Kwajalein Atoll Photogrammetry - Aircraft Wrecks

The US National Parks Service have spent some time documenting the aircraft wrecks at Kwajalein, and have been kind enough to allow us to write up a short blog:

WW2 Aircraft at Kwajalein

Hi Simon,

I just created photogrammetry models of the airplanes wrecks around the USS Saratoga in Bikini Atoll and will be publishing them soon. 

What does Zephyr provide that Metashape doesn't have? I'm still using the "regular" version of Metashape because I can justify the expense difference of the Pro Version. 

I've been working on building some very high resolution models of a few of the airplanes I've done and working with Atomontage to get them posted. I'll send out links as soon as they are complete.

- brett

On 7/16/2023 at 7:04 PM, TmxDiver said:

Hi Simon,

What does Zephyr provide that Metashape doesn't have? I'm still using the "regular" version of Metashape because I can justify the expense difference of the Pro Version. 

- brett

 

For us switching was a moral as much as a technical decision. After what happened (and is happening) in Ukraine we could not sell software authored and owned by a Russian company. The thought of the tax revenues ending up funding things that are abhorrent was enough even if the sums are tiny. We still consult and train Metashape but will not sell licenses. It was an uncomfortable decision as we like Metashape but the process of discovering an alternative was very, very useful indeed and gave us deep insight into what was out there.

Having worked with both to a deep level and written training courses for each I can say Zephyr has certain advantages; Clean outputs with less noise, inherent recursive optimisation, simplified GCP placement, laser scan alignment, masking and editing tools all are easier to use. The workflow is the same...but with less manual intervention to achieve a comparable level of accuracy and confidence.

For us the difference between the basic and Pro is easy - both us and our clients work with geo location and scaling data. We have a paper coming out soon that explains the value and uses the SS Thistlegorm model and site as its source. 

Scaling really, really adds value. The amount of research conducted in the comfort of the office based on valid, robust and accurate 3D reconstruction is a world away from creating an attractive shape. We would not have learned as much as we have without scaling, and to a lesser extent geo location. 

Thing is, adding this value is not difficult...but its so often overlooked in the rush to create something that looks right.

So its more about the need. Is a representative shape...something about right...needed? Or is it more about learning, interpretation and analysis?

Make sense? Drop me a line if you need a longer chat or a view of what Zephyr can do - happy to show.

Thanks for the detailed response, Simon. Very insightful. 

One additional question on Zephyr: does it support Mac M1/M2 GPU acceleration? Their website seems to indicate Nvidia GPUs only?

Thanks,

 - brett

No Mac support (I love my Mac...but read on...) and NVIDA is the card of choice.

Against my better thinking...our tech director pushed me to get a Windows PC. To date, its sat there and done its thing...at a price point and performance that has been impressive...I love my Mac HW but the business case isn't there.

It just sits there and works*.

*I hope I do not regret writing this...

I was in cybersecurity for 25 years and never owned a windows PC and I'm not about to start. If it isn't Unix-based, it isn't going to do what I need.

I'd actually be running OpenBSD still if I could. 

No Mac support is, unfortunately, a deal killer for me.

- brett

17 hours ago, TmxDiver said:

I was in cybersecurity for 25 years and never owned a windows PC and I'm not about to start. If it isn't Unix-based, it isn't going to do what I need.

- brett

 

The Solar Winds hack has spooked more than one customer to run anything risky or with a hint of compromise on an air gapped no internet system.

So it's one way of reducing risk I guess.