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Reconstruct Surface (Reality Mapping Tools)

Summary

Generates a digital surface model (DSM), true orthos, DSM meshes, 3D meshes, Gaussian Splats, and point clouds from adjusted imagery in a mosaic dataset.

Usage

  • The Input Mosaic Dataset parameter value must be preadjusted. For information about block adjustment in ortho mapping, see the Compute Block Adjustments tool documentation.

  • When the tool is run, a reality.json file will be created in the Reconstruction Folder parameter value. If the tool is run again using the same Reconstruction Folder value, the presence of the reality.json file will set the Scenario, Quality, Waterbody Features, and Correction Features parameters based on the parameter values from the previous run. To generate additional products for the same project, run the tool again.

    Note:

    To reset the values used for the Waterbody Features and Correction Features parameters, set those parameter values to NONE.

  • If there are changes to the input mosaic dataset, specify a different folder for the Reconstruction Folder value. To generate products that reflect changes to the mosaic dataset, provide this new location and run the tool again.

  • Use the Area of Interest parameter to speed up processing and generate products for a subset of images in the input mosaic dataset.

  • If the Reconstruction Options parameter is specified, the properties of the .json file or JSON string will set the defaults for the remaining optional parameters.

    Note:

    If the same property is set using the Reconstruction Options parameter and a remaining optional parameter, the optional parameter value will overwrite the Reconstruction Options value.

    The following list defines the keywords used by the Reconstruction Options parameter as either a .json file or a JSON string:

    • scenario—Specifies the type of imagery that will be used to generate the output products.

    • fwdOverlap—The forward (in-strip) overlap percentage between the images. This keyword is used when scenario is set to AERIAL_NADIR.

    • swdOverlap—The sideward (cross-strip) overlap percentage between the images. This keyword is used when scenario is set to AERIAL_NADIR.

    • quality—Specifies the quality of the final product.

    • products—Specifies the products to be generated.

    • tileSize—The tile size. Values can be AUTO or type double.

    • cellSize—The cell size of the output raster product. This value is automatically estimated, but it can be manually defined. Values can be AUTO or type double.

    • tilingOrigin—The map coordinates of the tiling origin, for example, "tilingOrigin": [0, 0].

    • areaFeatures—The area of interest.

    • waterbodyFeatures—A polygon that defines the extent of large water bodies.

    • coarseWaterbody—A Boolean value that specifies the waterbody feature is a precise waterbody or coarse waterbody. If set to False, the waterbody is precise. If set to True, the waterbody is coarse. The default value is True.

    • correctionFeatures—A polygon that defines the extent of all surfaces that are not water bodies.

    • dsmMetaProducts—Specifies the DSM meta information products that will be included in the output. Values can include any combination of DSM_BINARY_MASK, DSM_DISTANCE_MAP, and DSM_POINT_MODEL_COUNT.

    • meshFormats—Specifies the mesh output format. Valid values are SLPK, OBJ, and 3D_TILES, for example, "meshFormats": "SLPK;OBJ;3D_TILES". The default value is SLPK.

    • processingFolder—The processing location in local storage. The default value is the local temp folder. The content generated will be deleted after processing is completed.

    • resultsFolder—The output location of the processing results. The default value is the reconstruction folder.

    • meshSettings—Specifies the mesh settings for mesh products. The supported mesh settings are srs, exportInLocalCoordinateSystem, exportAsSingleFile, and keepHeightsOfInputCoordinateSystem. Different mesh formats support different mesh settings. Mesh settings can be set globally or according to format. For example, when set to { "dsmMeshSettings": { "srs": "4326;5773" } }, the SLPK format mesh and 3D_Tiles format mesh will be output to the specified spatial reference. If you want the SLPK format mesh and 3D_Tiles format mesh to output to a different spatial reference, set the mesh settings according to the format.

      • srs—The spatial reference for the SLPK format. The srs value can be a WKID pair of the horizontal coordinate system and vertical coordinate system, such as "4326;5773" or WKT. The first value is the horizontal coordinate system, and the srs value can be specified if the transformation from the project coordinate system to the selected coordinate system is supported. If the target spatial reference is a geographic coordinate system, only WGS84 is currently supported. The default is the spatial reference of the mosaic dataset.

      • exportInLocalCoordinateSystem—A Boolean value that specifies whether the mesh will be exported in a local coordinate system. This option is available for the OBJ format. If set to True, the mesh will be exported in a local coordinate system. If set to False, the mesh will be exported in the coordinate system of the reconstruction. The default value is False.

      • exportAsSingleFile—A Boolean value that specifies whether the mesh will be exported as a single .obj file or as multiple files. This option is only available for the OBJ format. If set to True, the mesh will be exported as a single .obj file. If set to False, the mesh will be exported as multiple .obj files. The default value is False.

    • dsmMeshSettings—Specifies the mesh settings for the DSM Mesh product. The supported DSM mesh settings are the same as those for meshSettings above.

    • tiePointTablePath—Specifies the path to the tie point table.

    • slnPointTablePath—Specifies the path to the solution point table.

  • The following is an example of the Reconstruction Options parameter value specified as JSON:

    {
  "scenario": "AERIAL_NADIR",
  "fwdOverlap": 0.60,
  "swdOverlap": 0.30,
  "quality": "ULTRA",
  "products": "DSM;TRUE_ORTHO;DSM_MESH",
  "dsmMeshFormats": "SLPK;3D_TILES;OBJ",
  "dsmMetaProducts": "DSM_BINARY_MASK;DSM_DISTANCE_MAP",
  "dsmMeshSettings": {
    "SLPK": {
      "srs": "4326;5773"
    },
    "OBJ": {
      "exportInLocalCoordinateSystem": false,
      "exportAsSingleFile": false
    }
  },
  "resultsFolder": "C:\\RMResultsFolder"
}

  • Multispectral drone data only supports generating DSM and True Ortho products; it does not support generation of Point Cloud or Mesh products.

  • When the Products parameter is set to DSM, the tool will create an output LAS dataset or LAS folder in the ...\Results\DSM\las folder. The LAS dataset or folder can be used to generate a digital terrain model (DTM) using the Interpolate From Point Cloud tool.

    Legacy:

    At ArcGIS Pro 3.2, the Scenario parameter's Default option was replaced with the Drone option. Additionally, the following parameter options have been deprecated:

    • Quality parameter—The Medium and Low options were deprecated.

    • Area of Interest parameter—The Auto option was deprecated.

Parameters

Label Explanation Data type

Input Mosaic Dataset

The adjusted input mosaic dataset.

Mosaic Dataset; Mosaic Layer

Reconstruction Folder

The output dataset folder.

Folder

Reconstruction Options

(Optional)

A .json file or JSON string that specifies the values for the tool parameters.

If this parameter value is provided, the properties of the .json file or JSON string will set the default values for the remaining optional parameters. See the Usages section for a list of options.

File; String

Scenario

(Optional)

Specifies the type of imagery that will be used to generate the output products.

  • Drone—The input imagery will be defined as having been acquired with drones or terrestrial cameras.

  • Aerial Nadir—The input imagery will be defined as having been acquired with large, photogrammetric camera systems.

  • Aerial Oblique—The input imagery will be defined as having been acquired with oblique camera systems.

  • Satellite—The input imagery will be defined as having been acquired with a satellite.

String

Forward Overlap

(Optional)

The forward (in-strip) overlap percentage that will be used between the images. The default is 60.

This parameter is active when the Scenario parameter is set to Aerial Nadir.

Long

Sideward Overlap

(Optional)

The sideward (cross-strip) overlap percentage that will be used between the images. The default is 30.

This parameter is active when the Scenario parameter is set to Aerial Nadir.

Long

Quality

(Optional)

Specifies the quality of the final product.

  • Ultra—The highest level of density point cloud will be used. Input images will be used at their original (full) resolution.

  • High—The high level of density point cloud will be used. Input images will be downsampled two times.

  • Rapid—The product will be generated at an adjusted quality to serve workflows where a quick result is needed.

String

Products

(Optional)

Specifies the products that will be generated.

  • DSM—A DSM will be generated. This option will be specified by default when the Scenario parameter is set to Aerial Nadir or Satellite.

  • True Ortho—The imagery will be orthorectified. This option will be specified by default when the Scenario parameter is set to Aerial Nadir or Satellite.

  • DSM Mesh—A DSM mesh will be generated. This option will be specified by default when the Scenario parameter is set to Aerial Nadir or Satellite.

  • Point Cloud—An image point cloud will be generated. This option will be specified by default when the Scenario parameter is set to Drone or Aerial Oblique.

  • Mesh—A 3D mesh will be generated. This option will be specified by default when the Scenario parameter is set to Drone or Aerial Oblique.

  • Gaussian Splats—Points will be rendered in a dense 3D point cloud with a Gaussian distribution, and machine learning will be used to reconstruct high-fidelity 3D scenes that will capture fine details such as thin structures.

String

Cell Size

(Optional)

The cell size of the output product.

Double; String

Area of Interest

(Optional)

The area of interest that will be used to select images for processing. The area of interest can be computed automatically or defined using an input polygon.

If the value contains 3D geometries, the z-component will be ignored. If the value includes overlapping features, the union of these features will be computed.

Feature Layer; File; String

Waterbody Features

(Optional)

A polygon that will define the extent of large water bodies. The value must be a 3D feature.

Feature Layer; File; String

Correction Features

(Optional)

A polygon that will define the extent of all surfaces that are not water bodies. The value must be a 3D feature.

Feature Layer; File; String

Derived output

Label Explanation Data type

Updated Reconstruction Folder

The output reconstruction folder.

Folder

Environments

This tool does not use any geoprocessing environments.

Licensing information

  • Basic: No
  • Standard: Requires ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
  • Advanced: Requires ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro