inspector.

Clear Path

The Clear Path tool helps users identify suitable locations for specific purposes, such as helicopter landing zones or vehicle pathways. It offers preliminary indications based on user-defined criteria within a specified search radius. This tool is only available in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus.

 To clear a path: 

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Clear Path.

2.      In the Clear Path panel, in the Search For field, select a predefined location (e.g., helicopter landing zone). The minimum width and maximum slope are automatically set to those suitable for your selected location type. If you want  to set your own minimum width and maximum slope parameters, select Custom.

3.      In the Search Radius, set the radius within which you want the tool to search for appropriate locations .

4.      Click Set Location, and then click in the 3D Window to define the center of your search area. When the surface analysis is complete, the dialog displays the analysis results and a feature layer is created in the 3D Window showing in green all points that match the search criteria.

High and Low

The High and Low tool identifies elevation differences in a selected area of interest. It colorizes the highest and lowest regions based on the percentage values set.  For example, if you set a top percentage of 15% and a bottom percentage of 10%, the tool will colorize the highest 15% and the lowest 10% of the area. This tool is only available in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus.

 To highlight high and low areas: 

1.      On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > High and Low.

2.      In the High and Low panel, in the Highlight Mode field, select High and Low Areas to highlight both, or select only High/Low areas.

3.      Set the Top and Bottom Percentage.

4.      In the Search Radius, set the radius within which you want the tool to analyze .

5.      Click Set Location, and then click in the 3D Window to define the center of your search area. When the surface analysis is complete, the dialog displays the analysis results and a feature layer is created in the 3D Window showing the highest and lowest areas.

Cross Section

The Cross Section tool makes a horizontal or vertical straight cut to expose obscured sections of the 3D View. The cross section slider increments are based on the Plane Size set and the distance between the camera and the plane when creating the cross section box, i.e., the narrower the plane and the closer the camera, the smaller the increments. This tool is only available in TerraExplorer Fusion Plus.

 To use the Cross Section tool:

1.      On the side toolbar >  > Tools tab > Cross Section.

2.      Select the mode. 

§   Auto – The direction of the cross section automatically adjusts based on the surface under the cursor. If the cursor points at a vertical surface, such as the side of a building, a vertical cross section is created. Conversely, when the cursor is over the terrain or any horizontal flat surface, like rooftops, a horizontal cross section is generated.

§   Horizontal – Create horizontal cross sections.

§   Vertical – Create vertical cross sections.

3.      Click Start.

4.      In the 3D Window, click where you want to create a cross section. Then use the Move slider to adjust the position of the cross-section plane. When cutting a horizontal cross section, slide the slider to the right to lower the plane (increasing the section being clipped), and left to raise it. When cutting a vertical cross section, slide the slider to the left to move the cross-section plane forward, and right to move it backward. 

5.      Use the Plane Size slider to adjust the size of the cross-section pane.

6.      Click Stop to exit the particular cross section.

Save and Display Measurement and Volume Objects

All distance and area measurements can be saved in the project and their display switched on/off from the Project Tree. Note that viewshed and volume analysis objects are always saved in the project and accessible from the Project Tree.

 To save a measurement or analysis object:

§   On the side toolbar >  > click the respective analysis tool, and switch on Create Measurement Objects. A measurement object is saved only if this option was switched on before the measurement was performed.

 To display a measurement or analysis object:

§   On the side toolbar >  > in My Data section, select the required object. Right-click to fly or jump to the object or to delete it.

Attribute and Spatial Queries

Feature layers can be queried by attribute or based on spatial relationship with a polygon or selection point.

 To query feature layers by attribute:

1.      On the side toolbar >  > in the My Data section > right-click the layer you want to query > Select and Query. The Query panel is displayed.

 

2.      To see attribute information and perform a search by attribute, do the following:

a.      Click Attributes. The Attribute Table is displayed.

 

b.      In the Search query field, enter an attribute, operator, and value and click Search.  Your search results are displayed in the search results list. To fly to a feature, double-click the feature’s row in the attribute table.

3.      To perform a spatial query, do the following:

a.      Select either of the following from the Query panel:

·          Select – Select the feature that is clicked.

·          Area – Select all features that are spatially related to the polygon that will be drawn.

b.      In the 3D Window, do one of the following depending on the type of spatial query:

·          Point selection – Place a single point in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired location.

·          Area selection – Place the polygon points in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired locations. You must place at least three points. Finish the polygon creation by right-clicking.

The Attribute Table is displayed showing the selected features.

4.      Toggle off the spatial query command when you want to turn off the query.