Available with Standard or Advanced license.
Available for an ArcGIS organization with the ArcGIS Reality license.
A 3D mesh is a 3D textured model of the project area in which the ground and above-ground feature facades are densely and accurately reconstructed. The 3D mesh can be viewed from any angle to get a realistic and accurate depiction of the project area. The 3D mesh wizard simplifies the 3D mesh workflow with predefined, sensor-based parameters for high-quality mesh generation.
To generate a 3D mesh using the ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro 3D Mesh wizard, complete the steps below.
Note:
- Before you begin the workflow, ensure that you created a Reality mapping workspace and completed the block adjustment process.
- 3D mesh generation is recommended from oblique imagery or a combination of oblique and nadir imagery.
- On the Reality Mapping tab, click the 3D Mesh button
in the Product group.
The Reality Mapping Products Wizard window appears.
- Click Shared Advanced Settings.
The Advanced Products Settings dialog box appears, where you can define parameters that will determine all Reality mapping products to be generated. For a detailed description of the advanced product settings options, click the Learn more about advanced product settings link at the bottom of the dialog box.
The Quality and Scenario Type settings are automatically set by the application and should not be changed to ensure optimum performance and product quality. However, if you want to generate a reduced resolution product, you can lower the Quality setting. See Shared Advanced Settings above for more information about the impact of the various Quality options on product generation.
- For Product Boundary, select a feature class identifying the output product extent from the drop-down list or click the Browse button
and browse to one.
It is recommended that you specify a project boundary for the following reasons:
- Define the proper output extent—When you do not define a product boundary, the application automatically defines an extent based on various dataset parameters that may not match the project extent.
- Reduce processing time—If the required product extent is smaller than the image collection extent, defining a product boundary reduces the processing duration and automatically clips the output to the boundary extent.
- To specify a water body feature layer, click the Browse button
next to Waterbody Features.
Note:
If water body features, such as lakes and rivers, exist within the project area, it is recommended that you add a precreated 3D feature class identifying those areas, using the Waterbody Features setting to hydrologically enforce those features in the output product. Use the stereoscopic compilation in ArcGIS Image Analyst to generate the 3D feature layer that identifies water body features. This ensures that there will be no image stretching around hydrological feature boundaries in the output due to differences in elevation between the derived digital surface model (DSM) height and the feature class height values.
There are two Waterbody Features options: Precise and Coarse. Use the Precise option when the 3D polygon being added accurately defines the shape of the hydrological features in the project area. Precise polygons can be created using the stereoscopic compilation in ArcGIS Image Analyst. A precise water body polygon can also be derived from national mapping organizations with open data policies. Additionally, it can be created using 2D heads-up digitizing from an authoritative, orthorectified imagery that is temporally similar, with the aid of a DEM.
Use the Coarse option when a generalized 3D polygon is being used as the water body feature. Generalized polygons can be created using a 2D heads-up digitizing workflow. If 2D heads-up digitizing is used to create a precise or coarse polygon, it must be converted to 3D (x,y,z) before it can be used as a water body feature. See Introduction to 2D and 3D features for additional information about converting a 2D feature to 3D. When using a coarse water body feature, the shape of the polygon must follow the shape of the water body feature for best results.
- For Processing Folder, click the browse button
, and browse to and define the Reality Mapping temporary folder location.
The temporary files required for generating 2D or 3D products are stored here.
- Leave all the other default settings and click OK.
The Advanced Product Settings dialog box closes, and you are returned to the Products Generation Settings page in the Reality Mapping Products wizard.
- Click Next in the Reality Mapping Products Wizard window to go to the 3D Mesh Settings page.
Use the 3D Mesh Settings page to enable the selection of multiple formats for processing.
- Check the check box next to the format or formats required.
SLPK is the default option. Both SLPK and 3D Tiles are natively supported mesh formats in ArcGIS Pro. The OBJ mesh output format can also be simultaneously generated, but not visualized, in ArcGIS Pro. If OBJ or 3D Tiles is selected, the derived product can be accessed from the <workspace>\Products\Reality\Results\Mesh folder on disk.
- Click Finish to initiate product processing.
When processing is complete, if the SLPK format option was selected, the 3D mesh product is added to the Reality Mapping container in the Meshes folder in the Catalog pane. All other formats can be accessed from the <workspace>\Products\Reality\Results\Mesh folder on disk.
- To visualize the generated 3D mesh, right-click the 3D_Mesh.slpk file in the Mesh folder, and from the drop-down menu, click Add to New > Local Scene.
- To visualize the generated 3D Tiles mesh, in the Catalog pane, map to the mesh folder path <workspace>\Products\Reality\Results\Mesh, expand it, and do the following:
- Expand the 3d_tiles folder, right-click the 3d_tiles file, and from the drop-down menu, click Add to New > Local Scene.
- Expand the 3d_tiles folder, right-click the 3d_tiles file, and from the drop-down menu, click Add to New > Local Scene.
Related topics
- Reality mapping in ArcGIS Pro
- ArcGIS Reality mapping product generation
- Generate a DTM using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Generate a point cloud using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Generate a DSM using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Generate a DSM mesh using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Generate a True Ortho using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Generate multiple products using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro
- Ortho mapping product generation
- Create elevation data using the Ortho mapping DEMs wizard
- Orthorectify a single satellite scene
- Introduction to the ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro extension
- Frequently asked questions
- What is photogrammetry?