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Create and edit a capture session

A capture session contains all data corresponding to a single acquisition mission and consists of one or more camera sessions and/or one lidar session. Based on the input data type, a capture session supports the following combination of sessions:

  • Camera sessions and lidar session of a hybrid aerial sensor

  • Stand-alone camera sessions of a single-camera system or multicamera system

  • Stand-alone lidar session

Import data captured from different missions into separate capture sessions.

Note:

To achieve the best results in Alignment and Reconstruction, Imagery and Lidar data should be captured from the same type of platform (airplane, drone or similar) and at similar range from the captured scene when processed together.

Capture sessions

A capture session can contain imagery data, lidar data, or both. Imagery data and lidar data are organized into separate sections and must share the same spatial reference system.

Camera session

A camera session groups the data of a single camera into a single object. A camera session contains the following data:

  • Images—A set of images captured by the same camera during a single mission. Supported formats are TIFF (.tif and .tiff), JPEG (.jpg and .jpeg), PNG (.png), and MRF (.mrf).

  • Orientations—The orientation data for each image in the set of images.

  • Camera—A definition of the camera that captured the images.

Lidar session

A lidar session contains the following data:

  • Trajectories—One or more files that contain the position and time information of the lidar sensor during data acquisition. Supported formats are SBET (.out) and SOL (.sol).

  • Point Clouds—A set of postprocessed point clouds after the data acquisition survey. Each point cloud should correspond to a trajectory file. Supported formats are LAS (.las) up to version 1.3 and LAZ (.laz).

Create a capture session using imagery data

The workflow for creating a capture session depends on the file format of the orientation data of the imagery. The following are the supported orientation file formats:

  • Image header with orientation metadata

  • Text (.txt) and (.csv)

  • Frames and cameras table (.csv)

  • Trimble Inpho project (.prj)

  • HxMap orientation files (.gori)

  • SURE orientation files (.ori)

    Caution:

    HxMap and SURE orientation files are supported for single-camera systems only.

To create a capture session with imagery data, refer to the section below that corresponds to your orientation file format.

Create a capture session from images metadata

To create a capture session from images containing orientation information stored in the image header, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. Ensure that the Imagery Data check box is checked.

  3. In the Image Location section, click Browse , browse to the location of your images folder and click OK. For data stored in different folders, browse to the directory containing all images and check the Include subfolders check box.

  4. Confirm that the Orientation Source drop-down arrow is set to Images and the orientation data and input spatial reference is extracted from the images.

    Note:

    Metadata can be extracted from imagery captured by common drone manufacturers, including DJI, Freefly, Skydio, Parrot, AeroVironment, Quantix, and senseFly.

  5. Confirm that the Target Spatial Reference section is set to the default projected spatial reference, into which the input orientation data will be automatically converted.

    Tip:

    Optionally, click Select coordinate system to select a different target spatial reference. If imagery and lidar data are used together, ensure that the target spatial reference corresponds to that of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

  6. Optionally, click the Options button , to display the extracted orientation data and modify their interpretation

    1. Review the detected exterior orientations per image.

    2. If images are captured by different cameras, toggle Manual Camera System Assignment, to manually assign the input images to their corresponding cameras. This option is helpful in case the automatically detected camera sessions displayed in the Capture Session creation pane do not match the input data.

    3. For each camera, specify the name and camera ID and then click Apply.

  7. In the Capture Session Selection section:

    1. Optionally, check the Create Capture Sessions from folders check box to automatically create multiple capture sessions based on the folder structure of the input images. This option is only available if the Include subfolders check box is selected. This is helpful to automatically create separate capture sessions for data of different flights.

    2. Optionally, specify a name for the capture session. In the case where capture sessions are created from folders, the Naming Prefix is used to automatically assign distinctive names to all capture sessions.

    3. Choose the camera sessions to add to the capture session. At least one camera session must be selected to continue. Click the capture session button to automatically select all of its camera sessions.

  8. Finalize the capture session creation:

    1. Optionally, click Next to view and edit details about the camera sessions.

    2. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Create a capture session from a text file

To create a capture session from a text file orientation file format, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. Ensure that the Imagery Data check box is checked.

  3. In the Image Location section, click Browse , browse to the location of your images folder and click OK. For data stored in different folders, browse to the directory containing all images and check the Include subfolders check box.

    Note:

    Images can also be added after creating the capture session.

  4. Click the Orientation Source drop-down arrow, and click Text file (.txt, .csv).

  5. Click Browse , browse to the location of the text file you want to add, and click OK.

  6. In the Input Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system .

    Tip:

    Click the drop-down arrow to set the coordinate system from another data source of the project.

    The Spatial Reference dialog box appears.

  7. Choose the correct horizontal and vertical coordinate systems for the orientation data:

    1. Click the button under Current XY and choose a horizontal coordinate system.

    2. Click the button under Current Z and choose a vertical coordinate system.

    Tip:

    • You can type a search term or EPSG code in the Search text box to find a coordinate system.

    • Right-click a coordinate system and click Add to Favorites to add it to your favorites. Right-click either coordinate system, and click Details to see how they are defined.

  8. Click OK.

    The Target Spatial Reference section is automatically set to match the spatial reference chosen as input spatial reference.

  9. Optionally, in the Target Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system to select a different spatial reference for your final products to be in. If imagery and lidar data are used together, ensure that the target spatial reference uses the spatial reference of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

  10. In the Data Parsing section, configure the parsing options, and use File view to review how the file will be parsed.

  11. Click Next.

  12. In the Rotation Definition section, select the rotation convention and sequence the orientation angles refer to. Supported options are Omega-Phi-Kappa, Phi-Omega-Kappa, and Roll-Pitch-Yaw.

  13. In the Data Labeling section, choose the column from the drop-down options that corresponds to each of the orientation attributes listed.

    The options in the drop-down menu have the column number followed by the first value in the column.

    Tip:

    You can define an additional column in the text file containing the camera name and match it to the Camera Name attribute to automatically link orientations to their respective cameras and fill the Camera System section.

  14. In the Units section, select the Angular Unit value for the orientation data.

  15. In the Camera System Assignment section, provide a Name for each individual camera and its corresponding Camera ID to link the camera to its orientations.

    • Click Add to add a camera.

    • Click Delete to delete the selected camera.

    The Camera ID is the part of the image name that is used to identify the camera that captured the image. A Camera ID is not needed if all images were captured by the same camera.

  16. In the Capture Session Selection section, do the following:

    1. Optionally, modify the name for the capture session or sessions.

    2. Choose the camera sessions to add to the capture session. At least one camera session must be selected to continue.

    3. Click the capture session check box to select all of its camera sessions.

  17. Alternatively, import an existing capture session template to automatically fill the sensor definitions of all the cameras:

    1. Click the Menu button in the Camera System section, and click Import Template.

    2. Browse to the template file, select it, and click OK.

  18. Click Next.

  19. Define the parameters for each camera session:

    1. Click each camera session and view its details.

    2. Optionally, edit the camera session name or camera name values.

    3. In the Sensor Definition section, provide the information to define the camera sensor, or accept the default values.

    4. In the Image Coordinate System section, provide the information to define the image coordinate system, or accept the default values.

    5. In the Distortion section, choose the image distortion model used, if any, and the corresponding distortion values.

  20. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Create a capture session from a frames and camera table

To create a capture session from a frames and camera table, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. Ensure that the Imagery Data check box is checked.

  3. Skip the Image Location section if your frames and cameras Table contains correct image paths or if you prefer to add the images after creating the capture session.

  4. Click the Orientation Source drop-down arrow, and click Frames and Cameras Table (.csv).

  5. Click Browse , browse to the location of the frames and camera table you want to add, and click OK.

  6. In the Input Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system .

    Tip:

    Click the drop-down arrow to set the coordinate system from another data source of the project.

    The Spatial Reference dialog box appears.

  7. Choose the correct input horizontal and vertical coordinate systems for the orientation data:

    1. Click the button under Current XY and choose a horizontal coordinate system.

    2. Click the button under Current Z and choose a vertical coordinate system.

    Tip:

    • If the frames and cameras table file has a spatial reference defined, it is applied to the capture session automatically.

    • You can type a search term or EPSG code in the Search text box to find a coordinate system.

    • Right-click a coordinate system and click Add to Favorites to add it to your favorites. Right-click either coordinate system, and click Details to see how they are defined.

  8. Click OK.

    The Target Spatial Reference section is automatically set to match the spatial reference chosen as input spatial reference.

  9. Optionally, in the Target Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system to select a different spatial reference for your final products to be in. If imagery and lidar data are used together, ensure that the target spatial reference uses the spatial reference of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

  10. In the Capture Session Selection section, do the following:

    1. Optionally, modify the name for the capture session or sessions.

    2. Choose the camera sessions to add to the capture session. At least one camera session must be selected to continue.

    3. Click the capture session check box to select all of its camera sessions.

  11. Click Next to view details about the camera sessions.

    Alternatively, click Finish, and the camera sessions will be created as defined in the frames and camera table.

  12. Click a camera session to view and edit its details as needed.

  13. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Create a capture session from a Trimble Inpho project file

To create a capture session from an Inpho project file, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. Ensure that the Imagery Data check box is checked.

  3. Skip the Image Location section if your Inpho project file contains correct image paths or if you prefer to add the images after creating the capture session.

  4. Click the Orientation Source drop-down arrow, and click Inpho project (.prj).

  5. Click Browse , browse to the location of the Inpho project file you want to add, and click OK.

  6. In the Input Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system .

    Tip:

    Click the drop-down arrow to set the coordinate system from another data source of the project.

    The Spatial Reference dialog box appears.

  7. Choose the correct input horizontal and vertical coordinate systems for the orientation data:

    1. Click the button under Current XY and choose a horizontal coordinate system.

    2. Click the button under Current Z and choose a vertical coordinate system.

    Tip:

    • If the Inpho project file has a spatial reference defined, it is applied to the capture session automatically.

    • You can type a search term or EPSG code in the Search text box to find a coordinate system.

    • Right-click a coordinate system and click Add to Favorites to add it to your favorites. Right-click either coordinate system, and click Details to see how they are defined.

  8. Click OK.

    The Target Spatial Reference section is automatically set to match the spatial reference chosen as input spatial reference.

  9. Optionally, in the Target Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system to select a different spatial reference for your final products to be in. If imagery and lidar data are used together, ensure that the target spatial reference uses the spatial reference of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

  10. In the Capture Session Selection section, do the following:

    1. Optionally, modify the name for the capture session or sessions.

    2. Choose the camera sessions to add to the capture session. At least one camera session must be selected to continue.

    3. Click the capture session check box to select all of its camera sessions.

  11. Click Next to view details about the camera sessions.

    Alternatively, click Finish and the camera sessions will be created as defined in the Inpho project file.

  12. Click a camera session to view and edit its details as needed.

  13. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Create a capture session from HxMap or SURE orientation files

Caution:

Only HxMap or SURE orientation files from single camera systems are supported.

To create a capture session from HxMap or SURE orientation files, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. Ensure that the Imagery Data check box is checked.

  3. In the Image Location section, click Browse , browse to and select the location of your images, and click OK

  4. Click the Orientation Source drop-down arrow, and click HxMap orientation (.gori) or SURE orientation (.ori), depending on the file format.

  5. Click Browse , browse to and select the folder containing the orientation files you want to add, and click OK.

  6. In the Input Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system .

    Tip:

    Click the drop-down arrow to set the coordinate system from another data source of the project.

    The Spatial Reference dialog box appears.

  7. Choose the correct input horizontal and vertical coordinate systems for the orientation data:

    1. Click the button under Current XY and select a horizontal coordinate system.

    2. Click the button under Current Z and select a vertical coordinate system.

    Tip:

    • If the HxMap .gori files have a spatial reference defined, it is applied to the capture session automatically.

    • You can type a search term or EPSG code in the Search text box to find a coordinate system.

    • Right-click a coordinate system and click Add to Favorites to add it to your favorites. Right-click either coordinate system, and click Details to see how they are defined.

  8. Click OK.

    The Target Spatial Reference section is automatically set to match the spatial reference chosen as input spatial reference.

  9. Optionally, in the Target Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system to select a different spatial reference for your final products to be in. If imagery and lidar data are used together, ensure that the target spatial reference uses the spatial reference of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

  10. In the Capture Session Selection section, do the following:

    1. Optionally, modify the name for the capture session or sessions.

    2. Choose the camera sessions to add to the capture session. At least one camera session must be selected to continue.

    3. Click the capture session check box to select all of its camera sessions.

  11. Click Next.

  12. Define the parameters for each camera session:

    1. Click each camera session and view its details.

    2. Optionally, edit the camera session name or camera name values.

    3. In the Sensor Definition section, provide the information to define the camera sensor, or accept the default values.

    4. In the Image Coordinate System section, provide the information to define the image coordinate system, or accept the default values.

    5. In the Distortion section, choose the image distortion model used, if any, and the corresponding distortion values.

  13. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Create a capture session using lidar data

To create a capture session with lidar data, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Home tab or the Landing page, click New Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears.

  2. In the Imagery Data section, define the orientation data of imagery following the workflow described in the sections above.

    To import lidar data only, uncheck the Imagery Data check box.

  3. Check the Lidar Data check box, and do the following:

    1. In the Point Cloud Data Location section, click Browse , browse to the folder or list of point clouds, and click OK.

    2. In the Trajectory Data Location section, click Browse , browse to and select the folder containing the trajectory files or the trajectory files themselves, and click OK.

  4. In the Target Spatial Reference section, click Select coordinate system .

    Tip:

    Click the drop-down arrow to set the coordinate system from another data source of the project.

    The Spatial Reference dialog box appears.

  5. Choose the correct target horizontal and vertical coordinate systems for the capture session:

    1. Click the button under Current XY and choose a horizontal coordinate system.

    2. Click the button under Current Z and choose a vertical coordinate system.

    Tip:

    • Ensure that the target spatial reference corresponds to that of your lidar data. Lidar reprojection is not supported.

    • If the lidar header has a spatial reference defined, it is automatically set as target spatial reference.

    • You can type a search term or EPSG code in the Search text box to find a coordinate system.

    • Right-click a coordinate system and click Add to Favorites to add it to your favorites. Right-click either coordinate system, and click Details to see how they are defined.

  6. Click OK.

    The lidar session is automatically added to the capture session. If orientation data of imagery is imported, the lidar session is displayed with the camera sessions of the capture session.

  7. Click Next to view details about the lidar session.

    Alternatively, click Finish, and the capture session will be created.

  8. Click a lidar session to view and edit its name as needed.

  9. Click Finish.

The capture session is created and is visible in the Project Tree pane.

Add images to a camera session

If not already added during capture session creation, images can now be added to each camera session.

To add images to a camera session, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Project Tree pane, right-click the camera session you want to add images to, and click Add Images on the contextual menu.

    Alternatively, click Add images next to the camera session name, or select the camera session, and on the Camera Session contextual tab, click Add Images .

    Note:

    If you are using an Inpho project file that has valid image paths, the images are automatically added.

  2. Browse to the location of the images you want to add, select them, and click OK.

    Tip:

    You can specify a text file containing a list of file paths corresponding to the images you want to add. Each line in the text file should contain a single file path.

The images are added to the camera session.

Edit a capture session

To edit a capture session, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Project Tree pane, right-click the capture session you want to edit, and click Edit Capture Session .

    The Capture Session pane appears in edit mode.

  2. In the Capture Session pane, edit the camera session settings as necessary.

  3. Alternatively, import an existing capture session template to overwrite the sensor definition of the cameras in the capture session:

    1. Click Manage camera system template , and click Import Template .

    2. Browse to the template file, select it, and click OK.

  4. Click Finish.

The capture session is updated.

Capture session template

A capture session template is a .json file that stores all the parameters that define the cameras of a capture session. Once you create a capture session, you can export it as a template. When creating a capture session, you can use a capture session template to automatically fill the camera parameters of the camera system.

Export a capture session template

To export a capture session template, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Project Tree pane, right-click the capture session to export it as a template.

  2. Click Export , and click Template.

  3. Browse to the desired location, and name the template.

  4. Click Save.

    The capture session template is exported to the specified location.

Note:

Alternatively, in the Capture Session pane, click the options button , and click Export Template .

Import a capture session template

To import an existing capture session template, follow the steps in the Create a capture session from a text file or Edit a capture session sections above.

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