Cyclope3D
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Cyclope3D: a dedicated tool for extracting 2D drawings from 3D data

Designed for and by drafters, architects, laser scanning and photogrammetry surveyors

A tool built on several years of client feedback and analysis of the deliverables on the market, which combines:

  • Opening and analyzing 3D deliverables, to get to grips with the survey and make sure it meets the specifications.
  • Automatic 2D drawing sheet generation, with no manual handling: georeferenced orthoimages, DXF/DWG drawings and PDF sheets.
  • Several representations per view (texture, geometry, depth, solid areas, X-ray), overlaid in the drawing.
  • Guided naming of folders, files and layers, derived from the project and view names.
  • Customizable deliverables in the company's colors: orthoimage background, logo.
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The Cyclope3D window during the recording: the textured mesh of Saint-Philibert in its clipping box, and the roof plan settings in the right-hand panel.
0dependencies on third-party software
1minplacing sections, plans and elevations
5minautomatic generation of the drawing outputs
15minfrom the 3D model to the delivered folder

Use cases

Architects

Choosing the views and reviewing supplier deliverables

Drafters

Placing and drawing the views, and their variants

Surveyors

Batch generation of the drawing outputs

More details
Automation

Saving and loading extraction projects

All the views of a project — center, orientation, frame, resolution, output settings — are saved in an .extracts file, which can be reloaded to pick the project up where it left off.

Georeferencing

Orthoimage positioning in coordinates

Each image comes with its world file (.jgw, .pgw).

Naming

Guided naming convention

The folder, files and layers are derived automatically from the project name and the view name. Extractions made in several goes, or over several surveys, follow the same rule.

Step 1: Visualization and analysis of 3D models (meshes, point clouds, 3DGS)

Before extraction, the survey is checked on three points: precision, accuracy and sharpness. The analysis tools cover renderings, noise, density, slopes, face orientation and clipping.

The point cloud of a church, each point carrying the color recorded on site. The same cloud in flat color with shading: the shape alone, without the survey colors. The same cloud colored by height: blue at the bottom, red at the top of the spire. The same cloud in X-ray mode: what lies behind adds up instead of being hidden.

Multi-rendering display of 3D models

The interior of a church colored by noise level: green on smooth masonry, orange and red on the roof timbers, the railings and the pews.

3D model assessment (noise, density, slopes, orientations)

The same wall section once its orientation is fixed: the survey texture is back, with no blue areas left.
A wall section whose faces point into the building: it shows in solid blue instead of its texture.
Before After

Fixing face orientation errors in the 3D model

The point cloud of a nave cut at head height: the sliced pillars show their cross-section, and the intersection is traced in green on each one.

Analysis with the clipping box, section line and export of cloud extracts

Step 2: Four standardized view types

Four view types: plan, inverse plan, section and elevation. Each one is set in the 3D view: center, azimuth, width, height, depth and output resolution.

Cross-section of a small three-aisled church showing the four view types: the plan and its inverse share the same level, one looking down and the other looking up; the section cuts through the material, the elevation looks at the facade from outside. plan inverse plan section elevation
TypeLookingWhat it is
plandownwardroof plan, floor plan, ground floor
inverse planupwardceiling plan, roof framing plan based on the associated plan view
sectionhorizontal, through the materialthe architect's section
elevationhorizontal, from outsidea facade

Automatic export of every representation for each view

Each view comes out in several overlaid representations: texture, geometry, depth, solid areas, X-ray, contours, and custom representations such as height or normals. All of them are included in the drawing output, georeferenced.

South elevation of the Saint-Philibert church, texture orthoimage on a cream background.
VIEW south elevation RESOLUTION 2 cm/pixel
Details
Customization

Orthoimage background

Color of the pixels that nothing covers in the orthoimage. By default, the cream of the 3DR chain (237, 229, 216), adjustable.

Signature

The company logo in the corner of the orthoimages

Optional: the company logo, placed in a corner of every orthoimage.

Tiles

Automatic tiled orthoimage generation

For surveys of large extent or high resolution, the orthoimage is split into tiles, assembled in a single drawing output.

Vectorized section line generation (meshes and point clouds)

The section line is included in the DWG drawing output, overlaid on the orthoimages. Taken from a point cloud, it carries a confidence level per segment, from green to red.

The same section on a point cloud: no fill, and the section line colored from green to red according to the confidence in each segment.
The section plane at 1.20 m on a mesh: the sliced pillars are filled in blue and the outline of the intersection is traced in red.
Mesh Point cloud

Step 3: One drawing output per view, the groupings and the view positions

One export folder per requested view: the positioned orthoimages, with their section line. At the root of the output folder, the grouping projects and the view position files.

The same DWG on its inverse plan: the vaults seen from below, the solid-areas layer turned on in cyan and the green polyline on top.
The delivered DWG open in AutoCAD: the ground floor plan, its eleven layers and its nine linked images in the left-hand panels.
Plan Inverse plan
The ground floor plan and its inverse plan in the exported DXF/DWG file, with layers and polylines
Drawing outputs

One DXF/DWG per view

Each view includes all the registered representations, with their polylines and layers.

The layer stack of a view drawing, in perspective: the three opaque backgrounds placed at the same spot, only one of them turned on, the solids overlay above them, and the polyline on top. _ortho_texture on · locked _ortho_uniform off _ortho_depth off _ortho_solidFill overlay _polyligne top
Grouping projects

The grouping and view position DWG files

Two .dwg files at the root of the extractions folder: one calls all the plans, the other the elevations and sections, as external references. Each view comes in on its own layer, named after it: the ground floor, upper floor and roof stack up in one file and are turned on one at a time. No image is embedded, only links.

The grouping drawing only calls the view drawings, as external references: no image is embedded, and each view's position is carried by its layer. 2608_Abbaye_regroup_plans.dwg one layer per view, nothing else xrefxrefxref plan_RDC.dwg plan_ET1.dwg plan_TOITURE.dwg each carries its image and its line view positions are built in

A guided naming convention

One folder per view, named <project>_<view_type>_<view_name>, and every file prefixed the same way. The names are derived from the project and view names: none is typed by hand, and several surveys follow the same rule.

Details 
2608_Abbaye/
  2608_Abbaye_elevation_SUD_OUEST/
    …_SUD_OUEST__texture.jpg                 texture
    …_SUD_OUEST__texture.jgw                 its registration
    …_SUD_OUEST__uniform.jpg                 geometry
    …_SUD_OUEST__depth.jpg                   depth
    …_SUD_OUEST__solidFill.png               solids
    …_SUD_OUEST_polyligne.dxf                the line alone
    …_SUD_OUEST.dxf                          the drawing
    …_SUD_OUEST.dwg                          the same, converted
  2608_Abbaye_plan_RDC/                      the same eight
  2608_Abbaye_plan_TOITURE/                  …
  2608_Abbaye_coupe_A/                       …
  2608_Abbaye_regroup_plans.dwg              the plans, as xrefs
  2608_Abbaye_regroup_elevations_coupes.dwg  elevations and sections, as xrefs

View positions

The grouping projects automatically include layers positioning the project's sections, plans and elevations.

A real example: the Saint-Philibert church by Geokali

15minof automatic export at 3 mm/pixel (2 min at 1 cm/pixel)

  1. 12views5 plans, 3 sections, 4 elevations
  2. 56orthoimagesin 4 variants: texture, geometry, depth, solids
  3. 12view DXF/DWG/PDF filesregistered images, polylines and layers
  4. 2grouping DWG filesthe plans, then the elevations and sections
The Cyclope3D window on the Saint-Philibert church: the 3D model and the frame of the south elevation, the project's views in the drawing output panel, and the generation report at 10 mm/pixel.
Windows Explorer open on the Saint-Philibert church folder: one folder per view — sections, elevations, plans —, the .extracts project file and the two groupings, each as DWG and DXF.
The contents of the ground floor plan folder: the view's DWG and DXF, its polyline as DXF, and for both the plan and its inverse plan the four orthoimages — texture, geometry, depth, solids —, each with its world file.
The plans grouping of the church open in AutoCAD: in the layer manager, the layers of each plan and the position layers of the sections and elevations; in the center, the ground floor plan, its section line in green and the view positions drawn over it.
The elevations and sections grouping open in AutoCAD: the seven views of the church side by side, their layers in the layer manager, and the height of each plan drawn in magenta across every view.

Data courtesy of GeokaliFiles exported by Cyclope3D, with no manual retouching

Browse the delivered files
A real example: the C12 high school (VLX point cloud and drone mesh), with section variants 15 views · 45 orthoimages · 2 cm/pixel
  1. 15views1 plan, 10 sections, 4 elevations
  2. 45orthoimagesin 3 variants: texture, geometry, depth
  3. 15view DXF/DWG/PDF filesregistered images, polylines and layers
  4. 2grouping DWG filesthe plans, then the elevations and sections
The Cyclope3D window on the C12 high school as a textured drone mesh: the buildings, the courtyards and the sports field.
The plans grouping open in AutoCAD: the registered orthoimage of the high school's roof, and its layers in the layer manager.
The frame of the north elevation placed on the point cloud, its section line in green, and the view settings in the drawing output panel.
A close-up of a section at 2 cm/pixel as a depth map: red nearest, blue farthest, and the section line in green on the floors and walls.
The sections grouping open in AutoCAD: the high school's sections side by side, in texture, each with its section line in green.

Data courtesy of Geokali

A real example: the Vaux project (mesh) 4 min · 7 views · 41 orthoimages · 5 mm/pixel

4minof automatic export at 5 mm/pixel

  1. 7views4 plans, 3 sections
  2. 41orthoimagesin 5 variants: texture, geometry, depth, solids, X-ray
  3. 7view DXF/DWG/PDF filesregistered images, polylines and layers
  4. 2grouping DWG filesthe plans, then the elevations and sections
The Vaux mesh cut by the clipping box: the walls sliced through, and the outline of the intersection drawn in green.
A close-up of the textured mesh of Vaux's round tower: the rubble stones, the cracked render and the eaves structure.
Section A2 in Cyclope3D: the building cut open, its floors and roof structure exposed, and the view settings, including the 5 mm/pixel resolution.
A close-up of an inverse plan open in AutoCAD: the round tower cut through, the cut masonry in blue, and the roof structure seen from below.
The elevations and sections grouping open in AutoCAD: the three sections side by side and their layers in the layer manager.
A close-up of a section at 5 mm/pixel in AutoCAD: the joists and plaster readable, the cut masonry in blue, the section line in green and the plan heights in magenta.
Browse the delivered files
A real example: the JBR project (mesh) 9 min · 6 views · 24 orthoimages · 2 mm/pixel

9minof automatic export at 2 mm/pixel

  1. 6views5 sections, 1 elevation
  2. 24orthoimagesin 4 variants: texture, geometry, depth, solids
  3. 6view DXF/DWG/PDF filesregistered images, polylines and layers
  4. 1grouping DWG filethe elevations and sections
The JBR mesh in Cyclope3D: the facade of the house and the rock of the shelter, cut in blue by the section plane.
A close-up of the section: the shelter's vault, the walls and the ground cut in blue, and the section line in green.
The Cyclope3D window on JBR's carved doorway: the lintel and jambs as a textured mesh, and in the panel the project's five sections and elevation, at 2 mm/pixel.
The same view as geometry: the shape alone, without the photo.
Inside the shelter, in texture: the stone bridge and the walls built against the rock.
Texture Geometry
The south elevation of JBR, in the frame shared by the whole series: the house facade in texture, and the rock in blue.
Section series
The same grouping, with section SUD3 turned on instead of SUD2: same frame, same dimensions, same axes.
The elevations and sections grouping open in AutoCAD: section SUD2 turned on, placed at the same spot as the other sections of the series, and their layers in the layer manager.
Section SUD2 Section SUD3
Browse the delivered files
A real example: Notre-Dame de Dijon (mesh) 140 M triangles · 15 views · 71 orthoimages · 3 mm/pixel

140milliontriangles and 97 16K textures, extracted at 3 mm/pixel

  1. 15views8 plans, 3 sections, 4 elevations
  2. 71orthoimagesin 4 variants: texture, geometry, depth, solids, and 7 plans also seen from below
  3. 15view DXF/DWG/PDF filesregistered images, polylines and layers
  4. 2grouping DWG filesthe plans, then the elevations and sections
The textured mesh of Notre-Dame de Dijon in Cyclope3D: the west front and its arcades, the nave, and the spire of the crossing tower.
The gargoyles of the west front seen close up in the mesh texture: the carved figures and the scrollwork of the frieze remain legible.
Plan FLECHE2 exported to PDF and open in Acrobat: the spire's timber frame seen from below, as a depth map from red to blue, the cut masonry in blue-gray, and the view's seven layers in the panel.
Plan ET1 in Cyclope3D: the section line in green on the cut walls and piers, and the panel of the 15 views, set to 3 mm/pixel for a 21,717 × 10,800 px image.
The plans grouping open in AutoCAD: the registered roof plan, the position lines of the sections and elevations in magenta, and each view's layers in the layer manager.

Data courtesy of Geokali, digitization project of the Notre-Dame de Dijon churchResources used: 70 GB of RAM and 10 GB of dedicated video memory, generation in 1 h 30 min

Partners

Cyclope3D was built with specialists in surveying, heritage technical drafting and the management of historic monuments.

Geokali GeoDrone3D JMA-Architecture Geogrid

System requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
  • 16 GB of RAM or more.
  • Dedicated graphics card.
  • No installation required.
  • Model import:
    • Point clouds: .LAS / .LAZ / .E57 / .PLY
    • Meshes: .OBJ
    • 3DGS: .PLY

Optimization of PC resource needs

Textures loaded according to the viewpoint, computation spread over every processor core, orthoimages computed on the NVIDIA graphics card (CUDA).

Access to the software

Cyclope3D is in free early access for 6 months, with no commercial restrictions. It is used every day on production surveys. The changes under way are listed in the roadmap below.

License key and download

Please contact me via LinkedIn to get a license key: direct support, feedback, new features and customizations.

Request a license key Download Cyclope3D

Under study

The changes under study, and those already delivered. Feedback from use adds to the list.

  • Point clouds

    Support for point clouds of several billion points

  • Point clouds

    Point cloud reduction

    With export of the reduced cloud.

  • 3D models

    Export of 3D models after analysis

    The fields computed by the Analysis menu (noise, slope, face orientation), exported with the model.

  • 3D models

    Extraction of 3D sub-models

  • 3D models

    Fine, clean cutting of models

  • Navigation

    3D mouse support (3Dconnexion SpaceMouse)

  • Interface

    Light theme

  • File formats

    3DGS model support

    Section line computation, faster rendering, and orthoimage export.

  • Views

    Exporting views with scalar representations (classification, slope, height, etc.)

  • Views

    Overhaul of the views and renderings system

    Several display configurations, saved one per rendering.

  • 3D models

    Brightness and contrast control of 3D models before export

  • 3D models

    Sharpness adjustment

  • Point clouds

    Orthoimage processing time divided by 7 (graphics card, CUDA)

  • Views

    X-ray rendering for all 3D model types, on light and dark backgrounds

  • Analysis

    Face orientation computation for point clouds and 3DGS

  • Orthoimages

    Cylindrical and conical unrolling

  • Performance

    Handling of 3D model levels of detail (LOD) and point cloud octrees

  • Measurements

    Coordinates, distances, areas, volumes

    Measurements taken in the 3D model, without going through the drawing.

  • 3D models

    PDF report on accuracy and information

    Accuracy and contents of the survey, on one page attached to the delivery.

  • Deliverables

    Advanced customization of exports

    Naming, colors, positions, theme and margins, set once for the whole delivery.