Spotlights
April 14, 2021
Albatros: bringing a piece of history into virtual reality
The last express steam engine in Europe, the Albatros, has many stories to tell, but unfortunately it's not physically accessible to everyone. That's why Artzenal digitized the beloved icon with RealityScan, and brought it to virtual reality for all to enjoy.
Albatros steam engine 498.104 is a truly impressive sight. With an overall length of 25.6 meters finished in polished regal blue with vibrant red wheels, it immediately stands out among its contemporaries. Albatros is also the last representative of a technological era—the final large express steam engine before the emergence of diesel and electric power on the main lines in Central Europe.
The icon itself has been preserved over the years by the Albatros Club, a group of train experts and enthusiasts headed by chairman Mr. Veres. The Albatros is a frequent attraction at major events and commemorative rides, often pulling the presidential coach of the former Republic of Czechoslovakia. Due to its size, however, it is an object that requires one to travel to see it live—it would hardly fit into a museum.
To make the Albatros more accessible to the general public, the decision was made to have Slovakia-based digitization service Artzenal scan the train and make it part of a virtual reality experience.
The Albatros engine might be one of the most challenging single objects ever scanned. It ticks all the “better to avoid” boxes—massive size, exterior lighting only, shiny metallic surfaces, glass, complex structures, and layers upon layers of industrial beauty hidden in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.
The team from Artzenal used the FARO FOCUS 150 laser scanner for dozens of positions, from which 18 were ultimately chosen, and several Nikon D850 cameras to take 45.858 photos of the Albatros Steam Engine. RealityScan was used to process the imagery into a detailed 3D model.
To make the Albatros more accessible to the general public, the decision was made to have Slovakia-based digitization service Artzenal scan the train and make it part of a virtual reality experience.
Scanning the Albatros
The Albatros engine might be one of the most challenging single objects ever scanned. It ticks all the “better to avoid” boxes—massive size, exterior lighting only, shiny metallic surfaces, glass, complex structures, and layers upon layers of industrial beauty hidden in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.
The team from Artzenal used the FARO FOCUS 150 laser scanner for dozens of positions, from which 18 were ultimately chosen, and several Nikon D850 cameras to take 45.858 photos of the Albatros Steam Engine. RealityScan was used to process the imagery into a detailed 3D model.
The scanning process was challenging, even for the experienced team at Artzenal. “We had to meticulously plan every step to achieve a good result—dividing the engine into sections and working on them according to daily plans, and depending on weather and light conditions to achieve an even profile," says Richard Dömös, Artzenal scanning unit lead. "We had to develop new procedures to capture the exact surface model of the high-gloss metallic surfaces and instruments."
Dömös adds that the team spent six days onsite capturing everything in the right conditions to achieve a highly detailed and homogenous result.
Dömös adds that the team spent six days onsite capturing everything in the right conditions to achieve a highly detailed and homogenous result.
Bringing the data together
Another challenge and test for the team, the hardware, and the software was to utilize the huge amount of collected data—over 700 GB—to create a correct single model of the Albatros steam engine and tender in one go. The team needed to align huge quantities of input for an absolutely precise result, correct and true to the original in every technical detail and dimension. Utilizing RealityScan and the highest computing power ever employed at Artzenal, it still took several attempts—each taking multiple days for alignment and data generation—to finally get a result that was satisfactory and paid justice to the majestic original.
"The Albatros steam engine was the biggest single asset we ever attempted to generate in [RealityScan]," says Marcel Petras, founder of Artzenal and lead of the 3D pipeline. "All our previous works were under 20.000 photos per single object. We went into unknown territory with more than twice the count on the Albatros."
Petras says the process was a learning curve with several restarts, but the outcome and know-how gained justified the means and effort. "The process was also a test of the [RealityScan] software," he says. "On our side at least, we never tried to process this amount of input of different types—laser scans and photographs—on a single object. The outcome is a proof of the performance of this tool, and we are confidently looking for further challenges in the future.”
The initial pass from RealityScan created the following data output:
Petras says the process was a learning curve with several restarts, but the outcome and know-how gained justified the means and effort. "The process was also a test of the [RealityScan] software," he says. "On our side at least, we never tried to process this amount of input of different types—laser scans and photographs—on a single object. The outcome is a proof of the performance of this tool, and we are confidently looking for further challenges in the future.”
Raw data
The initial pass from RealityScan created the following data output:
- Point cloud – over 700 GB input data
- Model – 1.38 billion triangles
- Textures – 36 materials and 150 textures
Going to Unreal Engine
The main use case—bringing the Albatros steam engine to life as a virtual experience—required the transfer of raw data to an optimized format for use in Unreal Engine. Unreal Engine was a natural choice due to the powerful visual package and the possibility to easily create builds for our intended target platforms.
To achieve fast real-time performance in future use cases, but also keep maximum quality on respectively performant hardware, the initial target was set to reduce the raw model's 1.38 billion triangles to well under 5 million triangles, and roughly 150 textures and 36 materials, to create a master real-time model.
Ultimately, the master Albatros steam engine and tender had a mesh of just under 3 million triangles and utilizes 150 textures and 36 materials. This version runs in Unreal Engine at a stable 60 fps on standard PCs, and is a good base for subsequent optimizations for different target hardware setups.
At this step, the single object source model was separated into various objects and sub-groups. For this purpose, Mr. Veres and the Albatros Club provided Artzenal with a detailed guided tour, explaining all functional elements of the engine and the controls in the cabin. This was followed by a live demonstration to record the motion, and the sound and effects (fire, smoke, and steam) produced by running such an impressive machine. This material will help to recreate the operation of the engine with every detail in the Artzenal’s virtual experience.
At this step, the single object source model was separated into various objects and sub-groups. For this purpose, Mr. Veres and the Albatros Club provided Artzenal with a detailed guided tour, explaining all functional elements of the engine and the controls in the cabin. This was followed by a live demonstration to record the motion, and the sound and effects (fire, smoke, and steam) produced by running such an impressive machine. This material will help to recreate the operation of the engine with every detail in the Artzenal’s virtual experience.
"We had to make the right decisions upfront, otherwise we would have to return to the raw model and repeat processes later," says Petras. "Building on experience in game development and on Unreal Engine as a platform, we took division and optimization in one major step, ending with a 'game model' which can now be used completely dynamically in our intended real-time scenarios.”
Following the key milestone of having the Albatros steam engine running smoothly in Unreal Engine, the team is now embarking on the task of adding life to this huge virtual machine.
Virtual future of Albatros
Following the key milestone of having the Albatros steam engine running smoothly in Unreal Engine, the team is now embarking on the task of adding life to this huge virtual machine.
Next steps will involve adding the intended functions, interactions, and operability, and creating branches for use on final target platforms—in 2021, the team wants to bring Albatros into virtual reality and high-quality projections as an interactive experience. There is a great potential in combining the visual quality of scans with hands-on delivery of information and educational value—in this case, experiencing a steam engine in entertaining gamified scenarios.
The virtual reality scenario for the Albatros will last about 10-15 minutes, during which the user will approach the “cold” engine and get it ready to run with check-up, grease, coal, water, and sand. With those tasks done, users move on to the cabin and light the fire, build up pressure and steam, set up valves and levers, and finally, proudly pull the horn and cast off—with full visuals, sounds, and motion.
As team at Artzenal says: “For us, this is the essence of virtual cultural heritage—making things accessible digitally to new audiences, and above all, breaking barriers by presenting valuable content and knowledge in an appealing form.”
As team at Artzenal says: “For us, this is the essence of virtual cultural heritage—making things accessible digitally to new audiences, and above all, breaking barriers by presenting valuable content and knowledge in an appealing form.”
Note: At the time this blog post was written, RealityScan was branded as RealityCapture, with the company name CapturingReality.
Download RealityScan
RealityScan is free to use for students, educators, and individuals and companies with an annual gross revenue below $1 million USD.Above the $1M threshold? Visit our licensing page to find out about your purchasing options.
Download the launcher
Before you can install and run RealityScan, you’ll need to download and install the Epic Games launcher.
Install Epic Games Launcher
Once downloaded and installed, open the launcher and create or log in to your Epic Games account.
Having trouble? Get support, or restart your Epic Games launcher download in Step 1.
Install RealityScan
Once logged in, navigate to the RealityScan tab in the Unreal Engine section and click the install button to download the most recent version.