convert 2d location on 360 image to 3d location (in sphere) - unity3d

I have a bunch of 360 equirectangular images an on each image i want to place a point of interest. To make this easy i just want to have to determine the 2d location of this point on the image. See image below for clarification:
Lets say that the blue point has a pixel location of X: 3000 and Y: 1300.
And that the total dimensions of the image are 4096x2048.
Now i want to convert this point to a spherical location and then to a 3d location. I try to do this in the following way:
Vector3 PlaceMenu(Vector2 loc2d)
{
var phi = 2 * Mathf.PI * (loc2d.x / imageDimensions.x);
var theta = ( loc2d.y / imageDimensions.y) * Mathf.PI;
var pos = new Vector3(Mathf.Cos(phi) * Mathf.Sin(theta), Mathf.Sin(phi) * Mathf.Sin(theta), Mathf.Cos(theta));
pos *= offsetRadius;
return pos;
}
in this case offsetRadius is the radius of the sphere.
But the results i am getting with this code are weird. because the blue points appear on weird other locations then specified by the 2d location.
What am i doing wrong here?
If any more explaination is needed i am happy to provide!

Related

Get the exact satellite image for a given Lat/Long bbox rectangle?

For a visualization I need an optical satellite image for a specific rectangular AOI, that is defined by two lat/long coordinates. I tried Mapbox Static Images API, which takes a lat/long bounding box and a resolution in width/height pixel for the output. The problem is that it looks like to me that if ratio of the lat/long box is not the same as the w/h pixels, it will add padding to the lat/long bounding box to fill the w/h of the pixel image.
And this would prevent me from combining the optical image with the other data, because I would not know which image pixel would (roughly) correspond to which lat/long coordinate.
I see three "solutions", but I don't know how to achive any of them.
"Make" Mapbox return the images with out padding.
Compute the ratio for the correct w/h pixel ratio using the lat/long coordinate, so there would be no padding. Maybe with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection like discussed here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/16271669/380038?
Find a way to determine the lat/long coordinates of the optical satellite image so I can cut off the possible padding.
I checked How can I extract a satellite image from google maps given a Lat Long Rectangle?, but I would prefer to use my existing paid Mapbox account and I got the impression that I still wouldn't get the exact optical image or the exact corner coordinates of the optical image.
Mapbox Static Images API serves maps
You have optical image from other source
You want to overlay these data
Right?
Note the Red and Green pins: the waypoints are at opposite corners on Mapbox.
After Equirectangular correction Mapbox matches Openstreetmaps (little wonder), but Google coordinates are quite close too.
curl -g "https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/streets-v11/static/[17.55490,47.10434,17.55718,47.10543]/600x419?access_token=YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" --output example-walk-600x419-nopad.png
What is your scale? 1 km - 100 km?
What is your source of optical image?
What is the required accuracy?
Just to mention, optical images have their own sources of distortions.
In practice:
You must have the extent of your non optical satellite data (let's preserve the mist around...) I'll call it ((x1, y1), (x2, y2)) We are coders, not cartographers - right!?
If you feed your extent to https://docs.mapbox.com/playground/static/ as
min longitude = x1, min lattitude = y1, max longitude = x2, max lattitude = y2
Select "Bounding box" entry! Do you see mapbox around your data!? Don't mind the exact dimensions, just check if mapbox is related to your data! May be you have to swap some values to get to the right corner of the globe.
If you have the right ((x1, y1), (x2, y2)) coordinates, do the equirectangular transformation to get the right pixel size.
You've called it Solution #2.
Let's say the with of your non optical satellite data is Wd, the height is Hd.
The mapbox image will fit your data, if you ask for Wm widht, and Hm height of mapbox data where
Wm = Wd
Hm = Wd * (y2 - y1) * cos(x1) / (x2 - x1)
Now you can pull the mapbox by
curl -g "https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/streets-v11/static/[<x1>,<y1>,<x2>,<y2>]/<Wm>x<Hm>?access_token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" --output overlay.png
If (Hd == Hm)
then {you are lucky :) the two images just fit each other}
else { the two images are for the same area, but you have to scale the height of one of the images to make match }
Well... almost. You have not revealed what size of area you want to cover. The equation above is just an approximation which works up to the size of a smaller country (~100 km or so). For continent scale you probably have to apply more accurate formulas.
In my opinion, your #2 idea is the way to go. You do have the LLng bbox, so all that remains is calculate its "real" size in pixels.
Let us say that you want (or can allow, or can afford) a resolution of 50m per pixel, and the area is small enough not to have distortions (i.e., a rectangle of say 1 arcsecond of latitude and 1 arcsecond of longitude has top and bottom sides of the same length, with an error less than your chosen resolution). These are, I believe, very loose requisites and easy to fulfill.
Then, you just need to calculate the distance between the (Lat1, Lon1) and (Lat1, Lon2) points, and betwen (Lat1, Lon1) and (Lat2, Lon1). Divide that distance in meters by 50, and you'll get the exact number of pixels:
Lon1 Lon2
Lat1 +---------------+
| |
| |
Lat2 +---------------+
And you have a formula for that - the haversine formula.
If you need a higher precision, you could recourse to the Vincenty oblate spheroid (here a Javascript library). On the MT site (first link) there is a live calculator that you can use to plug data from your calls, and verify whether the approach is indeed working. I.e. you plug in your bounding box, get the distance in meters, divide and get the pixel size of the image (if the image is good, chances are that you can go with the simpler haversine. If it isn't, then there has to be some further quirk in the maps API - its projection, perhaps - that doesn't return the expected bounding box. But it seems unlikely).
I've had this exact problem when using a satellite image on an apple watch. I overlay some markers and a path. I convert everything from coordinates to pixels. Below is my code to determine the exact bbox result
var maxHoleLat = 52.5738902
var maxHoleLon = 4.9577606
var minHoleLat = 52.563994
var minHoleLon = 4.922364
var mapMaxLat = 0.0
var mapMaxLon = 0.0
var mapMinLat = 0.0
var mapMinLon = 0.0
let token = "your token"
var resX = 1000.0
var resY = 1000.0
let screenX = 184.0
let screenY = 224.0 // 448/2 = 224 - navbarHeight
let navbarHeight = 0.0
var latDist = 111000.0
var lonDist = 111000.0
var dx = 0.0
var dy = 0.0
func latLonDist(){
//calgary.rasc.ca/latlong.htm
let latRad = maxHoleLat * .pi / 180
//distance between 1 degree of longitude at given latitude
self.lonDist = 111412.88 * cos(latRad) - 0.09350*cos(3 * latRad) + 0.00012 * cos(5 * latRad)
print("lonDist = \(self.lonDist)")
//distance between 1 degree of latitude at a given longitude
self.latDist = 111132.95 - 0.55982 * cos(2 * latRad) + 0.00117 * cos(4 * latRad)
print("latDist = \(self.latDist)")
}
func getMapUrl(){
self.dx = (maxHoleLon - minHoleLon) * lonDist
self.dy = (maxHoleLat - minHoleLat) * latDist
//the map is square, but the hole not
//check if the hole has less x than y
if dx < dy {
mapMaxLat = maxHoleLat
mapMinLat = minHoleLat
let midLon = (maxHoleLon + minHoleLon ) / 2
mapMaxLon = midLon + dy / 2 / lonDist
mapMinLon = midLon - dy / 2 / lonDist
} else {
mapMaxLon = maxHoleLon
mapMinLon = minHoleLon
let midLat = (maxHoleLat + minHoleLat ) / 2
mapMaxLat = midLat + dx / 2 / latDist
mapMinLat = midLat - dx / 2 / latDist
}
self.imageUrl = URL(string:"https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/satellite-v9/static/[\(mapMinLon),\(mapMinLat),\(mapMaxLon),\(mapMaxLat)]/1000x1000?logo=false&access_token=\(token)")
print("\(imageUrl)")
}

Unity3D - Calculating t-value position on orbit

I'm using a script that i found online that uses a kdTree to calculate the nearest point to an object on the surface of a mesh.
I have the following code in the OnDrawGizmos method that allows me to draw a circle that will orbit the surface of the object.
x = target.transform.position.x + ((Mathf.Cos(tValue)) * (radius));
z = target.transform.position.z + ((Mathf.Sin(tValue)) * (radius));
Gizmos.color = Color.yellow;
Gizmos.DrawWireSphere(new Vector3(x, y, z), 0.06f);
On the the object i am orbiting the "tValue" ranges from 0 to 6.3 to do a full orbit. My problem is that i am trying to calculate the tValue in the range 0-6.3 of an object that is near the central object. I have used my kdTree system to calculate the vector3 position on the surface of the object and it lines up perfectly.
I calculate the radius used in both the above and below equation with:
Vector3 RadiusDirection = (Vector3.ProjectOnPlane(orbitingSurfaceMeshPos, planet.transform.up) - Vector3.ProjectOnPlane(planet.transform.position, planet.transform.up));
float radius = RadiusDirection.magnitude;
However, when i try to calculate the t-value, i get a completely different value. I figured i could just "reverse" the "equation" and so i've been doing:
float temp = orbiting.z - planet.transform.position.z;
temp = temp / radius;
calculatedTvalue = (Mathf.Asin(temp));
What could i be doing wrong? I have tested my "reversing equation" in an empty scene and new script and it worked fine, if i just took the result of the orbit position calculation and directly reversed it. However, it doesn't work in my game.

Camera Bounds in perspective mode in Unity 3D

How Can I find extreme left, right, top, bottom points of perspective camera in Unity 3D. I am trying to do zooming and panning. I need those points to check if I am going out of my Bound. Is there any other way to find?
This unity manual entry directly answers your question:
FrustumSizeAtDistance
So to summarize:
To calculate the height of the view frustum at a given distance we can calculate it like so:
var frustumHeight = 2.0f * distance * Mathf.Tan(camera.fieldOfView * 0.5f * Mathf.Deg2Rad);
If we already know the frustumHeight we can calculate the corresponding distance to the camera:
var distance = frustumHeight * 0.5f / Mathf.Tan(camera.fieldOfView * 0.5f * Mathf.Deg2Rad);
Once we have the frustumHeight at a given distance we can calculate its width by using the cameras aspect:
var frustumWidth = frustumHeight * camera.aspect;
This can also be reversed like so:
var frustumHeight = frustumWidth / camera.aspect;
Camera.ScreenToWorldPoint will assist you.
For instance, to find bottom-left point of the screen projected onto the world, use this:
camera.ScreenToWorldPoint(new Vector3(0, 0, distance_from_camera));

How to draw real world coordinates rotated relative to the device around a center coordinate?

I'm working on a simple location-aware game where the current location of the user is shown on a game map, as well as the locations of other players around him. It's not using MKMapView but a custom game map with no streets.
How can I translate the other lat/long coordinates of other players into CGPoint values to represent them in the world scale game map with a fixed scale like 50 meters = 50 points in screen, and orient all the points such that the user can see in which direction he would have to go to reach another player?
The key goal is to generate CGPoint values for lat/long coordinates for a flat top-down view, but orient the points around the users current location similar to the orient map feature (the arrow) of Google Maps so you know where is what.
Are there frameworks which do the calculations?
first you have to transform lon/lat to cartesian x,y in meters.
next is the direction in degrees to your other players. the direction is dy/dx where dy = player2.y to me.y, same for dx. normalize dy and dx by this value by dividing by distance between playerv2 and me.
you receive
ny = dy / sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)
nx = dx / sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)
multipl with 50. now you have a point 50 m in direction of the player2:
comp2x = 50 * nx;
comp2y = 50 * ny;
now center the map on me.x/me.y. and apply the screen to meter scale
You want MKMapPointForCoordinate from MapKit. This converts from latitude-longitude pairs to a flat surface defined by an x and y. Take a look at the documentation for MKMapPoint which describes the projection. You can then scale and rotate those x,y pairs into CGPoints as needed for your display. (You'll have to experiment to see what scaling factors work for your game.)
To center the points around your user, just subtract the value of their x and y position (in MKMapPoints) from the points of all other objects. Something like:
MKMapPoint userPoint = MKMapPointForCoordinate(userCoordinate);
MKMapPoint otherObjectPoint = MKMapPointForCoordinate(otherCoordinate);
otherObjectPoint.x -= userPoint.x; // center around your user
otherObjectPoint.y -= userPoint.y;
CGPoint otherObjectCenter = CGPointMake(otherObjectPoint.x * 0.001, otherObjectPoint.y * 0.001);
// Using (50, 50) as an example for where your user view is placed.
userView.center = CGPointMake(50, 50);
otherView.center = CGPointMake(50 + otherObjectCenter.x, 50 + otherObjectCenter.y);

Car turning circle and moving the sprite

I would like to use Cocos2d on the iPhone to draw a 2D car and make it steer from left to right in a natural way.
Here is what I tried:
Calculate the angle of the wheels and just move it to the destination point where the wheels point to. But this creates a very unnatural feel. The car drifts half the time
After that I started some research on how to get a turning circle from a car, which meant that I needed a couple of constants like wheelbase and the width of the car.
After a lot of research, I created the following code:
float steerAngle = 30; // in degrees
float speed = 20;
float carWidth = 1.8f; // as in 1.8 meters
float wheelBase = 3.5f; // as in 3.5 meters
float x = (wheelBase / abs(tan(steerAngle)) + carWidth/ 2);
float wheelBaseHalf = wheelBase / 2;
float r = (float) sqrt(x * x + wheelBaseHalf * wheelBaseHalf);
float theta = speed * 1 / r;
if (steerAngle < 0.0f)
theta = theta * -1;
drawCircle(CGPointMake(carPosition.x - r, carPosition.y),
r, CC_DEGREES_TO_RADIANS(180), 50, NO);
The first couple of lines are my constants. carPosition is of the type CGPoint. After that I try to draw a circle which shows the turning circle of my car, but the circle it draws is far too small. I can just make my constants bigger, to make the circle bigger, but then I would still need to know how to move my sprite on this circle.
I tried following a .NET tutorial I found on the subject, but I can't really completely convert it because it uses Matrixes, which aren't supported by Cocoa.
Can someone give me a couple of pointers on how to start this? I have been looking for example code, but I can't find any.
EDIT After the comments given below
I corrected my constants, my wheelBase is now 50 (the sprite is 50px high), my carWidth is 30 (the sprite is 30px in width).
But now I have the problem, that when my car does it's first 'tick', the rotation is correct (and also the placement), but after that the calculations seem wrong.
The middle of the turning circle is moved instead of kept at it's original position. What I need (I think) is that at each angle of the car I need to recalculate the original centre of the turning circle. I would think this is easy, because I have the radius and the turning angle, but I can't seem to figure out how to keep the car moving in a nice circle.
Any more pointers?
You have the right idea. The constants are the problem in this case. You need to specify wheelBase and carWidth in units that match your view size. For example, if the image of your car on the screen has a wheel base of 30 pixels, you would use 30 for the WheelBase variable.
This explains why your on-screen circles are too small. Cocoa is trying to draw circles for a tiny little car which is only 1.8 pixels wide!
Now, for the matter of moving your car along the circle:
The theta variable you calculate in the code above is a rotational speed, which is what you would use to move the car around the center point of that circle:
Let's assume that your speed variable is in pixels per second, to make the calculations easier. With that assumption in place, you would simply execute the following code once every second:
// calculate the new position of the car
newCarPosition.x = (carPosition.x - r) + r*cos(theta);
newCarPosition.y = carPosition.y + r*sin(theta);
// rotate the car appropriately (pseudo-code)
[car rotateByAngle:theta];
Note: I'm not sure what the correct method is to rotate your car's image, so I just used rotateByAngle: to get the point across. I hope it helps!
update (after comments):
I hadn't thought about the center of the turning circle moving with the car. The original code doesn't take into account the angle that the car is already rotated to. I would change it as follows:
...
if (steerAngle < 0.0f)
theta = theta * -1;
// calculate the center of the turning circle,
// taking int account the rotation of the car
circleCenter.x = carPosition.x - r*cos(carAngle);
circleCenter.y = carPosition.y + r*sin(carAngle);
// draw the turning circle
drawCircle(circleCenter, r, CC_DEGREES_TO_RADIANS(180), 50, NO);
// calculate the new position of the car
newCarPosition.x = circleCenter.x + r*cos(theta);
newCarPosition.y = circleCenter.y + r*sin(theta);
// rotate the car appropriately (pseudo-code)
[car rotateByAngle:theta];
carAngle = carAngle + theta;
This should keep the center of the turning circle at the appropriate point, even if the car has been rotated.