Platform Selections - HephaestusVision/hephaestus GitHub Wiki

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Platform Selection/Options

Library Options

  • VTK/VES – Open source library for image processing and visualization in C++. http://www.vtk.org/.

    Pros: Our client wants us to use Kitware product, this satisfies this requirement. Hal is familiar with this library.

  • QT – Cross platform framework for creating GUI. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework)

    Pros – This is for C++ and can be used with VTK.

  • Point Cloud Library or OpenCV Point Cloud library is an open source library to manipulate the point cloud returned by the Kinect device. http://pointclouds.org/

     Pros: This is one of the few libraries oriented for the Kinect and 3d cameras. It works with C++.

 Cons: We are unfamiliar with the library.

OpenCV is an open source library that includes several hundred computer vision algorithms. This may be used to convert the point cloud from the Kinect into a surface. OpenCV Documentation

      Pros: It is made for C++.

      Cons: Chris is familiar with the library though the rest of the are not.

We will therefor be using OpenCV

-edit: After further testing we are using primarily PCL. The only reason we are now using OpenCV is because it is required for OpenKinect.

  • OpenKinect – Open source library for use with the Kinect. http://openkinect.org/wiki/Main_Page

    Pros: It is available for C++. It is the only open source library specifically for the Kinect hardware.

    Cons: We are unfamiliar with the library.

Data Storage Options

  • MIDAS – Open source toolkit that enable web storage. http://www.midasplatform.org/.

    Pros: This is a Kitware product so it satisfies our requirement of using their products.

Development Tools

  • CMake – Open source, cross platform build system that is used to control build process. http://www.cmake.org/

    Pros: This is another Kitware product. We are somewhat familiar with the system.

  • Git – Online repository for our project. http://git-scm.com/documentation

    Pros: Familiar with this technology and this allows us to have our website and repository in one place.

Other Software

  • KiwiViewer – Free, open source visualization smart device app that allows the viewing of 3d models. http://www.kiwiviewer.org/

    Pros: It is made by Kitware. It is a good basis to start our app for mobile devices. We should hopefully only need to add a little bit of code to make it talk to our server and be able to download our 3d models from the cloud.

Hardware

  • Microsoft Kinect – Cheap 3d camera.

    Pros: Extremely affordable 3d camera with reasonable depth of field capabilities. Our client want this program to work with a Kinect.

  • iPad

    Pros: Our client want the app to work on iPads.

Diane's Comments

For Point Cloud Library, OpenCV and OpenKinect, you indicate "one of the few". What are the others? Since these are libraries that the client doesn't care about (or at least you haven't indicated that) and you need to learn them, I'd like to know what the others are. (If there are no others, change to "the only".) Then I'd like you to either look at the others or indicate why that isn't appropriate or necessary.