COLMAP vs MetaScan

COLMAP is a free pipeline for reconstructing scenes in 3D from ordered or unordered image collections. Its Structure-from-Motion stage estimates camera poses and sparse 3D structure; its Multi-View Stereo stage uses PatchMatch stereo and stereo fusion to produce dense point clouds and meshes. Users can work through a graphical interface or command line. The GUI’s automatic reconstruction tool accepts an image folder and creates sparse and dense results in a workspace folder. For development, PyCOLMAP offers Python bindings for most functionality, and COLMAP can be built as a library for C++ code. Feature extraction options include SIFT, ALIKED, and LoMa; ALIKED and LoMa require ONNX support at build time. It supports a range of camera models and multi-camera rigs. Users can install pre-built binaries or build from source; macOS users also have a Homebrew formula, and a pre-built Docker image includes CUDA support. The library uses the new BSD license, while third-party dependencies have separate licenses. The project describes COLMAP as research software that may occasionally exit ungracefully when constraints are not met.

MetaScan creates 3D models of people and objects through a mobile app or an event scanning service. Its app offers object, full-body and head-and-shoulders capture using photogrammetry on modern iPhone or Android cameras, without requiring LiDAR. Scans can be viewed in augmented reality and exported as GLB, USDZ or OBJ; MetaScan also says they can be auto-rigged and animated for use in its multiplayer game In The Real World. Browser-based converters support GLB, OBJ, STL, glTF, PLY, FBX and USDZ, processing files on the user's device without uploading them. Event services include a scanning station, portrait studio and 360 spin video booth for occasions such as weddings, team days and corporate events. The free plan allows up to five scans in a library and one HD reconstruction per month. Pro costs $9.99 a month, Studio costs $29.99 a month, and an HD credit costs 4.99 USD once. MetaScan says person scans require consent and source images for standard scans are deleted automatically about two hours after model generation. It offers support by phone, text, email or website message.