--- title: Making snap packages of photogrammetry software description: This is a guest post by Alberto Mardegan, Software Engineer at Canonical. If you would like to contribute a guest post, please contact ubuntu-devices@canonical.com Some time ago I got vaguely interested into photogrammetry, that is the reconstruction of a 3D model out of a set of plain 2D photographs. I just thought that it was […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/making-snap-packages-of-photogrammetry-software?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Guest](https://canonical.com/blog/author/guest "More about Guest") 29 March 2017 # Making snap packages of photogrammetry software [Snap](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/snap) [snapcraft](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/snapcraft) [Ubuntu Core](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/ubuntu-core) --- Share the article *This is a guest post by Alberto Mardegan, Software Engineer at Canonical. If you would like to contribute a guest post, please contact ubuntu-devices@canonical.com* Some time ago I got vaguely interested into [photogrammetry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry), that is the reconstruction of a 3D model out of a set of plain 2D photographs. I just thought that it was cool, and wanted to try it. Unfortunately, the most popular of these tools, [VisualSFM](http://ccwu.me/vsfm/index.html), was not packaged for Ubuntu and didn’t come with ready binaries. Furthermore, the steps to build it are far from trivial: they include modifying a few of the source files! So, while I was going through this ordeal in order to compile it, I thought of how I could avoid running through all this pain once more and the need emerged to build this program again in the future. I initially thought of writing a shell script to automate it, but then I realized that there exists a much better solution: a [snapcraft](https://snapcraft.io/) recipe! This solution has the big advantage that the resulting binary (called a “snap” package) can be shared with other Linux users, by publishing it into the snap store. Therefore, one doesn’t need to be a programmer or a computer expert anymore in order to install the software. As I quickly found out, other “structure from motion” and “multi-view stereo” (the two parts of the 3D reconstruction pipeline) programs are also unavailable as binaries for Linux, and require quite some effort to be built. As a matter of fact, this problem is quite common for scientific and academic software: always written by authentic geniuses in the field of research, but who often are not as experienced (or interested) in software distribution. So I thought — well, given that I’ve just made a snap package (and that I’ve even enjoyed the process!), why stop here? 🙂 And here you have it: most of this photogrammetry software is now available as snap packages, which makes it trivial to install them and try them out. Though indeed, the 3d reconstruction can take a lot of time, so that’s another thing to be considered. To help you out in deciding which software to use, I made a video review of structure from motion and multi-view stereo tools; without any pretence – just the goal of giving an overview of what is available out there, and how easy (or difficult!) to use it is: I also “snapped” a couple of other programs related to 3D reconstructions. One of them is CloudCompare, a 3D point cloud and mesh processing software. In the future I may make more videos on this subject – stay tuned! *Original post [here](http://blog.mardy.it/2017/03/making-snap-packages-of-photogrammetry.html)* [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### So you need to add microcontrollers to your fleet: now what?](https://canonical.com/blog/microcontrollers-ubuntu-core-golioth) Your Ubuntu Core fleet is running beautifully. OTA updates roll out in minutes. Every device is strictly confined, cryptographically attested, and carrying a 10 to 15 year long... 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