ColmapForVisSatPatched

This repository uses git patch to implement ColmapForVisSat. Since ColmapForVisSat is a full copy of Colmap, it is difficult to maintain. By relying on git apply <patch> this repository offers a simpler approach to incorporate the latest changes of the original Colmap library.

Compatibility

In contrast to the original ColmapForVisSat library, this repository supports CUDA 11.

Apply a set of satellite specific patch files to the original Colmap repository

Define two (temporary) variables storing the the repository locations on disk:

PathToColmapForVisSatPatched="path/to/ColmapForVisSatPatched"
PathToColmapToBePatched="path/to/ColmapToBePatched"

Clone the repositories:

git clone https://github.com/SBCV/ColmapForVisSatPatched.git $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched
git clone https://github.com/colmap/colmap.git $PathToColmapToBePatched

Checkout the Colmap version compatible to the current patch files with:

cd $PathToColmapToBePatched
# Current patch files are created for 31df46c6c82bbdcaddbca180bc220d2eab9a1b5e (Mar 5, 2022)
git checkout 31df46c6c82bbdcaddbca180bc220d2eab9a1b5e

Ensure that apply_patches.sh has execute permissions (ls -l $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/apply_patches.sh) - for example by running:

chmod +x $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/apply_patches.sh

Finally, apply the satellite specific patches with:

$PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/apply_patches.sh $PathToColmapToBePatched

Note: Do NOT run apply_patches.sh with sh $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/apply_patches.sh - this will not produce the required results! Do not worry about type warnings (e.g. warning: src/base/camera.cc has type 100644, expected 100755).

Build the patched Colmap repository

• Run sudo apt-get install libmetis-dev
• If anaconda/miniconda is installed, make sure to run conda deactivate before running cmake.
• Follow the official install insctructions of Colmap for Linux.

For contributors/developers: Create a set of new patch files for the latest Colmap version

If you want to create patch files for a more recent Colmap version, you may want to use the following approach:

First define some (temporary) environment variables:

PathToColmapForVisSatPatched="/path/to/ColmapForVisSatPatched"
PathToColmapLatest="path/to/ColmapLatest"

Clone the repositories:

git clone https://github.com/SBCV/ColmapForVisSatPatched.git $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched
git clone https://github.com/colmap/colmap.git $PathToColmapLatest
cd $PathToColmapLatest

If desired checkout a specific commit - for example:

git checkout 31df46c6c82bbdcaddbca180bc220d2eab9a1b5e

Try to apply the patches (this will probably not succeed, but it will show for which files the application of the corresponding patch failed).

$PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/apply_patches.sh $PathToColmapLatest

Example error:

error: patch failed: src/base/cost_functions.h:267
error: src/base/cost_functions.h: patch does not apply

Use Github to view the corresponding patch file (e.g. src__base__cost_functions.h.patch) - it will highlight the required additions in green. Copy the desired changes (i.e. the green parts) to corresponding place in the source code in $PathToColmapLatest! (e.g. cost_functions.h)

Open $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/create_patches.sh and comment out all lines git diff ... for which the application of the patch worked in the previous run.

Run the modified create_patches.sh script. It will create a new set of patches in $PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/patches overwriting previously outdated patches.

$PathToColmapForVisSatPatched/create_patches.sh $PathToColmapLatest

Non-trivial conversion notes

Inconsistencies

• src/base/reconstruction.cc --> Reconstruction::Normalize() --> if (translation_applied && scale_applied) {

  • add
    • const Eigen::Vector3d mean_coord = std::get<2>(bound);
    • const Eigen::Vector3d translation = mean_coord;

• src/controllers/bundle_adjustment.cc --> void BundleAdjustmentController::Run() { -->

  • can not uncomment reconstruction_->Normalize();, since line does not exist.
  • => uncomment reconstruction_->Normalize(); in src/ui/bundle_adjustment_widget.cc
  • keep reconstruction_->Normalize(); in src/sfm/incremental_mapper.cc, since these are not touched in the adapted colmap version

Obsolete ? (TODO)

- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WriteCamerasText() -->  file << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WriteCamerasText() -->  line << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WriteImagesText() -->  file << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WriteImagesText() -->  line << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WritePoints3DText() -->  file << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/base/reconstruction.cc  -->  void Reconstruction::WritePoints3DText() -->  line << std::setprecision(PRECISION);
- src/mvs/math.h

Questionable Changes (TODO)

• src/mvs/patch_match_cuda.cu --> Deleted return in line 181/385