DAVID 4?

[micr0]

It seem manual align isn't working. I hold the control key while right or left clicking but I get no movement at all of the selected scan. The "globe" appears but the scans don't move. Anyone else have this problem?


µ

[JDM Dyno]

it looks like shift key now works like ctrl-key

[Anti]

As for the moment I don't have the chance to try David 4 ... could someone tell me if DAVID 4 includes DAVID SDK? If not, does anybody know when it will be released?

[pottersfriend]

Not that I have the knowledge to use the SDK or anything, but from what the US reseller (growshapes) is showing, the SDK is expensive. They're listing it at $2600 USD!

[Anti]

WTF? Why? Perhaps there may be a cheper prize for non-commercial users?!

[micr0]

WTF? Why? Perhaps there may be a cheper prize for non-commercial users?!

My understanding of SDK is that it is designed to be integrated into 3rd party development or for larger corporate deployment (such as in quality control). It's more a way of using the David 3D scanning engine than it is specifically a scanning app.

µ

[Anti]

That's really a pity as the command line support seems to be no longer available since David 2.X. Thus, for us usual users it's not possible to implement own routines (e. g. automatic alignment of all scans after scanning procedure).

[MagWeb]

Hi Anti,

I understand your special need to automize your workflow.
(This is nothing special about DAVID4, but may be of some help)
My very first attempts to automize DAVID used a simple trick: I ran an external script that performed virtual mouse clicks.
Means there are softwares to record a sequence of user interactions as clicks (and the screens coordinates where you clicked) as well as keyboard input to a "macro" script.
Running that script performs the same action as if you do the same thing again as long as the screen is the same ( as running DAVID's window maximized).
This way you can automize anything you can do in DAVID.

Long time passed since I did such stuff...
Further info e.g.:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_recorder
or:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_macro_recorder_software

[Anti]

Hi MagWeb,

a great idea. I'll give it a chance. But for sure ... an api would be more helpful. Does anybody know why David retired the command line support?

Best
Anti

[milz]

macros -) welcome to 21th century -) grinz

[Anti]

@milz: "Like"

Ok - it seems to work with a macro recorder. Now I just have to find such a recorder that can be controlled via a command line *D'oh!*

[fred_dot_u]

I've had a bit of experience in the distant past with macro playback software. The attractive one in the list is the mouse recorder http://www.mouserecorder.com/docs/09/manual.htm due to the free aspect and the many features that are supported. I'm currently (rarely) using a paid program that works in a similar manner. I have to type an address, so I use a hotkey prefix (..) followed by any code word I desire to properly represent it. Mouse Recorder works in concert with another free program Phrase Express, referenced in the manual link above, to allow text activated macro recordings to play back. I feel it is a bit of a work-around, but not so complex as to invalidate the concept.

[MagWeb]

@Anti

Agree, an API or maybe an internal macro recorder would be more helpful.
Seems only very few user used (or were able to use) the CommandFileInterpreter. Seems nobody but me missed it till now. DAVID3 came with a new software architecture and development dropped not that popular features (also laserscannig using mirrors). Scripting the align process often ends in false results. Sure, it is useful if your task is to scan several objects of the same kind. But different objects' needs force different ways to align. If I have to scan a shoe now and a fly tomorrow scripting does not make much sense.

Just some personal notes about Shapefusion:
Since its beginning, aligning is the most time consuming part in DAVID's workflow. IMO it's the most important part to improve - maybe the algorithms improved but Shapefusion's functionality stayed at its state for a while. There are tons of wishes I'd like to see implemented in this part (starting at improved selection tools (as e.g. a real 3D selection brush (not hitting through all stuff behind), transferring selections to a "neighbor" scan, adding/subtracting selection), splitting scans into two parts (without duplicating and erasing the opposite part), using areas of interest or topology characteristics (as outer edges instead of the overall mesh), aligning to "negative" surfaces, non ridged correction, shrinking outer boundaries only, "glued in current position" option of scans, move to a ground plane or move center of mass to origin, plane cuts AND and AND...). Some things I mentioned might be not that trivial but it is a hassle to export all partial scans to a third party app to do trivial operations and import them back to david to do the final fusion.

Applications built on the DAVID SDK need to run DAVID as a server (while this server-DAVID has to have an Enterprise license - otherwise you can't run DAVID in server mode).

Never got some announcement of any release of DAVID4. Maybe the download linked above is still a beta ? I don't know. Anyone out there knowing more?

Gunter

[MagWeb]

@ milz

if there's nothing else I can do but switching a century back (wish I could totally) , I'll do it... Still an option

[milz]

fullack neeed!!! -)

Just some personal notes about Shapefusion:
Since its beginning, aligning is the most time consuming part in DAVID's workflow. IMO it's the most important part to improve - maybe the algorithms improved but Shapefusion's functionality stayed at its state for a while. There are tons of wishes I'd like to see implemented in this part (starting at improved selection tools (as e.g. a real 3D selection brush (not hitting through all stuff behind), transferring selections to a "neighbor" scan, adding/subtracting selection), splitting scans into two parts (without duplicating and erasing the opposite part), using areas of interest or topology characteristics (as outer edges instead of the overall mesh), aligning to "negative" surfaces, non ridged correction, shrinking outer boundaries only, "glued in current position" option of scans, move to a ground plane or move center of mass to origin, plane cuts AND and AND...). Some things I mentioned might be not that trivial but it is a hassle to export all partial scans to a third party app to do trivial operations and import them back to david to do the final fusion.
Gunter