Cyclops FAQ
1) I can't figure out how to use this program!
Read the manual. No, really.
Just remember this is not a user-centric piece of software. Its a me-centric piece of software, I didn't design it for other people. In fact, I didn't design it, full stop, its more like an amorphous blob.
2) Will there be a version 2?
Maybe, if enough people want me to make it then it might be made.
It would be a lot of effort however, so finding time could be tricky. If making a version 2 I would have two possibilities, either creating a version with a nice GUI from scratch or extending a current open source project with this functionality. (The only choice there is Blender, don't know if they would want this functionality, so might have to be a fork. It would likely have to be done as a fork then re-merge anyway due to the quantity of work involved, so doing it before the 2.50 GUI re-write would be a bad plan.) I would also want to make it multi-image capable; little point in doing a re-write without adding features!
3) Can I use this tool for commercial purposes?
You may do whatever you like with the output, and distribute the program as you please. Nobody may sell a copy of the program itself however, excluding the cost of media. I also reserve the right to arbitrarily prohibit any individual or group from using the software, though that is only reserved for defensive purposes if someone abuses my work.
4) Can I mirror the Cyclops download?
Please do, it will save me bandwidth. However, please link back to my website so people can discover the origin of the software.
5) Is it possible to use more than two photos to create a 3D model?
With Cyclops, no. This is simply not functionality I need, though it would be cool to have.
You can however use multiple stereo pairs to create multiple meshes and combine them. This can be done manually using a program such as Blender. Alternatively, there is an Open Source program called Scanalyze available here. This is designed to automate this task, though I have not tried it myself and suspect it will not handle the output from Cyclops as input too well. You will probably still need to manually get scaling right for it to work. If anyone has any luck doing this please tell me! Additionally another open source program that looks potentially easier to use is MeshLab.
Read the manual. No, really.
Just remember this is not a user-centric piece of software. Its a me-centric piece of software, I didn't design it for other people. In fact, I didn't design it, full stop, its more like an amorphous blob.
2) Will there be a version 2?
Maybe, if enough people want me to make it then it might be made.
It would be a lot of effort however, so finding time could be tricky. If making a version 2 I would have two possibilities, either creating a version with a nice GUI from scratch or extending a current open source project with this functionality. (The only choice there is Blender, don't know if they would want this functionality, so might have to be a fork. It would likely have to be done as a fork then re-merge anyway due to the quantity of work involved, so doing it before the 2.50 GUI re-write would be a bad plan.) I would also want to make it multi-image capable; little point in doing a re-write without adding features!
3) Can I use this tool for commercial purposes?
You may do whatever you like with the output, and distribute the program as you please. Nobody may sell a copy of the program itself however, excluding the cost of media. I also reserve the right to arbitrarily prohibit any individual or group from using the software, though that is only reserved for defensive purposes if someone abuses my work.
4) Can I mirror the Cyclops download?
Please do, it will save me bandwidth. However, please link back to my website so people can discover the origin of the software.
5) Is it possible to use more than two photos to create a 3D model?
With Cyclops, no. This is simply not functionality I need, though it would be cool to have.
You can however use multiple stereo pairs to create multiple meshes and combine them. This can be done manually using a program such as Blender. Alternatively, there is an Open Source program called Scanalyze available here. This is designed to automate this task, though I have not tried it myself and suspect it will not handle the output from Cyclops as input too well. You will probably still need to manually get scaling right for it to work. If anyone has any luck doing this please tell me! Additionally another open source program that looks potentially easier to use is MeshLab.