Claas Kuhnen
3D scanning for Industrial and Interior Design (Part 1)
Claas Kuhnen is a 3D design generalist teaching Industrial and Interior Design at Wayne State University. In his design studio courses, students work on creating 3D models of existing project spaces (buildings, etc), and combine these with their 3D concept designs. Currently, students take manual measurements of a project space, which can be problematic because it is labor-intensive and also prone to human error.
To innovate on this workflow, Claas has been experimenting with multiple photogrammetry and mobile LiDar applications. For his experimentation, Claas selected a factory building just outside Detroit because it is of larger scale, which allows him to test the feasibility of using drones, iPhones, and LiDar-assisted photogrammetry to model this factory.
Claas tested Trnio Plus, and its unique ability to combine LiDar scans with drone images. While the drone captured exterior details from above, the iPhone digitized close-up and interior spaces, with the LiDar sensor helping to establish scale. The end result is a detailed 3D model that can be used as a 3D blueprint reference to build upon. Another great benefit is also that for students and interior designers, Trnio is a very accessible and cost-effective tool.
Images and Data Collection
Claas used a DJI Mavic with a 48MP camera for the drone footage, and an iPhone 13 Pro for the LiDar capture. For the drone footage, Claas circled the factory at different heights, as well as performed a grid path to get the land around the factory.
For the LiDar scan, Claas scanned the building walls to ensure Trnio Plus could combine the drone and LiDar data. He also scanned the interior of these buildings - areas that are hard for drones to scan. Finally, to ensure the highest accuracy, Claas returned to the LiDar starting point to close the loop on his scan. Closing the loop allows Trnio Plus to properly align all images, and reduces any drift in a scan.
Below are videos showing his flight path, as well as the images he captured for the LiDar scan.
Detroit Factory Drone Footage.
Trnio Plus LiDar footage.
Lessons Learned
One of the issues we encountered merging the drone footage with the LiDar data was that the drone footage was from a very high vantage point. This made it difficult to match images between the two datasets. To mediate this, we cropped the drone images to focus only on the factory rooftop. This is equivalent to having flown the drone closer to the factory.
The lesson learned was to have the drone fly closer to your target. Basically, a portion of the drone images should be at the same level as your ground images.
3D Scans
Below are the 3D scans from the drone image set, and from the LIDar data. The drone 3D scan is more complete, but has no detail on the insides of the rooms. The LiDar scan is scaled properly to the real world, and has a better reconstruction inside each of the rooms.
Below is a video comparing the LiDar scan to the LiDar + Drone scan. You’ll notice that the combined scan has the detail of the LiDar scan, but the completeness of the drone scan.
Comparison of LiDar vs LiDar + Drone scans
In this post, Claas explored how Trnio Plus can be used for 3D scanning for the purpose of Industrial and Interior Design projects. Claas demonstrates a scan comprised of LiDar + drone footage can provide real-world scaling, no drift, and high accuracy. In part 2, he’ll show how his students have used this factory for their concept designs.
Thank you!