SurphExpress Manual v2 55d2 03

SurphExpress
Users Manual
Basis Software, Inc.
Software Release 2.55.30
May , 2014
SurphExpress Users Manual
2005-2014 Basis Software. All rights reserved.
Windows, Windows NT, and DirectX are registered trademarks, and .NET is a
trademark, of Microsoft Corporation.
AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.
SurphExpress, SurpExpress Standard and SurphExpress Light are trademarks of,

and Surphaser is a registered trademark of, Basis Software, Inc.
Basis Software, Inc.

18103 NE 68th Street, Suite C-100
Redmond, WA 98052
U.S.A.
Contents
Conventions Used in This Manual ............................ viii
Introduction ................................................................... 1
Features ........................................................................................................1
Theory of Operation .....................................................................................2
Typical Workflows ......................................................................................3
Scanning Concepts ....................................................... 5

Accuracy Considerations .............................................................................5
Angular vs. Linear Scan Resolution ....................................................5
Scanner Operating Temperature ..........................................................5
Transparency ........................................................................................5
Reflective Surfaces and Incidence Angles ...........................................6
Maintaining Scanner Calibration Data.........................................................7
Distance Ambiguity Resolution ...................................................................8
Scanning Operation ......................................................................................9
Determining the Scan Region (Field of View) ....................................9
Spherical Scan Density ......................................................................10
SurphExpress Application Installation ...................... 11

System Requirements.................................................................................11
Installing .NET and DirectX ......................................................................11
Installing the SurphExpress Application ...................................................12
Installing the SurphExpress USB Drivers..................................................16
Installing the USB Drivers in Windows ............................................16
Starting the SurphExpress Application ......................................................19
Scanning ...................................................................... 21
Loading a Scanners Scan Parameters .......................................................21
Viewing Scanner Parameters with No Scanner Connected .......................22
Pre-Scan Setup ...........................................................................................23
Specifying the Scanners ZeroReference Point ................................24
Defining the Scan Region ..................................................................25
iii
Contents
Specifying the Scan Density ..............................................................26

Specifying a Scan Data File Name ....................................................28
Selecting the Scan Group and Configuration .....................................29
Preview Scan ..............................................................................................31
Setting Preview Scan Parameters .......................................................31
Setting the Density for the Preview Scan ..................................31
Saving or Deleting Preview Scan Data ......................................32
Export Preview Image Bitmap and Point Cloud ........................32
Setting the Preview Scan Area ...................................................32
Choosing a New Scan Area from Preview ................................33
Performing the Preview Scan .............................................................33
Navigating and Zooming the Preview Image ....................................35
Specifying the Area to Be Scanned Using Masks..............................36
Preview Toolbar Functions ........................................................36
Drawing Tool Options ...............................................................37
Setting the Background Filter ............................................................37
Performing the Scan ...................................................................................40
Additional Scanner Operations ..................................................................41
Parking the Scanner Head ..................................................................41
Creating 2D and 3D Image Data.................................. 42

Setting Processing Parameters ...................................................................42
Defining the Processing Region (Filtering) .......................................42
Setting the Horizontal Angles Filter ..........................................42
Setting the Vertical Angles Filter ..............................................43
Setting the Vertical Angles Filter for Express View .................43
Viewing Point Information ........................................................44
Setting Processing Mode Parameters .................................................44
2D Processing Parameters..........................................................45
Setting 2D Pixel Resolution .......................................................................46
3D Processing Parameters..................................................................48
Selecting the Automatic Processing Option.......................................49
Using rpr file from C3D File Option .................................................49
3D Image Data Export .......................................................................50
Choosing the Viewed 3D Data FormatPoint Cloud or Mesh ........52
Distance Resolution ...........................................................................53
Setting Scanning Options (Scan Options Tab) ..................................54
Setting Scan Options ..................................................................55
iv
Setting Preview Scan Options....................................................56

Enabling Logging of Scan Processing Details ...................................56
Controlling the Scanner Fans .............................................................56
Controlling the Scan in Progress Audio Indicator .............................57
Controlling the Inclinometer (Tilt Compensation) Data
Collection ...........................................................................................57
Controlling the Scan Progress Indicator ............................................57
Exporting and Importing Scanning and Processing
Preferences .........................................................................................58
Generating 2D and 3D Image Data ............................................................59
Starting Processing from the SurphExpress Application ...................59
Starting Processing Using the ProcessC3D Command Line
Function .............................................................................................60
Express View .............................................................................................61
Navigating and Zooming the Express View Image ...........................62
Specifying the Area to Be Processed Using Masks ...........................63
Express View Toolbar Functions ...............................................63
Setting the Background Filter ............................................................64
Regenerating 2D and 3D Image Data ........................................................66
Viewing Image Data ..................................................... 67

Viewing in 2D Intensity Mode ..................................................................67
Scrolling the Image Using the View Panel Scroll Bars .....................68
Navigating and Zooming the Image Using Toolbar Controls............68
Navigating and Zooming the Image Using the
Navigation/Zoom Tab ........................................................................68
Drawing Mask Areas Using the Mask Toolbars ................................69
Adding Markers .................................................................................71
Viewing in 3D Points Mode ......................................................................76
Hiding and Showing the 3D Points Tabs ...........................................76
Setting the Background and Foreground Color .................................77
Setting the Light Parameters (Mesh Only) ........................................78
Selecting Perspective or Orthogonal Projection ................................79
Cull Back Faces Checkbox ................................................................79
Setting the Znear and Zfar Parameters ...............................................80
Setting Image Brightness and Contrast for the 3D Image Data
Image..................................................................................................81
v
Contents
3D Viewing Coordinate Systems .......................................................81

Selecting Examine or Walkthrough View Mode ...............................81
Navigating the 3D Points Image Using Toolbar Controls .................84
Setting Navigation Parameters ...................................................84
Working with Standard Views ...................................................85
Standard Views ControlsWalkthrough Mode ........................................85
Standard Views ControlsExamine Mode ...............................................85
Shifting Your View Position......................................................86
Rotating Your View Position around X, Y, and Z Axes ...........86
Rotating Using the Point-n-Rotate Function ...........................86
Setting Center-of-Rotation Point ...............................................87
Zooming on the Image in Examine Mode .................................87
Navigating the 3D Points Image Using the Keyboard and
Mouse .................................................................................................87
Mesh View Modes .............................................................................89
Exporting and Saving Image Data .............................. 90

Setting Background Layer and Mask Filter Parameters ............................90
Setting the Background Intensity Layer Parameters ..........................91
Setting the Background Intensity Min/Max Values Using the
Histogram ...................................................................................92
Setting the Background Distance Layer Parameters ..........................93
Background Parameters .....................................................................94
Setting the Export Masks Parameters ................................................95
Setting the Visibility Rank for Filter Layers ......................................97
Making a Filter Layer Invisible .........................................................97
Hiding or Showing All Filters............................................................98
Applying Filter Changes to View Images ..........................................98
Exporting and Importing Filter Sets...................................................98
Exporting the 2D Image Data As a Raster File........................................100
Exporting the 3D Image Data to a File ....................................................101
Saving and Loading User Profiles ...........................................................102
Opening a New or Existing Scan .............................................................103
Opening a New Scan ........................................................................103
Loading an Existing Scan ................................................................104
Temporary Project Files ...........................................................................104
vi
Troubleshooting ........................................................ 105
Appendix .................................................................... 106

Supported 3D Export File Formats ..........................................................106
ProcessC3D Reference Information ........................................................107
Command Line Arguments ..............................................................107
Online Help Text..............................................................................109
Diagnostic Messages ........................................................................110
XML Filter File Format and Parameters ..................................................113
XML Filter File Format ...................................................................113
XML Filter File Parameters .............................................................113
Minimum Intensity: AMin .......................................................114
Maximum Intensity: AMax......................................................114
Minimum Distance: DMin/DMin ............................................115
Maximum Distance: DMax/DMax ..........................................115
Transition Gaps (Gap Width)...................................................115
Contradictory Data ...................................................................115
Small areas filtering .................................................................116
Intensity Adjustment ................................................................116
Algorithm .................................................................................117
vii
Conventions Used in This Manual

The following conventions are used for Windows user interface elements
in this manual.
Window, panel, dialog window, and tab:

e.g. Scanning window.
Options and fields:

e.g. Full Volume Scan option.
Menu options:
e.g. Select the Tools | Regular Scan menu option.
Buttons:
e.g. Click the button in the toolbar.
viii
Introduction
SurphExpress is a powerful 3D modeling application suite designed to
provide:
Scanner control and data collection for laser scanners with

spherical scan patterns
Conversion of the scan data to industry standard 3D formats for

viewing and/or further processing
Scan image analysis and filtering
Built-in 3D scan image viewing and navigation
Features
SurphExpress includes the following features:
C3D scan data proprietary format (also referred to as raw data).

SurphExpress saves scan data to a proprietary C3D format that is
optimized for efficient storage and further processing.
Exporting processed 3D image data to an industry standard

format. This allows you to import the 3D image data into another
application for further processing. SurphExpress supports 3D image
data in point cloud form or 3D mesh representation.
2D and 3D viewing of 3D image data. This allows you to examine

the processed data and make changing to the processing parameters
prior to exporting the 3D image data.
Express View. If this processing option is selected, SurphExpress will

perform express (partial) processing of the scan data and display 2D
image data in an Express View window. This preliminary view of the
processed image data allows you to check whether the scanned image
is acceptable. It also allows you to create masks to select areas of the
scanned data for full processing, thus reducing processing time and the
size of the resulting dataset
NOTE: To reduce scanning time, reduce the scan area and/or scan
density. (See Pre-Scan Setup)
1
Introduction
Extensive and flexible filters. A variety of filters can be applied

conditionally to data points and can then be viewed in 2D to aid in the
analysis of the processed data. Filters can also be used as masks to
exclude points from the exported 3D image data.
Projects. SurphExpress supports the automatic creation of a project

when scan data is processed to create a 3D image data. The project is
associated with a specific set of scan data, processing parameters, and
processed 3D image data. Saving the project allows you to move the
scan data and processing results to another computer, or to load the
project at a later time for reprocessing or exporting the scan data.
Extensive and user-friendly graphical user interface.
User Editable masks. These masks allow you to limit the scan
viewing to an area of interest or according to the scan image
properties.
Theory of Operation
The SurphExpress software can be used to operate a Surphaser

Hemispherical Scanner, to process old or new scan data (C3D files) to
produce 3D image data, and to export the 3D image data to an industry
standard 3D formats.
2
SurphExpress controls the hemispherical scanner, using the scanner

calibration data (rpr) to process the raw scanner data (vector, distance,
intensity) and create the raw image data (C3D).
A 2D image can be created from the C3D data to preview the image data
and create masks for processing the 3D image. Image processing
parameters can be saved for processing other C3D data sets.
Once the image masks and processing filters are selected, SurphExpress
can produce and export 3D Image Data in a variety of industry standard
formats.
Typical Workflows
Following are typical workflows for using SurphExpress:
Scan only. You can perform a scan and save the scan data for
processing at a later time.
Scan and automatically create the 3D image data. You can perform
a scan and automatically create the 3D image data using preset
processing parameters. This can also include automatically exporting
the 3D image data to an industry standard 3D format. A project is
created as part of the scan data processing. The project can be saved if
you want to load the processed data at a later time, or not saved if the
goal of the processing is to create only the exported 3D format file.
Load existing scan data for processing. You can load an existing
C3D scan data file and process it to create the 3D image data.
Optionally, you reprocess the scan data with different processing
parameters, save the project, or export the 3D image data to an
industry standard 3D format.
3
Introduction
4
Scanning Concepts
Accuracy Considerations
The accuracy of the scan depends on many factors, for example, the
environment conditions, temperature variation in electronic circuits that
can result in changes in scanner parameters, specific properties of the
objects surface, lighting conditions, and so on. The processing software
uses sophisticated correction methods to minimize the accuracy loss.
Angular vs. Linear Scan Resolution

The scan resolution is controlled internally in angular units. However,
resolution units are reported in application interface using the more
familiar linear units of inches and millimeters. One of the user
configurable Units parameters is the nominal distance. This nominal
distance is used for informational purposes only when converting the
internal angular units to linear units and does not influence the scanning
process.
For example, if the nominal distance is specified as 10 ft, then the

resolution is the distance between passes of the laser beam as projected on
an object surface 10 ft away. Using 10 ft as the nominal distance, an object
surface 20 ft away would have half the resolution and, at 5 ft, twice the
resolution. For this reason, the closer the specified nominal distance is to
the actual object distance, the more accurate the resolution estimation
reported by the application.
Scanner Operating Temperature

To optimize scan accuracy, it is good practice to power on the scanner 5 to
10 minutes prior to use to allow it to reach a stable operating temperature.
Transparency
The accuracy of distance measuring (and, consequently, of the scan itself)
is influenced by the properties of the object being scanned. For instance, if
the surface is semi-transparent for the laser beam, it is not possible to
measure the distance to a point on the object surface with great precision.
Transparency of the surface degrades distance measuring precision. An

object completely transparent to the laser beam will be invisible on the
scanthe more solid the object surface, the more precise distance
values will be used for the scan.
5
Scanning Concepts
Note that while some surfaces seem non-transparent to the human eye, the
laser beam may penetrate these surfaces to a certain extent.
You can roughly test the objects degree of transparency by using a laser
pointer and inspecting the spot of the laser beam on the object surface:
If the spot is a focused point, the degree of transparency is low.
If the spot is rather large and has blurred contours, it is likely that the
material is transparent.
To get accurate results with some of semi-transparent surfaces, the object

might need to be spray-painted (powdered). The recommended powder is
MAGNAFLUX SKD-S2 (which comes in aerosol cans, or as a
water-soluble powder).
Reflective Surfaces and Incidence Angles

Reflective surfaces (as well as very dark ones) and incidence angles that
are close to being parallel to the object surface (for example, those
occurring at the edge of a curved object) lower the distance measurement
accuracy.
This can happen because:
The surface reflects the beam mostly in one direction (and this
direction does not coincide with the direction of the laser beam).
Direct reflection of the signal from the surface will not allow
measurement of the distance as it causes the signal level to be too high
in most cases.
Low incidence angles (10 or less) at the object surfaces result in a low
accuracy and may also cause ambiguity errors.
Note that some surfaces, like dark green or blue, may be black in red laser
light while they seem to be not black to the human eye. As with
transparency issues, powdering the object can help minimize errors due to
the targets surface reflectance and incidence angles by scattering the
reflected light.
6
Maintaining Scanner Calibration Data
From the factory, the scanner is calibrated to its current hardware state,
and the calibration data is included in the initial scan parameter file,
xrprscxxx.rpr, where xxx is a unique number identifying your scanner.
The scan parameter file can also contain preset configurations that are
optimized for scanning a specific signal level ranges and resolution, based
on the expected use of the application.
Periodically, as determined by your application requirements, the scanner

might need to go through an accuracy verification and partial
recalibration. Such recalibration will result in changes to the parameter
file. Please consult Basis Software, Inc. or your Surphaser service
representative regarding the recalibration requirements and arrangements.
NOTE: The scan parameter files contain encoded data to protect its
integrity. Manual changing of the parameter file will result in an integrity
data mismatch and will make it unusable until the original version is
restored.
When starting the SurphExpress application for the first time after
installation, you will select this file to register the scanners factory-set
parameters with the application. The application uses these scan
parameters when processing scan data to accurately create 3D image data.
To update the scan parameters in SurphExpress, a service representative

will load a new scan parameter file. This file contains not only the scan
parameters for the current calibration, but for all previous calibrations.
Having all previous calibrations scan parameter sets allows you to select
the appropriate set of parametersreferred to as a scan configurationin
the event that you are processing older scan data that was generated under
a previous set of scan parameters.
It is possible to recalibrate the scanner after the scanning of a scene and

then use the new scan parameter file to process scans that were made with
old scan parameter file. The new parameters will be used in processing.
7
Scanning Concepts
Distance Ambiguity Resolution
Older scanners may be operated either in one pass or two-pass modes (see
Selecting the Scan Group, p. 29). Newer scanners achieve accuracies in
one pass equal to older scanners in two passes. Because of this, newer
scanners do not have a two pass mode.
By selecting a scan configuration, operator simultaneously selects one or

two-pass mode, as indicated by the scan configuration group and in the
scan configuration name.
For a one pass mode, all information necessary to determine distance to

each scan point is obtained as the scan goes.
For two pass mode, information from two passes for the same scan area is
combined in the following way:
The first pass uses a set of frequencies to derive approximate distance

to each scan point.
In the second pass, the scanner uses a set of frequencies just to

improve the accuracy for each of the points obtained during the first
pass.
The internal calculation that determines the actual distance to a point on

the objects surface effectively lays out copies of the different passes
wavelength segments. Where the point locations on the wavelength
segments are aligned indicates the distance to the point on the objects
surface. This process is referred to as Ambiguity Resolution.
However, on surface areas where the readings are for some reason
inaccurate (e.g., the light goes through the window and reflects from the
surface behind the window and the light from the window and the surface
behind it combines), there is a chance of an incorrect ambiguity resolution,
as shown in the following illustration.
8
Scanning Operation
Determining the Scan Region (Field of View)

When scanning, the internal mirror is deflecting the laser beam in front of
and behind the scanner. Therefore, the full 360 of the horizontal plane
(less a small blind zone directly below the scanner head) can be covered
with the scanner head panning only 180, which is referred to as a full
volume scan. The scanner head is capable of rotating a full 360. Such a
scan is performed during the scans factory calibration and is not
necessary during normal scans, as it generates redundant scan data and
takes twice as long as 180 azimuth scan.
Prior to starting the scan operation, you use controls in the SurphExpress
application to set the scan region, or field of view (FOV), by:
Setting the reference (0) azimuth angle of the scanner
Specifying to perform a full volume scan
Specifying a partial scan by selecting start and end azimuth angles

(relative to the zero reference azimuth angle) or specifying a partial
scan consisting of a single or multiple segments selected from a
Preview Scan
9
Scanning Concepts
Spherical Scan Density

Spherical scan density (sometimes referred to as resolution) is defined in
two dimensions:
The vertical density is the separation between two consecutive

measured sample points on the target objects surface in the vertical
plane. The scans density is controlled in angular terms; for a users
reference, it may also be calculated and displayed in linear units. The
vertical density is typically expressed in Points Per Degree (PPD).
The horizontal density is the separation between the vertical traces of

the laser beam on the target object surface. The horizontal density is
typically expressed in Lines Per Degree (LPD), reflecting the typical
scan pattern consisting of uniformly distributed vertical scan lines.
10
SurphExpress Application Installation

System Requirements
Running the SurphExpress application has the following system

requirements:
Minimum personal computer (PC) hardware: 1.5-GHz

Pentium-compatible processor with 1-GB RAM (2-GB RAM
recommended), USB-2 port.
Windows XP 32 or 64 bit Edition or Windows Vista 32 or 64 bit

Edition or Windows 7 32 or 64 bit
Microsoft .NET 4.0 or higher runtime, available as a free download

from Microsoft.
DirectX 9.0c, available as a free download from Microsoft.
Installing .NET and DirectX
Before installing the SurphExpress application, you must install the

following Microsoft packages in the sequence shown:
1. .NET 4.0 or higher runtime.
2. DirectX 9.0C. Once you have downloaded the DirectX installation

files onto the PC, run setup /InstallManagedDX.
11
Installing the SurphExpress Application
To install the SurphExpress application software:

1. Make sure that .NET 3.5 or higher runtime and DirectX 9.0C have
been installed, in that order.
2. Insert the SurphExpress Installation CD-ROM.
3. Navigate to and double-click on the SurphExpress Setup.exe file.
The SurphExpress Setup Wizards welcome screen displays.
12
4. Click the button.
The License Agreement screen displays.
5. Read through the license agreement. If you agree with the conditions,
select the I Agree option, then click .
The Select Installation Folder screen displays.
From this screen you can change the default path for the installation
destination by modifying the path in the Folder field, or clicking
the button and navigating to it.
13
You can also determine who can access SurphExpress:
To allow any user account on this workstation access to SurphExpress,

select the Everyone option.
To allow only the currently logged-in user to access SurphExpress,

select the Just me option.
To check how much disk space the software requires, click

the button.
6. Once you have selected the desired installation options,

click .
You are prompted to confirm the installation.
7. To start the installation process, click .
The software installs.
When the software installation finishes, information about the current

release is displayed.
14
8. After reading the release information, click .
The final installation screen displays.
9. Click the button.
The SurphExpress application is ready to use.
15
Installing the SurphExpress USB Drivers
The SurphExpress USB drivers must be installed on the PC that is

connected to the scanner.
Installing the USB Drivers in Windows

To install the SurphExpress USB drivers in Windows XP, Vista,
Windows 7 or Windows 8:
1. Make sure that the scanner is connected to a USB port on the PC.
2. Switch on the scanner.
When the PC detects the scanner, it starts the Found New Hardware
Wizard, prompting you to start the driver installation process.
3. Select the No, not this time option, then click .
You are prompted to select an installation option.
16
4. If this is a first time the scanner is connected to this PC, select the
Install from a List of Specific Locations option; otherwise, select the Install
Software Automatically option. Then click .
You are prompted to choose your search and installation options.
5. Select the Search for the best drive in these locations and the Include this
location in the search options, then enter the installation directory for the
SurphExpress and drivers:
C:\Program Files\Basis Software, Inc\SurphExpressStandard

2.50\DriversUSB.
Or if you are running 64-bit version of Windows 7
C:\Program Files (x86)\Basis Software, Inc\SurphExpressStandard

2.50\DriversUSB.
17
6. Navigate to and select the Driver folder in the SurphExpress

application folder, then click .
The driver installation begins.
7. Click .
When the installation is complete, the following screen displays.
8. To close the wizard, click .
18
Starting the SurphExpress Application
SurphExpress Application incorporates a Licensing Protection feature that

allows it to be run either with a USB Protection device inserted in a USB
port on the PC, or with the Surphaser scanner connected to a USB-2 port
on the PC and powered on. If neither of these devices is connected to the
PC, SurphExpress will prompt you to insert one of the devices.
To start the SurphExpress application, do one of the following:

Select the Start | SurphExpressStandard.exe menu option.
Double-click the SurphExpressStandard.exe file (by default, installed

in the /Program Files/Basis Software, Inc/SurphExpressStandard
folder).
Or
Double-click its shortcut icon on the desktop.
The SurphExpress main window displays.
19
If this is the first time you have started the application, you must load the
scanner parameters so that the application is aware of them for scanning
operations. (Refer to Loading a Scanners Scan Parameters on page 21.)
20
Scanning
Loading a Scanners Scan Parameters
A scanner parameter file must be loaded, thus registering the scanner

with the application, for the following conditions:
At startup, when the application detects that an undefined scanner is

connected.
When the application is processing a file from an unknown scanner.
Under either of these conditions, the application will prompt you to locate
the scanner parameter file for the corresponding scanner.
You can also initiate the loading of a scanners scan parameters file:
To load a scanners scan parameters file, select the File | Update Scanner
Parameters menu option. You will be prompted to locate the file.
21
Scanning
Viewing Scanner Parameters with No Scanner Connected
You can view a scanners parameters when the scanner is not connected or
online:
To view the parameters for a scanner that is not connected or online,

select the File | Test Scanner Parameters menu option. You are prompted
to locate the scanners parameters file.
Once you have located and opened the parameters file, the scanners
parameters are loaded and can be viewed and edited in the Scan tab.
22
Pre-Scan Setup
Before performing the scan operation, you must specify certain scan
parameters. These are defined in the following topics.
The scan parameters are accessible from the Scan and Scan Options tab.
NOTE: The scanner must be connected to the PC and turned on for the
scan parameters to be enabled.
23
Scanning
Specifying the Scanners ZeroReference Point

Surphaser 25HSX and SurphExpress employs two azimuth angle
references one is referred to as User Angle and the other Absolute
Angle. The User Angle allows you to select an arbitrary zero reference
(or User 0 Angle), to facilitate in scan sector setting and selection. The
Absolute Angle is defined relative to a hardware azimuth reference mark
and is mainly used to apply azimuth angular corrections (which may
amount to portion of MOA (Minute of Arc) and to define scanner azimuth
parking position.
As the scanner is powered up and connected to SurphExpress software, the

current Azimuth position is selected as the User Angle 0-position and the
absolute angular position is not defined, since the location of the hardware
azimuth reference is not known.
The User Angle 0-position can be changed by rotating the scanner to a

new azimuth position and selecting that position as the new User 0 angle
by pressing the button Set 0 Position.
The Absolute Angle will be defined either after the first scan (select the
Find Azimuth Reference Before the First Scan option on the Scan Options
tab), or after pressing the button Locate Zero Reference (see below). Below
we are discussing in more details working with azimuth angles.
Use controls in the Azimuth Positioning panel to rotate the scanner to a

new position relative to its User zeroreference, and to define the azimuth
position that you want to use as a zeroreference point.
Rotate Scanner
To rotate the scanner to a position
relative to its current zero
reference point, enter the angle
here, then click this button.
Set 0 Angle:
To set the User zero reference
point to the current azimuth
position of the scanner, click
here
24
To manually locate the hardware azimuth reference marker, click the

Locate Zero Reference button on the Scan tab. The scanner top will rotate
360 degrees and stop at its original position after recording the location of
the reference marker. This button will be disabled after zero reference is
located, either by previously pressing this button or when performed in
automatic mode.
To have the scanner head automatically locate zero reference point

before the first scan is started, select the Find Azimuth Reference before
the First Scan option on the Scan Options tab. As a result, the scanner will
make a complete 360 degrees turn after you press the Scan or Preview
Scan button to start the first scan in this SurphExpress Session.
Defining the Scan Region
Full Volume Scan. The scan will be performed by rotating the scanner
head for 180effectively covering 360as the scanner looks 2
ways, front and back.. You can also force the full volume scan to start
from the current scanner head position by selecting the Start a full
volume scan from the current position option in the Preview Scan Options
panel on the Options tab. otherwise the scanner will turn to User 0
angle before the scan starts. For further discussion, refer to
Determining the Scan Region (Field of View) on p. 9.
Sector Scan. The sector defined by the From and To azimuth angles
will be scanned. For a sector scan, the From and To pan angles are
measured relative to the User 0reference point (the From value should
be less than the To value). The To value may be 0 to 359 degrees. (In
case of the scan sector covering more than 180 degrees, some angles
will be covering more than once, scanned from scanner front and
Rear positions. These two different views of the same position are
often referred to as Conjugate views).
Scan From Preview Selection. This option is enabled only if a

Preview scan was performed and a scan area was selected in the
Preview window. The scan will be restricted to the area selected in the
Preview window. For more information, refer to Preview Scan on
p. 31.
25
Scanning
You can also force the full volume scan to start at the current scanner head
position by selecting the Start a full volume scan from the current position
option in the Scan Options panel on the Scan Options tab.
Specifying the Scan Density

The current scan density (also known as resolution) settings are displayed
in the Scan Density panel. There are three density presets for which you
can define the settings. You can then select which density preset you want
to use for the scan.
To modify the settings for one of the density presets, select the presets
radio button, then click the button. The Scan parameters dialog
(spherical) dialog box displays.
26
From this dialog box you can:
Set the horizontal and vertical scan densities using the sliders or
increment/decrement fields. Note that as you change these values, the
values for the Scan Time, Number of Lines, Points per Mirror
Revolution, Full Number of Points, and Scan File Size change. Sliders
and Edit boxs for the density are expressed in Lines Per Degree and
Points per Degree. For reference, horizontal and vertical point
separation is shown for a surface located at the Nominal Distance.
Nominal Distance can be adjusted via Scan Resolution Units dialog
discussed below.
You can force the vertical density to match the horizontal density
automatically by selecting the Equal Grid Aspect Ratio option. If this
option selected, the vertical density slider will be hidden.
Set the unit of measure used for the resolution data by clicking the
button. The Scan Resolution Units dialog box
displays.
27
Scanning
Set the nominal distance to the target object in the Nominal Distance
field in the Scan Resolution Units dialog box. This value will be used
only to display the resolution in linear form and does not affect
scanner operation in any other way. For further discussion, refer to
Angular vs. Linear Scan Resolution on p. 5.
Specify a name for the preset in the Density Mode Name field.
Depending on the Mode radio button selection corresponding radio
button label will be changed.
When you are done changing the resolution settings, click in

the Scan Parameters Spherical dialog box to save them and close the
dialog box.
Specifying a Scan Data File Name

Scanned data is saved to the proprietary SurphExpress compressed scan
file format called C3D. You must specify a name for the C3D file for the
data to be read during the scan.
To specify the name of the scan data file, click the button next to
the Output Filename field.
The Save As dialog box displays, with the default path displayed:
/Documents and Settings/user subfolder/Application
Data/Surphaser/C3Dfiles. From this dialog, you can navigate to the
destination folder and name the C3D file, or overwrite an existing C3D
file.
28
Selecting the Scan Group and Configuration

Before performing the scan operation, you can change the scan group and
that groups configuration from their current settings.
There are two scan groups, 1 pass and 2 pass.
The typical scanner is supplied with three configurations, described below.

Please refer to the specification of the specific scanner for the actual
configurations supplied with the scanner, and each configurations noise
and sensitivity characteristics.
1 Pass High Quality (usually denoted as 1pass_XXm_HQ, where XX

is the ambiguity distance for the configuration in meters; for example,
1pass_46m_HQ). This configuration is optimized for a lower distance
noise and works best for relatively bright surfaces.
1 Pass High Sensitivity (usually denoted as 1pass_XXm_HS, where

XX is the ambiguity distance for the configuration in meters; for
example, 1pass_46m_HS). This configuration is optimized for a better
sensitivity on dark or far surfaces for the price of higher surface noise.
2 Pass (usually denoted as 2pass_XXm, where XX is the ambiguity

distance for the configuration in meters; for example, 2pass_46m). 2-
pass configurations combine the sensitivity that exceeds the sensitivity
of an HS configuration and with noise levels the same or better than
the noise level of an HQ configuration, but requiring twice the scan
time.
29
Scanning
Each group option has one or more configuration options from which to
choose. The configuration choices will be different for different scanners.
These preset configurations are optimized for specific signal ranges and
scan resolutions that are being used by your site. For more information,
refer to Specifying the Scanners ZeroReference Point
on p. 24.
To change the scan configuration:

1. Click the button at the top of the Scan tab.
2. In the Choose scanner configuration dialog box that displays, choose a

different group and configuration from the drop-down lists.
3. Click the button to apply the change.
30
Preview Scan
The Preview feature allows you to make a low-resolution scan in a minute

or less that can be used to select the image area to be included in the actual
scan. This can help optimize scan time and the resulting dataset size. It
also helps you avoid having to set the desired scan angles by trial and
error.
If, during the current session, a preview scan was already performed, it
can be used to re-select the scan area.
Setting Preview Scan Parameters

Settings on the Preview tab provide control over the preview scan
parameters.
Setting the Density for the Preview Scan
To set the density for the preview scan data, increase or decrease the
Horizontal and Vertical density settings in the Preview tab. The density is
expressed in Lines per Degree (lpd) for horizontal density (referencing to
the vertical line scan pattern of this hemispherical scanner) or Points Per
Degree (ppd) for the vertical density. Typically Horizontal density should
be 4lpd or higher for reliable image processing.
31
Scanning
Choosing a lower density also will shorten the preview processing time.
Saving or Deleting Preview Scan Data
To delete the preview scan data after the actual scan is performed,
select the Delete Preview Scan After Selection option in the Preview tab.
Otherwise, the low-density Preview scan data is saved with the standard
high-density scan data. The Preview scan data file name consists of the
current scan name with the suffix _preview appended to it. Selection of
this option will prevent possibility of using the button Select new scan
area from last preview scan for this preview scan.
Export Preview Image Bitmap and Point Cloud
To automatically export the preview image bitmap and point cloud,

select the Automatically Export Preview Bitmap and Point Cloud option in
the Preview tab. When the preview image is scanned, it will also be
automatically saved to bitmap and 3D point cloud files.
Setting the Preview Scan Area
Using the options in the Preview Region panel, you can specify the
preview scan :
Full Volume Scan: The preview scan will be performed by panning

the scanner head 180 degrees, effectively covering full 360 degrees
(covering both front and back area of the scanner). You can also force
the full volume scan to start at the current scanner head position by
selecting the Start a full volume preview scan from the current position
option in the Preview Scan Options panel on the Scan Options tab.
otherwise scanner will turn to User 0 angle before the scan starts.
For more information, refer to Determining the Scan Region (Field of
View) on p. 9
Sector Scan: The sector defined by the From and To azimuth terms
will be scanned for the preview. The From value should be less than
the To value. The To value may be 0 to 359 degrees. (In case of the
scan sector covering more than 180 degrees, some angles will be
covering more than once, scanned from scanner front and Back
positions).
32
Choosing a New Scan Area from Preview
To choose a new preview scan area, click the

button in the Preview tab.
This function allows you to reselect the area for the scan from the last
preview scan. A single preview scan can then be used to scan different
areas with different settings, without the need to do the preview several
times. This button is disabled if there were no preview Scans in current
session, or Delete Preview Scan after Selection check box was checked
for the last preview scan processing.
Performing the Preview Scan

To initiate the Preview scan, click the Preview button.
The Preview scan always uses the default configuration settings and not
the currently selected configuration settings.
When the scan is done, it is automatically processed and the Mask Edit
window displays with the Preview 2D image.
33
Scanning
You can then specify the area to include in the full scan using the tools
described in Specifying the Area to Be Scanned Using Masks on p. 36.
After specifying the scan area, you have the following options:
Start the scan (refer to Performing the Scan on p. 40). The scan
uses the parameters that are currently selected in Configuration or
Scan tabs (for example, the density).
Save the scan selection area but not start the scan. To do this, click
. This enables the Scan from Preview Selection option in the
Scan Area panel and allows you to change scan parameters before
starting the actual scan. Several scans (with possibly different
parameters) can be performed from a single preview selection or
successive selections from the same preview scan.
Discard the scan selection area without saving it or starting the scan.
To do this, click .
34
Navigating and Zooming the Preview Image

If the Preview image is larger than the viewable area of the Mask Edit
window, you can use the scroll bars at the right and bottom of the window
to scroll through the image.
You can also use the Navigate/Zoom tab to navigate the image and change
the magnification.
To open the Navigate/Zoom tab, click the Navigate/Zoom tab at the right
of the Mask Edit window.
To navigate (pan) on the image, click on and drag the white pan box
displayed over the thumbnail of the image. When you release the
mouse button, the image area within the pan box is displayed in the
panel.
To zoom on the image, click the or buttons. The current

Zoom factor is displayed above these buttons.
To close the tab, click the button at the upper right.
35
Scanning
Specifying the Area to Be Scanned Using Masks

You can use the drawing tools in the Mask Edit window to draw an area of
the Preview image that represents the area of interest that you want to
include in the scan. This area is referred to as a mask. Doing so sets the
start and end angles of the actual scan. Points outside the drawn area will
not be included in the scan.
To specify the area to be scanned in the Preview image, use one of the
drawing tools ( ) to draw the area.
To erase a drawn area, select one of the drawing tools. Then, hold down
the right mouse button and drag over the area to be erased. For example,
dragging the rectangle tool with the right mouse button down will clear the
current mask within selected rectangle.
Preview Toolbar Functions
The Previews toolbar functions, shown below, are described in the

following table. The drawing tools are used when defining the area to be
scanned.
Tool Description
Click and drag to draw using a pen cursor.

Pen
Click and drag to draw a box.

Filled box
Click and drag to erase portions of a drawn mask.

Eraser
Click to fill a drawn area.

Paint bucket
Click and drag to select a free-form area.

Lasso
Undo last draw operation.

Undo
Redo last draw operation.

Redo
Zoom in on the image.

Zoom In
Zoom out on the image.

Zoom Out
36
Tool Description
Click and drag to pan on the image.

Scroll
Drawing Tool Options
The drawing tool controls on the Options tab of the Mask Edit window
allow you to set parameters that control the behavior of the drawing tools.
To open the Options tab, click the Options tab at the right of the Mask
Edit window. To close the tab, click the button at the upper right.
Sets pen size (in pixels)
Sets eraser size (in pixels)
Sets grid size (in pixels)
Toggles grid on and off
Toggles between square- or

circular-shaped brush
Setting the Background Filter

The Mask Edit windows Background filter indicates the signal intensity
and distance from the scanner. The color blending between colors
assigned to the minimum and maximum signal intensities or distances can
be used in the Mask Edit window to indicate the rate of change in signal
intensities or distances. You can make adjustments to the Background
filter settings to adjust the contrast and brightness of the Preview image.
The Background filter parameters are set in the Background tab.
37
Scanning
To open the Background tab, click the Background tab at the right of the
Mask Edit window. To close the tab, click the button at the upper
right.
The following table explains each of the Background parameters.
Background Parameters
Parameter Description
Color Scheme Parameters
Step Used if the Periodic option is selected. Defines the

period to use for the periodic band.
For example, say the Periodic option is selected and
the Step parameter is set to 1000. The background
intensity color will be a continuous blend from
MinColor to MaxColor, but the color blend between
MinColor and MaxColor will repeat every 1000 units
of amplitude. Narrow blend bands would indicate
sharp changes in distance.
MaxValue All points with values at or higher than the MaxValue

will be displayed in the color assigned to MaxColor
(unless Periodic is set to True).
MinValue All points with values at or lower than the MinValue

will be displayed in the color assigned to MinColor
(unless the Periodic option is selected).
38
Base If selected, it defines a base intensity for periodic

rendering.
Periodic If selected, enables using a periodic pattern, using the

MinColor and MaxColor, to indicate the rate of change
in intensity or distances in the image.
Saturate Used when the Periodic option is selected. Using this

parameter helps to focus the view on the area of
interest, by making all pixels outside the area of
interest one color.
If the Saturate option is selected, then:
All pixels with values less than the value in the
MinValue field will be set to the color calculated
for the value in the MinValue field.
All pixels with values greater than the value in
the MaxValue field will be set to the color
calculated for the value in the MaxValue field.
button Click this button to apply the color scheme settings

that you have chosen.
39
Scanning
Performing the Scan
When you have completed setting the scan parameters, you are ready to
start the scan operation.
Scan times vary depending on the FOV (Scan Sector), scan configuration
(1 pass or 2 pass) and scan density; typical scans take 5 to 20 minutes. The
estimated scan time and size of the scan data file are displayed in the Scan
tab.
Estimated scan time and scan

data file size, based on FOV (Scan
Sector) and density resolution
To start the scan operation, click the button in the toolbar (or
select the Tools | Regular Scan menu option).
All controls except the button are disabled, and status messages
and a progress bar are displayed in the Status bar at the bottom of the main
window.
NOTE: You can stop the scan operation by clicking the button.
NOTE: Once a scan is performed, the scan parameters are disabled. To

start a new scan, click the button in the toolbar.
40
Additional Scanner Operations
Parking the Scanner Head

The scanner head can be moved to the Park position prior to placing it in
its carrying case.
To park the scanner head, click the Park button on the Scan tab. The
scanner head will rotate to the position when the connector plate is facing
front and the mirror will turn down. Parking angle is controlled by
optional parameter stored in the scanner parameter file. This button is
disabled if the parking position is not available. If absolute azimuth
reference was not located prior to pressing the Park button, the scanner
first will rotate 360 degrees to locate azimuth reference. User can add
information on parking angle using Corr2rpr utility supplied with software
package version 2.30 or later.
41
Creating 2D and 3D Image Data

Setting Processing Parameters
Defining the Processing Region (Filtering)

The options in the Filtering tab allow you to define what regions of the
scan data to process to create 2D image data and 3D image data. These
values affect the processing area, unless Express View mode is enabled.
Setting the Horizontal Angles Filter
You can select from the following horizontal (azimuth) angles options:
Full Scan. Processes across the entire 360 horizontal span.
Sector. Processes only a sector of the full horizontal span, as defined

by the degree values in the Left and Right fields. Left and Right angles
are defined relative to the scans reference (User 0) angle.
42
Setting the Vertical Angles Filter
You can select from the following vertical (mirror) angles options:
Front. Processesonly the scan data from the front hemisphere of the
scanned volume, as defined by the sector degree values in the Low and
High fields. Low and High angles are defined relative to the horizon.
Rear. Processes only the scan data from the rear hemisphere of the
scanned volume, as defined by the sector degree values in the Low and
High fields. Low and High angles are defined relative to the horizon.
Both. Processes all data defined by the sector degree values in the Low
and High fields. Low and High angles are defined relative to the
horizon.
NOTE: The vertical angles options are used only if the Show Express View
option in the Processing Modes tab has not been selected.
Setting the Vertical Angles Filter for Express View
You can define the low and high angles used for the Express View image
using the Low and High fields in the Vertical Angles for Express View
panel.
43
Viewing Point Information
The Points Info panel at the top of the Filtering tab lists the number of data
points in the scan data and in the processed data (depending on the
processing filters specified).
Setting Processing Mode Parameters

On the Processing Modes tab, you can set parameters that control how the
scanned data is processed to generate viewable image data.
The following topics explain the processing parameters.
44
2D Processing Parameters
The 2D Processing panel includes the options described in the following

table.
2D Processing Options
Option Description
Generate 2D If selected, 2D image data will be generated during

processing. The 2D Intensity view allows you to
review the scanned data to make sure it is
acceptable, and to adjust 2D filter settings.
To save processing time when reviewing scan
results, you may want to generate only 2D data.
You can later reprocess to create the 3D image
data.
You may want to skip generating 2D data if you
have already worked with the image data and are
ready to generate the 3D image data, or want to
do your image data examination in a separate
application.
Note that 2D data has a distorted (panoramic) look
to it, as 3D images are being represented in a single
2D rectangle.
View 2D If selected, 2D image data will be displayed in the 2D

Intensity view when processing is completed.
Z If selected, distance layers will be displayed in the 2D

Intensity view when processing is completed.
A(Z) If selected, performs intensity auto-correction of the

2D viewed image (not the raw image data). For
example, if the same object is at different distances,
the further parts of the object will appear darker. Can
improve the look of the viewed 2D image.
Pixel Separation Specifies the distance between adjacent pixels in the

processed image data, as a result of the current
image resolution Units settings for 2D image data. For
more information, refer to "Setting 2D Pixel
Resolution" on p. 46.
45
Option Description
Show Express View If selected, SurphExpress will perform express

processing of the scan data and display a preview of
the processed 2D image data in an Express View
window. This preliminary view of the processed image
data allows you to check whether the scanned image
is acceptable. It also allows you to create masks to
exclude areas of the scanned data from full
processing, thus reducing processing time.
For more information, refer to Express View p. 61.
Only Export Express View If selected, the low-density Express View scan data
will be used when exporting 2D image data, instead of
the high-density 2D image data. The Point Cloud
Export settings will be ignored. No further scan
processing will be performed. This option is
convenient for making an "image catalog" for
navigation of sets of scans.
button Click this button if you have changed the 2D

processing parameters and want to regenerate the 2D
image data.
Setting 2D Pixel Resolution
The 2D pixel separation parameter specifies the target resolution of the 2D

image data, based on a specified nominal distance between the scanner
and the target surface. Normally this parameter does not need to be
changed as it is automatically selected prior to the scan processing.
To set the 2D image pixel separation, click the button next to the
field in the 2D Processing panel. The Select Image
Pixel separation
Resolution dialog box is displayed.
46
The dialog box displays the pixel separation, image size in pixels, and
image file size, based on the currently selected resolution. If the projected
image file size is too large to be processed given the PCs current amount
of RAM, the size is displayed in red and the button is disabled.
From this dialog box you can:
Set the spherical scan resolution as a percentage of the horizontal and

vertical resolutions, using the % of scan horizontal resolution or % of scan
vertical resolution options.
Set the resolution in pixels per inch at the nominal scan distance using
the Pixels per inch option.
Set the unit of measure used for the resolution data in the 2D
image by clicking the button. The Image Resolution Units
dialog box displays.
Set the nominal distance to the target object in the Nominal Distance
field in the Image Resolution Units dialog box. This value should be
the average distance between the scanner and the target object. The
nominal distance value is used in the internal conversion of angular
resolution units to linear resolution units for display purposes only; it
does not affect processed data. For more information about angular
and linear resolutions, refer to Angular vs. Linear Scan Resolution
on p. 5.
When you are done changing the resolution settings, click in the
Select Image Resolution dialog box to save them and close the dialog box.
47
3D Processing Parameters
The 3D Processing panel includes the options described in the following

table.
Option Description
Generate 3D If selected, 3D image data will be generated during

processing.
When initially working with image data, you may want
to generate only 2D data. Processing, navigating,
applying masks, and performing other operations are
much faster with 2D data than 3D image data. You
can later reprocess to create the 3D image data.
View 3D If selected, 3D image data will be displayed in the 3D

Points view when processing is completed.
% of points to show Specifies the approximate percentage of data points

in the 3D image data to show in the 3D Points view.
% of points to export Specifies the percentage of data points in the scan

data to include in exported 3D image data files.
Choosing a smaller percentage value will make it
easier working with the 3D image data in other
applications.
Note that the 3D image data compression uses
adaptive filtering, including more points where the
image variation in distance is greater, and fewer
points where the image distance variations are small.
This field does not affect export to ptx, btx, btxc or tzs.
For these formats the amount of data output is
controlled by the Aspect field
button Click this button if you have changed the 3D

processing parameters and want to regenerate the 3D
image data.
48
Selecting the Automatic Processing Option

Select the Automatically process after scan option to have SurphExpress
automatically create the 2D and 3D image data at the conclusion of the
scan. Depending on the size of the scan data file, processing can take from
15 seconds to 45 minutes.
If you choose to automatically process the data after scanning, you should
set the processing parameters before starting the scan operation.
Using rpr file from C3D File Option

As was noted earlier, each scanner is supplied with a parameter file that
stores parameters necessary to operate the scanner and to process raw scan
data. This parameter file may be modified during maintenance and
recalibration. For each scan made with SurphExpress, rpr file data used for
the current scanner session is saved within that scans c3d file.
Select the User rpr from c3d file option to have SurphExpress extract rpr file
data and use it for processing the current scan.
If this option is not selected, then SurphExpress will check the scanner
serial number from the c3d file and will use the rpr file data currently
registered for the scanner, or you will be asked to provide one if no rpr file
for the scanner is registered on the machine used for scan being processed
49
3D Image Data Export
The 3D image data Export function allows you to export the 3D image
data to a file as part of the image processing operation. You would
select this option if you are ready to create the 3D image data file.
50
Point Cloud Export Options
Option Description
Force Export in File Select this option to export the 3D image data to a file
as part of the image processing.
Specify a directory and file name by clicking the
button.
The Choose File to Export In dialog box opens, with
the default folder /Documents and Settings/user
subfolder/Application
Data/Surphaserversion/C3Dfiles selected. If
desired, navigate to a different destination folder,
change the default file name. When you are done
specifying the file name and folder, click the
button.
Export Format Select the format of the 3D image data file.

The supported formats are listed and described in
Supported 3D Export File Formats on p. 106.
Points on grid Enabled if the Cloud option is selected. If selected,

the exported cloud will be a set of points that are the
vertices of the mesh lattice (or grid).
Z Up If selected, sets the Z axis pointing up, with X and Y in

the horizontal plane.
Absolute Pan If selected, coordinate system in the output cloud will

be aligned with index mark of pan encoder and will
not depend on scanner position at the moment of
activation or on user angle. This option is useful
when you have a fixed nest for the scanner.
Use Tilt If selected, coordinate system in the output cloud will

be aligned with the gravitational vertical direction
(with optional 5 arcsec inclinometer sensor).
Adjust Brightness If selected, adjusts brightness of the output cloud.

Maximal intensity of points will be set at the level for
which the given percentage of points will have the
selected intensity. Set desirable intensity in the box
on the right.
Cloud/Mesh Select the data type in which the 3D image data will
be exported.
Units for exported points The unit of measure to use for exported points.
Uniform Subsampling Shows percentage of columns and rows to be

saved in PTX file: e.g. if this value is 50%, then
every second point of every second column will
be saved, and total size of ptx will be 4 times
less than initial one.
51
Uniform PTX resolution If selected, output PTX will use an equilateral

grid (vertical resolution will be the same as
horizontal). Otherwise aspect ratio for the PTX
will be the same as in the scan.
Use Transformation Matrix If selected, output cloud will be transformed by

the matrix given in the file selected below. In
particular, this matrix may be obtained by Align
by Base feature in the Markes panel.
Matrix This box contains name of the file with

transformation matrix. Use the button on the
right of this box to change file name.
Create BTX v2 If this box is selected and output format is BTX,

then file will be created in version 2 of format
that is required for some third party programs.
NOTE: When saving the 3D image data to the Leica Cyclone format (.ptx),
use the following Point Cloud Export settings: Points on Grid selected,
Z Up selected, Units = meter.
Choosing the Viewed 3D Data FormatPoint Cloud or Mesh

You can choose which formatpoint cloud or mesh3D image data will
be displayed in the 3D Points view.
The options are described in the following table.
Option Description
Cloud/Mesh Select the format in which the 3D image data will be

displayed in the 3D Points view.
The mesh format can improve the images
appearance, but mesh data processing uses
interpolation and so some data accuracy might be
lost.
52
Distance Resolution
The Distance Resolution settings determine how ambiguities in distances

to objects will be resolved. The options are described in the following
table.
Option Description
Method Heuristic 1D: With this method, the scanning area is

first divided into continuous parts. In each part, the
ambiguity is resolved by averaged distances. Then
the parts, between which the distance breaks
occurred, are analyzed as to whether it is better to
change the distance at one of the parts to eliminate
the break. The main problem with this method is that,
if an object boundary was laid incorrectly, then either
the object border would be separated from its object
or some part of the background would be stuck to the
object.
Direct: With this method, the ambiguity is resolved for
each point independently (by interpolated
frequencies). The processed distance function is
divided into continuous parts and analyzed. Parts that
are too small will be marked as small areas or
gaps and might be filtered out in processing.
With the Direct method, objects borders are
determined somewhat better than with the Heuristic
method (there is almost no chance that something will
stick to the object, and a torn border will probably be
declared as uncertain). But this method works poorly
on the areas with large amounts of noise.
53
Central dist(m) Central distance (CD) controls the ambiguity

resolution in the following way:
If we have an ambiguity interval of L (for spherical
scanners it is typically 46 m, and can be controlled via
a configuration drop-down list), then all the data will
be resolved to interval (CD-L/2, CD+L/2). In other
words, if the CD is > L/2 and we have a datum from
the distance X such that CD-3*L/2 < X < CD-L/2, then
those points will be resolved to:
X+L
If a datum from some distant point at the distance Y
such that CD+L/2 < Y < CD+3*L/2, then this point will
be resolved to:
Y-L
LF Smoothing This parameter may be used if large dark (or far)

objects are scanned. If you set its value to number
other than 1 (values 3, 5 or 7 are recommended),
program will improve ambiguity resolution for such
object, but you can get wrong distances for smaller
parts of objects.
Altitude (m) This option may be used to correct changes of the

atmospheric pressure at large altitudes over sea level.
Setting Scanning Options (Scan Options Tab)
54
Setting Scan Options
To have the scanner automatically locate azimuth zero reference point

before the first scan is started, select the Find Azimuth Reference Before the
First Scan option on the Scan Options tab. As a result, the scanner will
make a complete 360 degrees turn after you press the Scan or Preview
Scan button to start the first scan of a SurphExpress Session.. Please
also refer to section Specifying the Scanners Zero Reference Point
To force the full volume scan to start from the current scanner head
position, select the Start a full volume scan from the current position option. If
this option is not selected, the scanner will turn to User 0 angle before
the scan starts. For further discussion, refer to Determining the Scan
Region (Field of View)
The mirror parking position has the mirror pointing down, When the
option Put Mirror in the Park Position is selected, the mirror is rotated to the
parking position after each scan.
When the option Return to Original Azimuth Position After Each Scan is
selected, the scanner will rotate to the same azimuth position it had before
starting the scan.
The Calibration Section is a short data section that is collected with the
scanner set in special state. A Calibration Section can improve the overall
scan quality, especially if there are dark surfaces within the scanned area.
The three calibration options in the Preview Scan Options panel on the
Scan Options tab allow you to select whether the calibration section
should be collected as part of the scan and, and if so, when it should be
performed. Each calibration section may take up to few seconds. Typically
the calibration section should be collected once, before the scan is
performed. Taking calibration section before and after the scan may be
beneficial for very long scans taking more than 10 minutes, though this
scan configuration is not supported as standard (only a calibration section
taken before the scan is processed in standard software).
Pressing this button will rotate the mirror to the parking position.
55
Setting Preview Scan Options
The three calibration options in the Preview Scan Options panel on the
Scan Options tab allow you to select whether calibration section should be
collected as part of the preview scan and, if so, when it should be
performed. A calibration section is not typically required for Preview
Scan, unless preview scans are retained for processing as a regular scan
later.
Enabling Logging of Scan Processing Details

If there are some problems with scanning, you can specify that scan
processing details are included in the log by enabling detailed logging.
Note that detailed logging will affect the scan processing speed.
To enable recording of scan processing details in the log, select the

Detailed Log option at the lower right corner of the Scan Options tab.
Controlling the Scanner Fans

The Fans control allows you to turn off the scanner fans. You might want
to do this to warm up the scanner faster in cold temperatures or if the scan
environment is dusty.
To turn the fans off and on:

1. Click the button within the Fans group on the Scan
Options tab.
2. In the dialog box, select the Off (or On) option and click the OK button.
56
Controlling the Scan in Progress Audio Indicator

Some scanner versions are equipped with audio indicator Scan in
Progress. This indicator may be helpful to monitor scan progress without
the need to visually tracking scanner state of software progress indicator.
If this indicator is on then scanner will sound a periodic beep signal
while the mirror is rotating.
If this option is selected, then scan audio indicator is enabled.
Controlling the Inclinometer (Tilt Compensation) Data Collection

Some scanner versions are equipped with an electronic inclinometer (tilt)
sensor. For the scanners equipped with this sensor, this option controls
data collection from the tilt sensor.
Controlling the Scan Progress Indicator

SurphExpress has a Progress Bar located at the bottom of its main
window. There are situations (like running SurphExpress through
Windows Remote Desktop) when the periodic updates of the Progress Bar
may result in significant degradation of the software performance, To
avoid this there is an option to enable or disable Scan Progress Indicator.
We recommend that the progress indicator is switched off (the option
deselected) for SurphExpress operation from a computer that has any type
of remote control session in effect (similar to Remote Desktop,
GoToMyPC, WebEx, GoToMeetingi)
57
Exporting and Importing Scanning and Processing Preferences

You can export the current scanning and image processing parameter
settings to an XML-format preference file. Once created, you can import
the preference file to use the settings in another project.
To export the parameter settings to a preference file, select

the File | Export/Import | Export Preferences menu option. You are prompted
to specify a location and name for the file.
You can also save the scanning and image processing parameter settings,
along with export and import filters, as a user profile set. For more
information, refer to Saving and Loading User Profiles on p. 102.
58
To import the parameter settings from a preference file, select

the File | Export/Import | Import Preferences menu option. You are prompted
to locate and open the file.
Generating 2D and 3D Image Data
When you have completed setting the processing parameters, you are
ready to start processing the scan data to generate the 2D image data and
3D image data.
Starting Processing from the SurphExpress Application

To start the processing operation from the SurphExpress application:
If you have selected the Automatically process after scan option in the
Scan tab, click the button in the toolbar (or select
the Tools | Regular Scan menu option).
If you have already performed a scan without processing, click the

button in the toolbar (or select the Tools | Process menu
option).
Processing begins; the progress of the processing is reported in the Log

Output panel and in the Status bar at the bottom of the main window.
Depending on the size of the scan data file, processing of a full scan can
take from 5 to 25 minutes. (Partial scans can process more quickly.)
59
NOTE: To stop processing, click the button in the toolbar. If you

do stop the processing, the current processing parameters are saved. Also,
the partial image data is saved. This saves processing time if you decide to
reprocess the scan data and the image data will not be affected by any
settings changes you made.
When processing is complete, the processed image is shown in the View

panel. An example of 3D image data displayed in the 3D Points view is
shown below.
NOTE: If you selected the Show Express View option in the Processing
Modes tab, a Mask Edit window is displayed after the initial pass of image
processing. For more information, refer to Express View on p. 61.
For information about how to view the displayed 2D and 3D image data
images, refer to Viewing Image Data on p. 67.
Starting Processing Using the ProcessC3D Command Line Function

You can create a batch file that specifies the ProcessC3D command with
arguments, then execute the batch file to initiate the image processing.
This allows you to perform image processing, which can take some time
for large scan files, overnight or during other off-hours.
The format of the command is:
ProcessC3D [arguments]
For a complete description of the ProcessC3D arguments, refer to

ProcessC3D Reference Information on p. 107.
60
Express View
The Express View is a low-density 2D view of the scan data that is

displayed in a Mask Edit window. From this window, you can select areas
of the scan image to include in the full processing of the 2D and 3D image
data.
The Express View of the scan data can be opened in two ways:
If the Show Express View option on the Processing Modes tab is

selected (checked), then SurphExpress will perform an express
processing of the scan data and display a preview of the low-density
2D scan data in a Mask Edit window.
If the scan data has already been processed, and Show Express View
option on the Processing Modes tab is selected (checked), click the
button to open the existing low-density 2D scan data in a
Mask Edit window.
61
Exporting and Saving Image Data
The Express View of the scan data allows you to:
Check to determine whether the area of interest was scanned properly,

and that the image data appearance is acceptable.
Select the area to be fully processed. (Refer to ?????????? on p. nn

for information about the drawing tools.)
Click to cancel the processing.
If the image is acceptable and you are finished selecting the area of the
scan to be fully processed, click to continue with the standard
processing of the selected scan data.
Navigating and Zooming the Express View Image

If the Express View image is larger than the viewable area of the Mask
Edit window, you can use the scroll bars at the right and bottom of the
window to scroll through the image.
You can also use the Navigate/Zoom tab to navigate the image and change
the magnification.
of the Mask Edit window.
panel.
62

Specifying the Area to Be Processed Using Masks

You can use the drawing tools in the Mask Edit window to draw an area of
the Express View image that represents the area of interest that you want
to include in the full image processing. This area is referred to as a mask.
Points outside the drawn area will not be included in the processed image
data.
To specify the area to be processed in the Express View image, use one
of the drawing tools ( ) to draw the area to be included in
the image processing.
To erase a drawn area, select one of the drawing tools. Then, hold down
the right mouse button and drag over the area to be erased. For example,
dragging the rectangle tool with the right mouse button down will clear the
current mask within selected rectangle.
Express View Toolbar Functions
The Express Views toolbar functions, shown below, are described in the
following table. The drawing tools are used when defining the area to be
processed.
Tool Description

Pen

Filled box

Eraser

Paint bucket

Lasso

Undo
63
Tool Description

Redo
Zoom in on the image.

Zoom In
Zoom out on the image.

Zoom Out
Click and drag to pan on the image.

Scroll
The drawing tool controls on the Options tab of the Mask Edit window
allow you to set parameters that control the behavior of the drawing tools.
To open the Options tab, click the Options tab at the right of the Mask
Edit window. To close the tab, click the button at the upper right.

Setting the Background Filter

The Mask Edit windows Background filter indicates the signal intensity
and distance from the scanner. The color blending between colors
assigned to the minimum and maximum signal intensities or distances can
be used in the Mask Edit window to indicate the rate of change in signal
intensities or distances. You can make adjustments to the Background
filter settings to adjust the contrast and brightness of the image in the
Express View.
The Background filter parameters are set in the Background tab.
64
To open the Background tab, click the Background tab at the right of the
Mask Edit window. To close the tab, click the button at the upper
right.
Color Scheme Parameters
Step Used if the Periodic option is selected. Defines the

period to use for the periodic band.
For example, say the Periodic option is selected and
the Step parameter is set to 1000. The background
intensity color will be a continuous blend from
MinColor to MaxColor, but the color blend between
MinColor and MaxColor will repeat every 1000 units
of amplitude. Narrow blend bands would indicate
sharp changes in distance.


(unless the Periodic option is selected).
65
Base If selected, it defines a base intensity for periodic

rendering.
Periodic If selected, enables using a periodic pattern, using the

MinColor and MaxColor, to indicate the rate of change
in intensity or distances in the image.
Saturate Used when the Periodic option is selected. Using this

parameter helps to focus the view on the area of
interest, by making all pixels outside the area of
interest one color.
If the Saturate option is selected, then:
button Click this button to apply the color scheme settings

that you have chosen.
Regenerating 2D and 3D Image Data
You can regenerate 2D image data or 3D image data at any time. For
example, you may want to regenerate image data after you have made
changes to the processing parameters or image filters.
To regenerate 2D or 3D image data, click the or the

button in the toolbar (you can also use the
buttons on the Processing Modes tab).
66
Viewing Image Data

Viewing in 2D Intensity Mode
You display the 2D intensity image by selecting the 2D Intensity tab in the
View panel, or by selecting the View | 2D intensity data menu option.
The following topics explain how to navigate (pan) and zoom on the
image, and how to create masks.
67
Scrolling the Image Using the View Panel Scroll Bars

If the 2D image is larger than the viewable area, you can use the scroll
bars at the right and bottom of the View panel to scroll through the image.
Navigating and Zooming the Image Using Toolbar Controls

You can navigate the image using controls in the toolbar, as described
below.
Navigate/Zoom Toolbar Controls
To: Do This:
Zoom in
Click the button in the toolbar.
Zoom out
Click the button in the toolbar.
Navigate (pan) the image

Click the button in the toolbar. When you move the
pointer over the image, the pointer becomes a hand icon.
Click and drag in the direction you want to pan. When you
release the mouse button, the area of the image on which
you initially clicked is moved to the hand pointer location at
which you released the mouse button.
Navigating and Zooming the Image Using the Navigation/Zoom Tab

You can use the Navigate/Zoom tab to navigate the image and change the
magnification.
68
of the View panel.
panel.

Drawing Mask Areas Using the Mask Toolbars
Mask Tools Toolbar Mask Tools Undo/Redo Toolbar
You can use the drawing tools in the Mask Tools toolbar to draw masks
over the 2D image data. Data within the drawn masks will not be included
in exported 3D image data. These tools are similar to those found in
popular draw and paint applications.
NOTE: The User Mask must be visible to see the drawn masks. For more
information, refer to Setting the Export Masks Parameters on p. 95 and
Setting the Visibility Rank for Filter Layers on p. 97.
69
Mask Drawing Tools
Tool Description

Pen

Filled box

Eraser

Paint bucket

Lasso

Undo

Redo
The drawing tool controls on the Options tab of the View panel allow you
to set parameters that control the behavior of the drawing tools.
To open the Options tab, click the Options tab at the right of the View
panel. To close the tab, click the button at the upper right.

To view the effect of the 2D mask on the 3D image data, click the
button in the toolbar (you can also use the
buttons on the Processing Modes tab).
70
Adding Markers
You can add markers to the image in the 2D view to indicate the location
of targets in the scanned image. These can be helpful when merging
multiple scans.
The marker tools are accessible from the Markers tab.
To add a marker:
1. In the text field in the Pick panel, enter a root name for the marker.
Incremented numbers will be added to this root name for each marker
that is created. If root name is null, then the markers will be just
numbered.
2. Click the Pick button that corresponds to the type of target you are
identifying: Pick Rectangular, Pick Circular, Pick Spherical, or Pick
Unknown. The mouse pointer switches to Pick mode and the pointer
shape changes to crosshair shape. Respective pick button switches to
Pressed state. Normal operation with the mouse is suspended until
the corresponding Pick is clicked and switches back to Unpressed
state.
71
3. Position the crosshair cursor over the center of the target in the 2D
image and click left mouse button.
4. Each click (or Pick) within 2D scan image (or 3D Scan Image)
window will result in addition of next marker to the table control and
the small white circular shape (referred to as marker indicator or
glyph)will be drawn in the 2D window at the position of the click. A
spherical glyph will be drawn in the corresponding point in 3D
window.
5. If With improve option box is checked, then immediately after pick the
software will try to recognize the marker shape, This process is
referred to as improve and is discussed below in more details.
To exit from the Pick mode, click again the button that is in a
Pressed position.
To Improve marker(s):
Using the mouse pointer, select the name of one or several markers in the
Name column of the tabular control and press the Improve button. The
software will try to recognize the marker shape. If the shape recognition is
successful (that is the improve process succeeds), the software will compute
and update the center of the shape, then will change the text in the improved
column for the marker from False to Improved, and change the color of the
marker glyph to red. If necessary, position of the glyph is updated in 2D and
3D windows.
The Size box defines the search area (relative to the original pick location, in
degrees) for the improve.
NOTE: Improve is not available for target type Unknown.
72
If the improve process succeeds then the marker glyph color changes
to red
For the rectangular markers, a larger circle that indicates the image
area used by the software to determine the center of the target is
drawn. The larger circle also includes a crosshair indicating the border
between the dark and light areas of the target
Rectangular marker
Click the same Pick button again to exit the marker placement mode.
The quality of the data on which the target center determination was based
is indicated by the following:
73
If the larger circle is only small portion of the target area, that indicates
that target image was compromised (e.g, part of the target might have
been obscured during the scan or the target image might be distorted).
In the previous screen example, the circle has the maximum diameter
that fits in the target image, indicating that a sufficient area was able to
be used.
The cross-hair on the larger circle should align with the target
dark/light boundaries or the target centerline.
If there are dark marks on the target within the circle that are not part
of the actual target image, or part of the target within the circle is
obscured, the target calculation might not provide accurate results.
You can also perform the following functions using the marker tools.
Markers Tab Tool Functions
Function Description
button Use this button to have the software improve the

accuracy of the selected markers placement relative
to the center of the target.
To run the improve operation for one or more markers
in the table, select the markers and then click the
button.
When a markers placement is improved, its color
changes to red.
Size spin box Set the size, in degrees, within which the improve
function will operate.
This parameter controls how accurately you need to
pick the center of the marker for the Improve function
to work properly. If the pick point is further away from
the center of the marker, the Improve function might
not find the center of the marker and will fail.
button To delete one or more markers, select them in the

table, then click the button.
button The current set of markers can be saved and

reloaded.
button
Click the button to save the current set
of markers.
Click the button to load an existing set of

markers.
Size slider Use this slider to adjust the size of the marker.
Click this button to change the color of the marker

button prior to being improved.
74
Markers Tab Tool Functions
Function Description
Click this button to save a bitmap version of the 2D

button image that includes the markers.
To change the properties of a marker, right-click on the marker in the

table and select the Properties menu option. The properties dialog box for
that marker displays, allowing you to change the markers color, name,
and type.
75
Viewing in 3D Points Mode
You display the cloud points image by selecting the 3D Points tab in the
View panel, or by selecting the View | 3D Points menu option.
Hiding and Showing the 3D Points Tabs

The 3D Points tab includes three tools tabsSettings, Navigation, and
Pictureat the upper left of the panel.
To open a tool tab, click its tab label.
To close a tool tab, click above the tabs.
76
To hide or show the tool tabs along the panel, right-click in the 3D
Points view and select the Pages | Settings , | Navigation ,
or | Picture option from the pop-up menu to toggle the tool tab on and
off.
Setting the Background and Foreground Color

You can set the background and foreground color of the 3D Points image.
To set the background or foreground color, select

the View | 3D Options | Background [Foreground] Color menu option. The
standard Windows Color dialog box displays.
Select the color you want and then click to apply that color to the
background or foreground.
77
Setting the Light Parameters (Mesh Only)

You can set the light ambient, diffuse, and specular parameters when the
image data has been processed and displayed in Mesh format.
To set the light parameters, select the View | 3D Options | Light menu
option. The standard Windows Light dialog box displays.
Change light parameters by moving corresponding sliders, then

click to apply that light to the mesh.
78
Selecting Perspective or Orthogonal Projection

You can choose between using perspective or orthogonal projection for
the 3D Points image.
To set the projection mode, use either of the following methods:

The buttons on the Projection toolbar.
Perspective projection
Orthogonal projection
Or
Selecting/deselecting the Orthogonal Projection option on the Settings

tab. To open the Settings tab, click on its tab.
Cull Back Faces Checkbox

The Cull back faces option controls whether the triangles in the mesh are
hidden from the back side. This option affects the image only when the
mesh format of the 3D image is being viewed.
If the Cull back faces option is selected, then the triangles in the mesh
are hidden when viewed from the back side.
79
If the Cull back faces option is not selected, then triangles are visible
from both the front and back side, but are rendered with a uniform
dark color when viewed from the back direction.
Setting the Znear and Zfar Parameters

The Znear and Zfar parameters in the 3D Settings window allow you to
optimize the 3D data processing being performed by the PCs graphics
card.
3D data that is outside the range defined by Znear and Zfar are not
processed. Typically, the default settings are sufficient for processing the
3D image data.
You can set the Znear and Zfar parameters as follows:
To have the application set the Znear and Zfar parameters using
default values based on the scan data, select the Dynamic option. You
can still change the ratio value.
To manually set the Znear and Zfar parameters, deselect the Dynamic
option. This enables the Znear and Zfar fields, allowing you to
modify their values.
80
Setting Image Brightness and Contrast for the 3D Image Data Image
You can set the brightness and contrast of the 3D image data image.
To set the brightness and contrast, use either of the following methods:
The buttons on the Brightness/Contrast toolbar
Contrast controls
Brightness controls
Or
The slider controls in the Picture tab. To open the Picture tab, click on
its tab.
3D Viewing Coordinate Systems

For the scan camera coordinate system:
The Z axis points from the viewer and is perpendicular to the screen
plane.
The X, Y plane is left-handed and is parallel to the screen plane: X

axis points to the left. Y axis points to the top of the screen.
In all viewing manipulations, camera coordinates are used, unless

otherwise noted.
Selecting Examine or Walkthrough View Mode

You can view the 3D image data image in the following modes:
Examine. Your point of view is outside of the scanned scene. When

you zoom or rotate, your view position is stationary and the scene is
zoomed on or rotated.
81
Walkthrough. Your point of view is inside the scanned scene. When

you shift your position, you move through the scene as if you were
walking through it. When rotating, your body within the scene is
rotated around the axis chosen in the Examine/Walkthrough toolbar.
Note that your view angle through the selected plane (for example, you
are looking up or down on the vertical plane) is maintained as you
rotate around the axis.
The Examine and Walkthrough modes affect how navigation is performed

in the standard views. For more information about standard views, refer to
Working with Standard Views on p. 85.
To set the 3D Points view mode, use one of the following methods:
By right-clicking on the 3D Points view and selecting it from the
pop-up menu.
Select it from the options in the Mode panel on the Settings tab.
Toggle the Examine/Walkthrough option in the Examine/Walkthrough

toolbar.
Examine/Walkthrough
toggle option
82
To set the axis on which to rotate the examine or walkthrough

movement, click the appropriate option in the Examine/Walkthrough
toolbar. If an axis is not selected, then rotation around this axis using the
mouse is disabled (but you still can perform rotation around this axis with
the appropriate rotate button).
Rotate around Rotate around

the X axis the Z axis
Rotate around
the Y axis
83
Navigating the 3D Points Image Using Toolbar Controls

Setting Navigation Parameters
From the Navigation tab, you can set parameters related to the navigation
behavior for shifting your view position along one of the three axes,
rotating your view position around an axis, and zooming on the image in
Examine mode. You can also set the action repeat behavior when clicking
one of the control buttons in the Navigation toolbar.
To open the Navigation tab, click on the Navigation tab on the left side of
the View panel. The Navigation tab opens.
The Navigation settings are described in the following table.
84
3D Points Image Navigation Settings
Setting Description
Shift: Step Specifies how many millimeters to shift by when using

the Shift controls.
Shift: Auto repeat multiplier Specifies the step multiplier for multiple key presses
when using the keyboard-based Shift control.
Rotate: Step Specifies how many degrees to rotate by when using

the Rotate controls.
Zoom: Step Specifies the zoom factor to use when zooming.
Zoom: Auto repeat multiplier Specifies the zoom step multiplier for multiple key
presses when using the keyboard-based Zoom
control.
Toolbar: Auto repeat rate Determines the frequency of auto repeating when
clicking and holding on a toolbar control.
Working with Standard Views
You can use the buttons on the View Position toolbar to choose the
direction from which to view the 3D Points image. The buttons have
different uses, depending on whether you are in Walkthrough or Examine
mode.
Standard Views ControlsWalkthrough Mode
In Walkthrough mode, your point of view is, by default, at the origin of

the scan. The View Direction controls point your view to different
directions from the origin.
Face Left
Face Front Face Top
Face Rear Face Bottom

Face Right
Standard Views ControlsExamine Mode
In Examine mode, your point of view is, by default, from outside the
scanned scene. You use the View Direction controls to move your point of
view so that you are facing one of the sides of the scene.
Front Left Top
Rear Right Bottom

85
Shifting Your View Position
You can use the buttons in the Shift Position toolbar to move your position
along the X, Y, and Z axes relative to the 3D Points image. You can click
and hold the mouse on these controls to auto repeat the operation.
Shift along the Shift along the

Z axis Y axis
Shift along the

X axis
Rotating Your View Position around X, Y, and Z Axes
You can use the buttons in the Rotate Position toolbar to rotate your
position around the X, Y, and Z axes relative to the 3D Points image. You
can click and hold the mouse on these controls to auto repeat the
operation.
Rotate around Rotate around

the X axis the Z axis
Rotate around the

Y axis
Rotating Using the Point-n-Rotate Function
With the Point-n-Rotate function enabled, you can click the pointer at a
spot on the image, and the image will rotate that point to the center of the
View panel.
To use the Point-n-Rotate function, enable the Point-n-Rotate mode

by clicking the button in the Predefined Positions toolbar, then click
on the image at the point you want to rotate to center.
86
Setting Center-of-Rotation Point
You can use the buttons in the Center-of-Rotation Point toolbar to set the
location of the center-of-rotation point in the View panel.
Assigns center of the Shows/hides center-of-

image bounding box as rotation point shape
center-of-rotation point
Assigns Zero point (i.e.,

scanning from point) as
center-of-rotation point
Zooming on the Image in Examine Mode
You can use the buttons in the Zoom toolbar to zoom on the 3D Points
image. You can click and hold the mouse on these controls to auto repeat
the operation.
Reset to standard zoom
Zoom in factor
Zoom out
Navigating the 3D Points Image Using the Keyboard and Mouse

With no other controls enabled, when you move the pointer over the
image in the View panel, the pointer changes to an arrow icon.
With the pointer over the image, you can use the keyboard and mouse
actions to navigate through the "3D points" image. The keyboard/mouse
controls are explained in the following two tables, using a camera
metaphor to represent the source of the view you see in the View panel.
87
3D Points Image Navigation with Keyboard and MouseWalkthrough

Mode
To: Do the following:
Rotate the camera around the Click and drag the pointer with the left mouse button.
Y axis, using the camera
position as the rotation center,
and move the camera along
the Z axis [point of view
(POV) moves with the
camera].
Rotate the camera around the Hold the X key as you click and drag the pointer.
X and Y axes.
Rotate the camera around the Hold the Z key as you click and drag the pointer.
Z axis, and move the camera
along the Z axis (POV moves
with the camera).
Shift the camera along the X Left and Right Arrow keys.
axis.
Shift the camera along the Z Up and Down Arrow keys.

axis (POV moves with the
camera).
Shift the camera along the Y Shift+Up and Shift+Down Arrow keys.
axis.
Zoom in and out Page Up and Page Down keys.

Or
Hold the Shift and Ctrl keys, and click and drag the
pointer.
88
3D Points Image Navigation with Keyboard and MouseExamine Mode
To: Do the following:
Rotate the camera around the Click and drag the pointer with the left mouse button.
X and Y axis.
Rotate the camera around the Hold the X key as you click and drag the pointer.
X axis.
Rotate the camera around the Hold the Y key as you click and drag the pointer.
Y axis.
Rotate the camera around the Hold the Z key as you click and drag the pointer.
Z axis.
Shift the camera along the X Use the Left and Right Arrow keys.
axis.
Shift the camera along the Y Use the Shift+Up and Shift+Down Arrow keys.
axis.
Shift the camera along the Z Up and Down Arrow keys.

axis (POV does not move with
the camera). Or
Hold the Ctrl key as you click and drag the pointer.
Zoom in and out Hold the Shift and Ctrl keys, and click and drag the
pointer.
Mesh View Modes

You can use the Mesh View controls to toggle the 3D image between the
three available mesh views.
Solid Points
Wireframe
89

Setting Background Layer and Mask Filter Parameters
SurphExpress includes filters that allow you to mask categories of 3D

image data that you may not want to include in the exported file,
including:
Data whose signal level is outside a specified range
Gaps in the scanned data
Data that might not be valid due to insufficient or contradictory

readings during scanning
Data from target surfaces that are outside the distance range of interest
SurphExpress also includes two Background filters that indicate the signal
intensity and distance from the scanner. The color blending between
colors assigned to the minimum and maximum signal intensities or
distances can be used in the 2D Intensity view to indicate the rate of
change in signal intensities or distances.
In the 2D Intensity view, the mask filters are displayed in layers, like those
used in graphics applications, with the Background intensity and distance
layers always being the bottom layers. Making the mask layers viewable
allows you to see the data included in the masks, and thus potentially left
out of the exported 3D image data.
90
The Background and mask filter parameters are set in the Export Filter tab
in the Settings window.
Setting the Background Intensity Layer Parameters

You can set the values and colors for what you want to define as the
minimum and maximum intensities the Background Intensity layer.
To set the Background Intensity parameters, double-click on the word

Intensity in the Name column of the Backgrounds panel. (You can also
right click on Intensity, then select Properties from the pop-up menu.)
The Edit Background Intensity dialog box displays.
91
From this dialog box, you can specify the various Background Intensity
parameters. To change a parameter, click in its value field; the field
becomes either a text field or a drop-down list.
The Background Intensity parameters are explained in Background

Parameters on p. 94.
Setting the Background Intensity Min/Max Values Using the Histogram
You can set the Background Intensity Min and Max Values using an
intensity histogram of the image data.
To set the Background Intensity Min and Max Values using the
histogram, right-click on Intensity, then select Show hist from the pop-up
menu.)
The Brightness Hist dialog box displays.
Use the sliders to set the Min (bottom slider) and Max (top slider) values,
then click to save your changes.
92
Setting the Background Distance Layer Parameters

You can set the values and colors for what you want to define as the
minimum and maximum distances for the Background Distance layer.
The Distance layer is the distance map, where the proportion Color
Min/Color Max represents the distance between a point and the Zero point
(that is, the center-of-scanning point). The Distance layer is used for
qualitative checking of distances to scan points (from the Zero point).
To set the Background Distance layer parameters, double-click on the

word Distance in the Name column of the Backgrounds panel. (You can
also right-click on Distance, then select Properties from the pop-up menu.)
The Edit Background Distance dialog box displays.
From this dialog box, you can specify the various Background Distance
parameters. To change a parameter, click in its value field; the field
becomes either a text field or a drop-down list.
The Background Distance parameters are explained in Background

Parameters on p. 94.
93
Alpha Determines the layer transparency, relative to other

layers. Range of values is 0 (completely transparent)
to 255 (completely opaque).
MaxColor The color assigned to the maximum value.

MinColor The color assigned to the minimum value.

Periodic If set to True, enables using a periodic pattern, using

the MinColor and MaxColor, to indicate the rate of
change in intensity or distances in the image.
For example, say the Periodic parameter is set to
True, The step parameter is assigned to 100 and
Units parameter is mm. The background intensity
color will be a continuous blend from MinColor to
MaxColor, but the color blend between MinColor and
MaxColor will repeat every 100 mm. Narrow blend
bands would indicate sharp changes in distance..
Saturate Used when the Periodic parameter is set to True.

Using this parameter helps to focus the view on the
area of interest, by making all pixels outside the area
of interest one color.
If Saturate is set to True, then:
Step Used when the Periodic parameter is set to True.

Defines the period to use for the periodic band.
Units (selectable only for Specifies the units to be used for the Min and Max
Distance) Values and for the Step value.
94
Setting the Export Masks Parameters

The Export Mask parameters control how the categories of image data are
displayed in the 2D Intensity view. You can also choose whether data that
meets the mask criteria will be excluded from the exported 3D image data.
The predefined mask filters are explained in the following table.
In addition to the predefined mask filters, you can create your own masks
using drawing tools. For more information, refer to Drawing Mask Areas
Using the Mask Toolbars on p. 69.
95
Mask Filters Parameters
Filter Description
Intensity Min Pixels at or below this value will be included in this

mask.
Intensity Max Pixels at or above this value will be included in this

mask.
Distance Low Points at a distance that is less than specified

distance are included in this mask.
Distance High Points at or greater than this distance are included in

this mask.
Small Areas Image areas that are smaller than the specified size
will be considered noisy data (for example, streaks) to
be masked. The threshold units are in arc minutes.
Incidence Angle This is the incidence angle of the laser beam relative
to the surface. Typically data became less reliable
when the angle between the laser beam and the
surface becomes small.
Contradictory Data Data that has been determined to be not reliable (not
necessarily wrong, but might be).
User Mask The mask drawn in the 2D Intensity view using the
Mask tools.
Export Mask A combination of all the other masks, marked to be

used for 3D image data export. This mask shows all
of the data that would not be included.
Gaps Transitional areas between contiguous patches on the

target surface. The Value field is the thickness of the
line used to indicate a gap. The value is expressed in
minutes of arc. A value of 0 indicates the minimal
width of gap, which is 1 pixel.
To set the mask parameters for one of the image data categories,
double-click on the category entry in the Name column of the
Backgrounds panel.
The Edit Filter dialog box for that category displays.
96
From this dialog box, you can specify the various mask filter parameters.
To change a parameter, click in its value field; the field becomes either a
text field or a drop-down list.
The mask filter parameters are explained in the following table. Note that
not all parameters are used with each filter type.
Mask Filter Parameters
Alpha Determines the layer transparency, relative to other

layers. Range of values is 0 (completely transparent)
to 255 (completely opaque).
Color The color assigned to this category of data.
Units The unit of measure used for the entry in the Value
field.
UseIn3D If set to False, data in this mask filter category are not
included in the exported 3D image data file.
Value Specifies the value for this category of data (e.g., the
intensity value for Intensity Max and Intensity Min).
Setting the Visibility Rank for Filter Layers

You can specify where in the stack of Background and Mask filter layers a
particular filter will be placed. Layers lower in the stack will be hidden by
layers higher in the stack.
A layers visibility also depends on the layers assigned Alpha

(transparency) value.
The filters current rank is shown in the Visibility Rank column. A

visibility rank of 0 indicates that the filter will be hidden.
To change a filters visibility rank, select the filter entry in the Name
column of the Backgrounds or Masks panel, then click the or
button to move the filter up or down in rank. (You can also
right-click on the filter entry, then select Rank Up or Rank Down from the
pop-up menu.)
Making a Filter Layer Invisible

You can make any of the Background or Mask filter layers invisible. An
invisible layer is not shown in the image views and will not be used as a
mask when exporting 3D image data (i.e., the corresponding data would
be included in the exported 3D image data).
97
A visibility rank of 0 indicates that the filter will be hidden.
To make a filter layer invisible, right-click on the filter entry in the Name
column of the Backgrounds or Masks panel, then select Set Invisible from
the pop-up menu. The entrys visibility rank is set to 0.
Hiding or Showing All Filters

You can toggle the visibility for all filters between hiding all of them or
showing them using their current visibility ranks.
To toggle between hiding or showing the filters, click the or

button.
After clicking the button, the visibility rank for all layers
becomes 0.
After clicking the button, the visibility rank for all layers
returns to their previously set values.
Applying Filter Changes to View Images

You can apply any changes that you have made to the Background and
Mask filters to the image displayed in the 2D Intensity view using the
button. This is a faster alternative than processing or
regenerating the image data, as only the visualization data for the views is
processed, not the actual image data.
To apply filter changes to the view images, click the

button.
Exporting and Importing Filter Sets

You can export the current set of filters to an XML-format filter file. Once
created, you can import the filter file to use the filter set in another project,
or to use the filter set with the execution of the ProcessC3D command line
function.
For a description of the filters file XML format and a description of the
filter parameters that are defined in it, refer to ??????? on p. nn.
98
To export the current filter settings to a file, select

the File | Export/Import | Export Filters menu option. You are prompted to
specify a location and name for the file.
To import the filter settings from a filter file, select

the File | Export/Import | Import Filters menu option. You are prompted to
locate and open the file.
You can also save export and import filters, along with the scanning and
image processing parameter settings, to user preference sets. For more
information, refer to Saving and Loading User Profiles on p. 102.
99
Exporting the 2D Image Data As a Raster File
You can save the 2D intensity image data as a raster file. Any Background
Intensity and Mask filter are applied and saved with the 2D raster image
file. You can also choose to save a distance map in a binary format file,
along with the raster image file.
To save the 2D intensity image data to a raster file, select

the File | Save Bitmap| Bitmap Only (Scanner Coordinates) , File | Save
Bitmap| Bitmap Only (Spherical Coordinates) , or | Bitmap and Distance
Map menu option. The Choose Bitmap File dialog box displays, with the
default folder /Documents and Settings/user subfolder/Application
Data/Surphaserversion/C3Dfiles folder selected.
If desired, navigate a different destination folder and change the name of

the file.
Select a raster file format from the Save as type drop-down list (GIF, JPG,
PNG, and TIFF are available), then click the button.
Note that, if you are also saving a distance map, the distance map file
name is the same as the raster file name you entered, but with the
extension .dmap.
100
A sample raster file is shown below.
Exporting the 3D Image Data to a File
You can save the 3D image data to an industry-standard file. Data that
match a mask filter criteria and for which the mask filters UseIn3D
parameter is set to False will not be included in the exported file.
To export the 3D image data to a file, click the button in the

Processing toolbar (or, select the File | Save As menu option). The
Choose file to export in dialog box displays.
101
In the Choose file to export in dialog box:
Navigate to the destination folder.
Enter a name for the file.
Select a 3D image data file format from the Save as type drop-down
list.
The supported formats are listed and described in Supported 3D

Export File Formats on p. 106.
To create the 3D image file, click the button.
NOTE: You can also have the 3D image data exported automatically as
part of the 3D processing. For more information, refer to 3D Image Data
Export on p. 50.
By the default 3D image files are stored to /Documents and

Settings/<user subfolder>/Application Data/Surphaser/C3Dfiles folder.
Saving and Loading User Profiles
You can save the current settings in the settings tabs, and the export and
import filters, as user preference sets. This allows you to load these
settings and filters as a starting point for other scans and processing.
To save the current settings and filters as a user profile:

1. Select the File | Export/Import | Work with User Preferences menu option.
The Memorized User Preferences dialog box displays.
102
2. Enter a name for the profile in the New User Preferences Set field, then
click the button.
The Profile is added to the list.
3. To close the dialog box, click the button.
To delete a profile, select the set in the Memorized User Preferences

dialog box list and click the button.
To load a profile, select the File | Load User Preferences menu option, and
then select the profile from the submenu.
Opening a New or Existing Scan
You can open a new or existing scan at any time. The procedures for these
tasks are described in the following topics.
Opening a New Scan
To open a new scan, click the button in the toolbar. The

previous parameter settings and image data are flushed from application
memory.
Note that the scanner must be online, as indicated in the Scan tab, to start
a new scan.
103
Loading an Existing Scan

To load an existing scan, select the File | Load Scan menu option. The
Browse for Folder dialog box opens.
Navigate to the projects folder, select the C3D scan data file, then click
the button. The selected scan is loaded into SurphExpress.
Temporary Project Files
When you perform a new scan operation, a temporary project folder is

created in the same folder in which the scan data file is located (that is, the
Output Filename folder specified on the Scan tab).
As you change scan, image processing, and filter parameters and process
images, the settings and image data are saved in the project folder for the
current session. When a new scan is started or if the application is closed,
this folder is deleted.
If a session ends unexpectedly due to a problem, the project files might

remain and should be deleted manually:
project.xml
processing.xml
preference.xml
*.bsp files
*.bst files
Trash subfolder
104
Troubleshooting
SurphExpress reports session activity in the Log window.
As you perform operations on the application, the log window entries will
indicate the progress of those activities. This provides a check that the
application is processing operations as expected.
In addition to status reported to the Log window, the application saves

more extensive status information about session activity to a log file. The
path of the log file is shown at the top of the scrollable list in the Log
window. Service personnel will use the scan data files and the log file
when diagnosing problems with the application.
105
Appendix
Supported 3D Export File Formats
SurphExpress supports the following 3D image data file formats. Note that
mesh formats are available only when the Point Cloud Export Mesh option
on the Processing Mode tab is selected.
Format (file
extension) 3D Format Description
btx Cloud of Basis Software version of binary point cloud format,

Points similar to PTX in overall structure.
dxf Cloud of AutoCAD format.

Points and
Mesh
gpd Cloud of Geomagic point data (cloud of points with an

Points opportunity to set color of normal and position in
lattice).
mns Cloud of Trimble RealWorks Viewer format.

Points
msh Mesh Basis Software proprietary internal binary format for

the mesh.
pld Cloud of Basis Software proprietary volumetric point cloud.

Points
ptb Cloud of Basis Software proprietary internal binary format.

Points
ptc Cloud of Kubit GmbH point cloud format.

Points
pts Cloud of Leica Cyclone formatunorganized 3D image data

Points with intensity values.
ptx Cloud of Leica Cyclone formatgridded 3D image data.

Points
spt Cloud Point Spherical coordinates point cloud format.
sptx Cloud Point Segmented ptx.
stl Mesh Stereolitography.
tzs Cloud Point Trimble point cloud format.
106
Format (file
extension) 3D Format Description
xyz ASCII-standard format, \n as line separator.
xyzt ASCII-standard format, \r\n as line separator.
ProcessC3D Reference Information
Command Line Arguments

The following table summarizes the arguments that can be used with the
ProcessC3D command.
ProcessC3D Command Line Arguments
Argument Description
-rpr:<filename> rpr file name.

Default: get rpr file name for the scanner from the Registry.
-filters:<filename> XML file with processing parameters.
-c3d:<filename> C3D filename. It is a mandatory parameter, unless -project is specified.
-out:<filename> Output filename.

Default: leading part of C3D filename (including path) and file extension
replaced with export format specification.
-export: ptx, btx, ,spt, ptb, xyz, xyzt, Output format.

gpd, dxf,
Default: PTX
mns, pts, ptc, tzs, msh, stl}
-units:{mm, m, um, in, ft} Units for the coordinate data in output file.
Default: meters.
-aspect:{1, 0} Aspect ratio for PTX

1 equilateral grid
0 keep the aspect of the scan.
Default: 1
-subsample:<n> Integer 1100; percent of points to output (same algorithm as in SES).

Default:100
-fullscan Process the full scan (take the bottom angle from filters file or rpr file).
Default option
Incompatible with arguments: -hsector, -vsector, -sector.
107
Appendix
ProcessC3D Command Line Arguments
Argument Description
-excludebase:<n> Integer n (degrees) is half angle of the bottom part of the scan to be
excluded.
Default: 0
-hsector:<L>:<R> Left and right angles of the sector to process in the range [0,360]
(integer, degrees).
Default: process full horizontal range
Incompatible with arguments: -sector, -fullscan.
-vsector:<L>:<H> Low and High (from horizon) angles of the sectors to process in the
range [-90 to 90] (integer, degrees).
Default: process full vertical range
Incompatible with arguments: -fullscan, -sector.
-sector:<L>:<R>:<Low>:<High> Process solid angle. Incompatible with

arguments: -fullscan, -hsector, -vsector.
-minarea:<n> Exclude small areas. Small area is defined as a contiguous area which
size is smaller then the specified value (floating point, angle minutes
squared).
Default: 200.0
-amin:<value> Override filters intensity minimum value (integer).
-ignoreerrors Not implemented. Ignore the scan integrity errors.

Default: Abort the processing if the scan integrity check failed
-log:<filename> Write log file with extended information.
-info Output to log file information on the scan (as in c3dinfo.exe). If -log
option is not specified, information is printed on the console.
Default: Do not output
-keepproject Retain the project and temporary files for further use.
-project:<directory> Use the project and temporary files from previous runs. Incompatible
with -rpr and -c3d arguments. This option implicitly turns on the -
keepproject option.
-prj:<directory> Explicitly specify project directory name. Incompatible with -project

argument. Directory should not exist before program start and will be
deleted unless -keepproject option is specified.
108
Online Help Text

The following online help text is displayed if the ProcessC3D command is
executed without any arguments.
C3D files conversion and processing utility. Version: 1.88.74
Copyright: Basis Software, Inc. 2005
Usage:
ProcessC3d [options...]
-rpr:rprfile scanner parameters file name
-c3d:c3dfile source file name
-out:outfile output file name
-filters:fltfile filters parameter file name
-fullscan process whole scan (default)
-hsector:L:R left and right boundaries for image processing
Default is 0:180 (integer, degrees)
-vsector:Lo:Hi low and high boundaries for image processing
Default is 0:360 (integer, degrees).
-sector:L:R:Lo:Hi define solid angle for processing (integer, degrees)
-excludebase:<n> exclude lowest part of the scan (integer, degrees)
-export:<s> output format. Values: ptx, btx, ,spt, ptb, xyz, xyzt, gpd,
dxf, mns, pts, ptc, tzs, msh, stl, dxfm
-minarea:<n> small area size
-units:<s> measurement unit for output. Values: um, mm, m, in, ft
-amin:<n> minimum intensity value
-aspect:<n> aspect ratio for output.
1 - square grid (default), 0 - keep original aspect.
-subsample:<n> percentage of point to output
-prj:dirname use specified name for project directory
-keepproject save project for later use
-project:dirname use saved project from specified directory
-ignoreerrors ignore processing errors
-info display information on the scan
-log:logfile log file for processing data
-verbose turn on verbose mode, default: off
-ongrid export points on grid
-saveimage:<s> save amplitude picture. Supported formats bmp, gif, jpg, tif,
png. Default - png.
-sph save amplitude picture in spherical coordinates, else in
scanner.
-ZUp z axis is in up direction
Examples.
ProcessC3d -rpr:d:\sc.rpr -c3d:scan.c3d -out:save.out -export:ptx -
filters:filter.xml -hsector:30:210 -keepproject
ProcessC3d -project:Scan001_19.05.2005 -filters:filter.xml -out:save.ptx -
log:f:c3d2ptx.log
109
Appendix
Diagnostic Messages
Following is a list of error and warning messages that could be returned
during the ProcessC3D command execution.
Some error messages may have second line with original systems exception
message.
Also, in case of exception while parsing the command line, the following
information will be displayed:
first line shows option, which caused error,
further line(s) show systems exception message
Error parsing: <arg>

where arg is an unrecognized option (command line parameter).
"Warning: -ignoreerrors not yet implemented"
"Unknown unit: <arg>

where arg is a string specified with -unit parameter.
"Unknown export format: <arg>

where arg is a string specified with -export parameter.
"Not implemented format: <arg>

where arg is a legitimate export format, but processing cannot be done
with this version of conversion utility (-export parameter).
"Project directory (or file) already exists: <arg>

where arg is the name of directory with -prj parameter. It is not allowed to
use existing directory.
"-project parameter is incompatible with -rpr, -prj and -c3d"
"-fullscan parameter is incompatible with -hsector, -vsector,

-sector"
"-sector parameter is incompatible with -hsector, -vsector"
"-bpd... parameters can be used for bpd export format only"

-bpdnormalize, -bpdfilter, -bpdrange and -bpdoffset options can be used
only when export:to bpd format was specified.
"Bad Left:Right values"

Left and Right values must be in [0,360] interval and Right should be
greater than Left.
110
"Bad Low:High (or excludebase) values"

Low and High values must be in [-90,90] interval and High should be
greater than Low. (If -excludebase parameter is specified, Low value may be
adjusted according to exludebase value. Then corrected Low value will be
used in validity check.)
"No input c3d file"

Cannot get name of input scanned data from saved project.
"Input file not found: <c3dfile>

Cannot open input scanned data <c3dfile>.
"Cannot get scanner parameters file"

There is no name of scanner parameters rpr file in system registry.
"Scanner parameters file not found: <rpr>"

Cannot open scanner parameters <rpr> file.
"Project load error: <sproject>"

Cannot load saved project from <sproject> directory.
"Filter file load error: <sfilter>"

Cannot load filter file <sfilter>.
"Filter resource load error:"

Cannot load filter data from built-in resource.
"Project save error: <sproject>"

Cannot write project data to <sproject> directory.
"Project create error: <sproject>"

Cannot create <sproject> directory.
"rpr file checksum error"

Rpr file contains invalid checksum.
"Prv file is obsolete, at least version 1.7 required"

Cannot use old prv files.
"Config not found"

rpr file does not contain Current configuration.
"This is 30 days evaluation version

<XX> days left
Trial version always displays this string.
Evaluation period expired

Application exiting..."
Trial version will stop functioning after 30 days.
111
Appendix
"Error: no scan data in the selected sector"

User specified processing area which does not contain any scanned data.
"m_names cannot be null"

Internal error in image processing.
112
XML Filter File Format and Parameters
XML Filter File Format

Parameters have the same meaning as those in the SurphExpress Export
Filter tab.
Note the following about parameter entry case-sensitivity:
Section names and parameter names are case-sensitive.
True/False values are not case-sensitive.
Each filter can be represented by one or two XML <PRMELEMENT> tags,

one for controlling applicability of the filter, the other (available not for all
filters) specifying numeric value associated with the filter.
Following is an example file:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<FiltersParameters xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" ProcessingClass="ViLong">
<ProjectManage />
<Filters AMax="19500" AMin="500" DMax="20000000" GapWidth="3"
bUseAMax="true" bUseDMax="true" bUseIncAngle="true" />
<MakeScan Algorithm="Direct" DisparityLimit="0.33" />
<MakePicture DX="198841.07851851851" />
<PointCloud MaxNPoints="10000000" Percent="0.05" Aspect="0" />
<PointCloudEx PtbResolution="5" Percent="1" Units="1000000" />
<MakeMesh />
<MakeMeshEx MaxNPoints="10000000" />
<Version Major="2" Minor="0" />
</FiltersParameters>
XML Filter File Parameters

The following table provides summary information about the mask filter
parameters that can be defined in the XML filter file.
113
Appendix
Default
Filter Name Value Parameter Units Default Value Toggle Parameter Toggle
Intensity Max AMax Intensity Units 19500 bUseAMax False
Intensity Min AMin Intensity Units 200 bUseAMin True
Distance High DMax Micrometers 100000000 bUseDMax False
Distance Low DMin Micrometers 0 bUseDMin True
Gaps GapWidth MOA (Minute 3 bUseGaps True

Of Arc)
Contradictory data N/A N/A N/A bUseCtrData False
Incidense Angle N/A Degrees Degrees bUseIncAngle True
Small Area MinArea (MOA)^2 200 bUseMinArea True
The following topics provide additional information about these

parameters as they relate to specifying them in the XML filter file. For
additional general information about these parameters, refer to the table
Mask Filters Parameters on p. 96.
Minimum Intensity: AMin
Points with intensity less than AMin (intensity units) are not exported, but
marked as missed in Export / 3D View.
AMin Defines minimum intensity in Amplitude Units.

-amin command line argument supersedes the AMin value.
Default value: 200
bUseAMin If True, use AMin filter in export; if False, ignore.
Default value: False
Maximum Intensity: AMax
Points with intensity greater than AMax (intensity units) are not exported,
but marked as missed in Export / 3D View.
AMax Defines maximum intensity in Amplitude Units.
Default value: 19500
bUseAMax If True, use AMax filter in export; if False, ignore.
114
Minimum Distance: DMin/DMin
Points with distance less than DMin (micrometers) are not exported, but
marked as missed in Export / 3D View.
DMin Defines minimum distance in micrometers.
Default value: 0
bUseZMin If True, use DMin filter in export; if False, ignore.
Default value: True
Maximum Distance: DMax/DMax
Points with distance greater than DMax (micrometers), are marked as

missed in Export / 3D View.
DMax Defines maximum distance in micrometers.
Default value: 100000000
bUseDMax If True, use DMax filter in export and in 3D View; if False,

ignore.
Transition Gaps (Gap Width)

GapWidth
The gap width in Minutes of Arc (MOA).
Default value: 3
bUseGaps If true, the gaps are marked for exclusion.
Default value: True
Contradictory Data
Data that has been determined to be not reliable (not necessarily wrong, but
might be).
Contradictory data result from the following sources:
Semitransparent surfaces (glass window with objects behind it)
Transitional areas where some data may be taken from different

distances
115
Appendix
Saturation resulting in significant (more than few millimeters)

distortion of distance data
Multiple scattering /reflection
Objects moving between passes
Very dark (or far) objects

bUseCtrData
Toggles application of contradictory data filter.
Small areas filtering
During the processing the algorithm analyzes the connectivity of the data
points. For the points that belong to small continuous areas there is high
probability that these points are inaccurate. Small Areas filters control the
output of points in small continuous areas.
MinArea Defines the size (in square minutes of arc) of minimal

continuous area that will be affected by this filter.
minarea command line argument supersedes MinArea value.
Default value: 200

bUseMinArea
Toggles application of Small areas filter.
Default value: True
Intensity Adjustment
AdjustAmp
Controls the Intensity vs. distance correction (for scanners
that have the correction table available in rpr file).
Default value: True
116
Algorithm
Algorithm
Has two possible values: Heuristic 1D for heuristic
algorithm of distance resolution, and Direct is for the direct
algorithm. Heuristic algorithm can work in wide
conditions, including dark areas and minor scanner
movements, but sometimes it gives in result sudden errors
like misplaced parts of surface (usually at the edge). Point
by Point requires more stable scanning conditions and in its
current version fails in dark areas, but the probability of the
wrong result is much less, than for Heuristic.
Default value: Heuristic 1D
i
Remote Desktop, GoToMyPC, WebEx, GoToMeeting are Trademarks of their
respective owners
117

SurphExpress Manual v2 55d2 03

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

SurphExpress Manual v2 55d2 03

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SurphExpress

Basis Software, Inc.

Software Release 2.55.30

2005-2014 Basis Software. All rights reserved.

AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.

SurphExpress, SurpExpress Standard and SurphExpress Light are trademarks of,

Basis Software, Inc.

Scanning Concepts ....................................................... 5

SurphExpress Application Installation ...................... 11

Specifying the Scan Density ..............................................................26

Creating 2D and 3D Image Data.................................. 42

Setting Preview Scan Options....................................................56

Viewing Image Data ..................................................... 67

3D Viewing Coordinate Systems .......................................................81

Exporting and Saving Image Data .............................. 90

Troubleshooting ........................................................ 105

Appendix .................................................................... 106

Conventions Used in This Manual

Window, panel, dialog window, and tab:

Options and fields:

Scanner control and data collection for laser scanners with

Conversion of the scan data to industry standard 3D formats for

Scan image analysis and filtering

Built-in 3D scan image viewing and navigation

SurphExpress includes the following features:

C3D scan data proprietary format (also referred to as raw data).

Exporting processed 3D image data to an industry standard

2D and 3D viewing of 3D image data. This allows you to examine

Express View. If this processing option is selected, SurphExpress will

Extensive and flexible filters. A variety of filters can be applied

Projects. SurphExpress supports the automatic creation of a project

Extensive and user-friendly graphical user interface.

The SurphExpress software can be used to operate a Surphaser

SurphExpress controls the hemispherical scanner, using the scanner

Following are typical workflows for using SurphExpress:

Angular vs. Linear Scan Resolution

For example, if the nominal distance is specified as 10 ft, then the

Scanner Operating Temperature

Transparency of the surface degrades distance measuring precision. An

If the spot is a focused point, the degree of transparency is low.

To get accurate results with some of semi-transparent surfaces, the object

Reflective Surfaces and Incidence Angles

This can happen because:

Maintaining Scanner Calibration Data

Periodically, as determined by your application requirements, the scanner

To update the scan parameters in SurphExpress, a service representative

It is possible to recalibrate the scanner after the scanning of a scene and

Distance Ambiguity Resolution

By selecting a scan configuration, operator simultaneously selects one or

For a one pass mode, all information necessary to determine distance to

The first pass uses a set of frequencies to derive approximate distance

In the second pass, the scanner uses a set of frequencies just to

The internal calculation that determines the actual distance to a point on

Determining the Scan Region (Field of View)

Setting the reference (0) azimuth angle of the scanner

Specifying to perform a full volume scan

Specifying a partial scan by selecting start and end azimuth angles

Spherical Scan Density

The vertical density is the separation between two consecutive

The horizontal density is the separation between the vertical traces of

SurphExpress Application Installation

Running the SurphExpress application has the following system

Minimum personal computer (PC) hardware: 1.5-GHz

Windows XP 32 or 64 bit Edition or Windows Vista 32 or 64 bit