CHANGELOG.txt

COLMAP 3.7 (01/26/2022)
-----------------------
* Allow to save fused point cloud in colmap format when using command line by @boitumeloruf in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/799
* Fix typos in image.h by @Pascal-So in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/936
* Fix for EPnP estimator by @vlarsson in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/943
* Visualize models using Python in Open3D by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/948
* Update tutorial.rst by @ignacio-rocco in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/953
* 8 point algorithm internal contraint fix by @mihaidusmanu in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/982
* Python script for writing depth/normal arrays by @SBCV in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/957
* BuildImageModel: use std::vector instead of numbered arguments by @Pascal-So in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/949
* Fix bugs of sift feature matching by @whuaegeanse in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/985
* script for modifying fused results by @SBCV in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/984
* fix camera model query by @Pascal-So in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/997
* fixed small bug in visualize_model.py by @sniklaus in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1007
* Update .travis.yml by @srinivas32 in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/989
* Ensure DecomposeHomographyMatrix() always returns rotations by @daithimaco in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1040
* Remove deprecated qt foreach by @UncleGene in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1039
* Fix AMD/Windows GUI visualization bug by @drkoller in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1079
* include colmap_cuda in COLMAP_LIBRARIES when compiled with cuda by @ClementPinard in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1084
* Fix runtime crash when sparsesuite is missing from ceres by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1115
* Store relative poses in two_view_geometry table by @Ahmed-Salama in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1103
* search src images for patch_match from all set, not only referenced subset by @DaniilSNikulin in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1038
* Replace Travis CI with Azure Pipelines for Linux/Mac builds by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1119
* Allow ReadPly to handle double precision files by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1131
* Update GPSTransform calculations to improve accuracy by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1132
* Add scale template flag in SimilarityTransform3::Estimate by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1133
* Add CopyFile utility that can copy or hard/soft-link files by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1134
* Expose BA options in IncrementalMapper by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1139
* Allow configurable paths for mvs::Model by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1141
* Change ReconstructionMaanger to write larger recons first by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1137
* Setup Azure pipelines for Windows build by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1150
* Add fixed extrinsics in rig config by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1144
* Allow custom config and missing dependencies for patch-match by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1142
* Update print statements for Python 3 compatibility by @UncleGene in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1126
* Allow cleanup of SQLite tables using new database_cleaner command by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1136
* Extend SceneClustering to support non-hierarchical (flat) clusters by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1140
* Support more formats in model_converter by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1147
* Fix Mac 10.15 build due to changed Qt5 path by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1157
* Fix bug in ReadCameraRigConfig when reading extrinsics by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1158
* Add utility to compare poses between two sparse models by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1159
* Modularize executable main functions into separate sources by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1160
* Fix unnecessary copies in for range loops by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1162
* Add script to clang-format all source code by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1163
* Add back new options and formats for model_converter by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1164
* ImageReder new option and bug fix in GPS priors by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1146
* Parallelize stereo fusion; needs pre-loading of entire workspace by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1148
* Refactoring and new functionality in Reconstruction class by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1169
* Add new functionality in image_undistorter by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1168
* Add new CMake option to disable GUI by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1165
* Fix the memory leak caused by not releasing the memory of the PRNG at the end of the thread by @whuaegeanse in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1170
* Fix fusion segfault bug by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1176
* Update SiftGPU to use floorf for floats by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1182
* fix typo in extraction.cc by @iuk in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1191
* Improvements to NVM, Cam, Recon3D, and Bundler exporters by @drkoller in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1187
* Update model_aligner functionality by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1177
* Add new model_cropper and model_splitter commands by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1179
* use type point2D_t instead of image_t by @iuk in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1199
* Fix radial distortion in Cam format exporter by @drkoller in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1196
* Add new model_transformer command by @anmatako in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1178
* Fix error of using urllib to download eigen from gitlab by @whuaegeanse in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1194
* Multi-line string fix in Python model script by @mihaidusmanu in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1217
* added visibility_sigma to CLI input options for delaunay_mesher. by @Matstah in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1236
* Backwards compatibility of model_aligner by @tsattler in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1240
* [update undistortion] update dumped commands by @hiakru in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1276
* Compute reprojection error in generalized absolute solver by @Skydes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1257
* Modifying scripts/python/flickr_downloader.py to create files with correct extensions by @snavely in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1275
* revise Dockerfile and readme. by @MasahiroOgawa in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1281
* Update to latest vcpkg version by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1319
* Fix compiler warnings reported by GCC by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1317
* Auto-rotate JPEG images based on EXIF orientation by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1318
* Upgrade vcpkg to fix CI build issues by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1331
* Added descriptor normalization argument to feature_extractor. by @mihaidusmanu in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1332
* Fix memory leak in the function of StringAppendV by @whuaegeanse in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1337
* Add CUDA_SAFE_CALL to cudaGetDeviceCount. by @chpatrick in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1334
* Add missing include in case CUDA/GUI is not available by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1329
* Fix wrong WGS84 model and test cases in GPSTransform by @Freeverc in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1333
* Fixes bug in sprt.cc: num_inliers was not set. by @rmbrualla in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1360
* Prevent a divide by zero corner case. by @rmbrualla in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1361
* Adds missing header. by @rmbrualla in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1362
* Require Qt in COLMAPConfig only if GUI is enabled by @Skydes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1365
* Keep precision in the process of storing in text. by @whuaegeanse in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1363
* Expose exe internals by @Skydes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1366
* Fix inliers matches extraction in EstimateUncalibrated function. by @ferreram in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1369
* Expose exe internals - fix by @Skydes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1368
* Remove deprecated Mac OSX 10.14 image in ADO pipeline by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1383
* Add Mac OSX 11 ADO pipeline job by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1384
* Fix warnings for latest compiler/libraries by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1382
* Fix clang compiler warnings by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1387
* Add Address Sanitizer options and fix reported issues by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1390
* User/joschonb/asan cleanup by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1391
* Add ADO pipeline for Visual Studio 2022 by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1392
* Add ccache option by @ahojnnes in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1395
* Update ModelAligner to handle GPS and custom coords. and more by @ferreram in https://github.com/colmap/colmap/pull/1371


COLMAP 3.6 (07/24/2020)
-----------------------
- Improved robustness and faster incremental reconstruction process
- Add ``image_deleter`` command to remove images from sparse model
- Add ``image_filter`` command to filter bad registrations from sparse model
- Add ``point_filtering`` command to filter sparse model point clouds
- Add ``database_merger`` command to merge two databases, which is
  useful to parallelize matching across different machines
- Add ``image_undistorter_standalone`` to enable undistorting images
  without a pre-existing full sparse model
- Improved undistortion for fisheye cameras and FOV camera model
- Support for masking input images in feature extraction stage
- Improved HiDPI support in GUI for high-resolution monitors
- Import sparse model when launching GUI from CLI
- Faster CPU-based matching using approximate NN search
- Support for bundle adjustment with fixed extrinsics
- Support for fixing existing images when continuing reconstruction
- Camera model colors in viewer can be customized
- Support for latest GPU architectures in CUDA build
- Support for writing sparse models in Python scripts
- Scripts for building and running COLMAP in Docker
- Many more bug fixes and improvements to code and documentation


COLMAP 3.5 (08/22/2018)
-----------------------
- COLMAP is now released under the BSD license instead of the GPL
- COLMAP is now installed as a library, whose headers can be included and
  libraries linked against from other C/C++ code
- Add hierarchical mapper for parallelized reconstruction or large scenes
- Add sparse and dense Delaunay meshing algorithms, which reconstruct a
  watertight surface using a graph cut on the Delaunay triangulation of the
  reconstructed sparse or dense point cloud
- Improved robustness when merging different models
- Improved pre-trained vocabulary trees available for download
- Add COLMAP as a software entry under Linux desktop systems
- Add support to compile COLMAP on ARM platforms
- Add example Python script to read/write COLMAP database
- Add region of interest (ROI) cropping in image undistortion
- Several import bug fixes for spatial verification in image retrieval
- Add more extensive continuous integration across more compilation scenarios
- Many more bug fixes and improvements to code and documentation


COLMAP 3.4 (01/29/2018)
-----------------------
- Unified command-line interface: The functionality of previous executables have
  been merged into the ``src/exe/colmap.cc`` executable. The GUI can now be
  started using the command ``colmap gui`` and other commands are available
  as ``colmap [command]``. For example, the feature extractor is now available
  as ``colmap feature_extractor [args]`` while all command-line arguments stay
  the same as before. This should result in much faster project compile times
  and smaller disk space usage of the program. More details about the new
  interface are documented at https://colmap.github.io/cli.html
- More complete depth and normal maps with larger patch sizes
- Faster dense stereo computation by skipping rows/columns in patch match,
  improved random sampling in patch match, and faster bilateral NCC
- Better high DPI screen support for the graphical user interface
- Improved model viewer under Windows, which now requires Qt 5.4
- Save computed two-view geometries in database
- Images (keypoint/matches visualization, depth and normal maps) can now be
  saved from the graphical user interface
- Support for PMVS format without sparse bundler file
- Faster covariant feature detection
- Many more bug fixes and improvements


COLMAP 3.3 (11/21/2017)
-----------------------
- Add DSP (Domain Size Pooling) SIFT implementation. DSP-SIFT outperforms
  standard SIFT in most cases, as shown in "Comparative Evaluation of
  Hand-Crafted and Learned Local Features", Schoenberger et al., CVPR 2017
- Improved parameters dense reconstruction of smaller models
- Improved compile times due to various code optimizations
- Add option to specify camera model in automatic reconstruction
- Add new model orientation alignment based on upright image assumption
- Improved numerical stability for generalized absolute pose solver
- Support for image range specification in PMVS dense reconstruction format
- Support for older Python versions in automatic build script
- Fix OpenCV Fisheye camera model to exactly match OpenCV specifications


COLMAP 3.2 (9/2/2017)
----------------------
- Fully automatic cross-platform build script (Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Add multi-GPU feature extraction if multiple CUDA devices are available
- Configurable dimension and data type for vocabulary tree implementation
- Add new sequential matching mode for image sequences with high frame-rate
- Add generalized relative pose solver for multi-camera systems
- Add sparse least absolute deviation solver
- Add CPU/GPU options to automatic reconstruction tool
- Add continuous integration system under Windows, Mac, Linux through Github
- Many more bug fixes and improvements


COLMAP 3.1 (6/15/2017)
----------------------
- Add fast spatial verification to image retrieval module
- Add binary file format for sparse models by default. Old text format still
  fully compatible and possible conversion in GUI and CLI
- Add cross-platform little endian binary file reading and writing
- Faster and less memory hungry stereo fusion by computing consistency on demand
  and possible limitation of image size in fusion
- Simpler geometric stereo processing interface.
  Now geometric stereo output can be computed using a single pass
- Faster and multi-architecture CUDA compilation
- Add medium quality option in automatic reconstructor
- Many more bug fixes and improvements


COLMAP 3.0 (5/22/2017)
----------------------
- Add automatic end-to-end reconstruction tool that automatically performs
  sparse and dense reconstruction on a given set of images
- Add multi-GPU dense stereo if multiple CUDA devices are available
- Add multi-GPU feature matching if multiple CUDA devices are available
- Add Manhattan-world / gravity alignment using line detection
- Add CUDA-based feature extraction useful for usage on clusters
- Add CPU-based feature matching for machines without GPU
- Add new THIN_PRISM_FISHEYE camera model with tangential/radial correction
- Add binary to triangulate existing/empty sparse reconstruction
- Add binary to print summary statistics about sparse reconstruction
- Add transitive feature matching to transitively complete match graph
- Improved scalability of dense reconstruction by using caching
- More stable GPU-based feature matching with informative warnings
- Faster vocabulary tree matching using dynamic scheduling in FLANN
- Faster spatial feature matching using linear index instead of kd-tree
- More stable camera undistortion using numerical Newton iteration
- Improved option parsing with some backwards incompatible option renaming
- Faster compile times by optimizing includes and CUDA flags
- More stable view selection for small baseline scenario in dense reconstruction
- Many more bug fixes and improvements


COLMAP 2.1 (12/7/2016)
----------------------
- Support to only index and match specific images in vocabulary tree matching
- Support to perform image retrieval using vocabulary tree
- Several bug fixes and improvements for multi-view stereo module
- Improved Structure-from-Motion initialization strategy
- Support to only reconstruct the scene using specific images in the database
- Add support to merge two models using overlapping registered images
- Add support to geo-register/align models using known camera locations
- Support to only extract specific images in feature extraction module
- Support for snapshot model export during reconstruction
- Skip already undistorted images if they exist in output directory
- Support to limit the number of features in image retrieval for improved speed
- Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements


COLMAP 2.0 (9/8/2016)
---------------------
- Implementation of dense reconstruction pipeline
- Improved feature matching performance
- New bundle adjuster for rigidly mounted multi-camera systems
- New generalized absolute pose solver for multi-camera systems
- New executable to extract colors from all images
- Boost can now be linked in shared and static mode
- Various bug fixes and performance improvements


COLMAP 1.1 (5/19/2016)
----------------------
- Implementation of state-of-the-art image retrieval system using Hamming
  embedding for vocabulary tree matching. This should lead to much improved
  matching results as compared to the previous implementation.
- Guided matching as an optional functionality.
- New demo datasets for download.
- Automatically switch to PBA if supported by the project.
- Implementation of EPNP solver for local pose optimization in RANSAC.
- Add option to extract upright SIFT features.
- Saving JPEGs in superb quality by default in export.
- Add option to clear matches and inlier matches in the project.
- New fisheye camera models, including the FOV camera model used by Google
  Project Tango (Thomas Schoeps).
- Extended documentation based on user feedback.
- Fixed typo in documentation (Thomas Schoeps).


COLMAP 1.0 (4/4/2016)
---------------------
- Initial release of COLMAP.