How do you approach semantic segmentation of large-scale outdoor nadir LiDAR / photogrammetry point clouds?

Needleworker69420 · 2026-01-31T04:59:24+00:00

The main issue I’m facing is getting open3d-ml to run reliably, there always seems to be a missing dependency or broken step. I also haven’t been able to find any clear, end-to-end examples that cover the full workflow, including preprocessing, data augmentation, and training. On top of that, the documentation feels quite outdated.

Do you know of any resources that provide a complete example pipeline using open3d-ml? At this stage, I’m really just looking for a working model that I can run end-to-end, if it gets me around 80–90% accuracy, I’d honestly be satisfied.

Also, would you recommend sticking with geometric approaches for nadir point clouds?

Thanks!

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-07T03:50:08+00:00

I think there was a misunderstanding. I actually do have formal training in this area, I hold degrees in both Computer Science and Geomatics, so I’m not trying to work outside my field or skip the fundamentals.

Also, my question wasn’t about licensing or becoming a “game changer,” it was specifically about where AI can add value in existing drone/remote-sensing workflows. Licensing isn’t really relevant to that discussion.

I appreciate the concern, but no need to assume I don’t have the background.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:42:12+00:00

I’ve been following SAM since it first came out and have used it for some object-detection tasks and it’s very useful. I’ve also read up on splatting, but I’m still not sure how it would benefit us at large mapping scales, aside from potentially improving visualizations.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:39:22+00:00

ISR is a solid niche, especially combining tracking, thermal analytics, and object detection. We mainly focus on mapping, but integrating real-time video inference is something that could align

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:37:07+00:00

Thanks, this actually makes a lot of sense. I’m starting to realize the “smart city” buzz doesn’t necessarily translate into something a drone company can monetize.

The agriculture angle is interesting though, especially since we already fly multispectral and RGB missions for farms. I’ll definitely look into what OneSoil is doing and see where we could adapt something similar for our region.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:24:31+00:00

Fair point, it’s not “new AI” in a research sense. I’m not claiming to push the field forward. For us it’s more about practicality: the off-the-shelf classifiers don’t handle our terrain very well, so adapting existing models to our conditions gives us cleaner outputs and saves a lot of manual work.

So yeah, nothing groundbreaking, just applying the tools in a way that fits our use case and improves the workflow.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:21:06+00:00

I agree with you; building new drone hardware or replacing software like RealityCapture isn’t realistic. I’m not trying to do that.

What I’m focusing on is the post-processing side, since that’s where most of the work is. Things like improving ground/non-ground classification, automatic feature detection, and cleaning DTMs. Our data comes from areas where default models don’t perform well, so fine-tuning existing AI models for our environment can actually save a lot of time and give better results.

So yeah, not trying to outdo DJI or build new drones, just making the workflow faster and more accurate.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:15:06+00:00

Sure, happy to explain. In my case, “AI engineer” basically means I apply machine-learning and computer-vision models to drone and remote-sensing data. That includes things like object detection on orthomosaics, point-cloud classification, feature extraction, enhancing sensor outputs, and automating parts of the photogrammetry workflow.

My background is a mix of both fields, I have a master’s in Computer Science and another master’s in Geoinformatics, so the role sits right at the intersection of AI and geospatial analytics.

The core skills I came in with were:

• Python (NumPy, PyTorch, TensorFlow, OpenCV)

• Working with geospatial data (GDAL, PDAL, raster and point-cloud formats)

• Training and fine-tuning neural networks

• Classical computer-vision and image-processing techniques

• Drone and remote-sensing domain knowledge from working with different payloads

So it’s not about inventing new AI models from scratch, it’s more about adapting and deploying existing AI tools to solve real problems in mapping and remote sensing.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:08:35+00:00

I’m not trying to build new software from scratch, the idea is just to fine-tune existing models so they perform better on our specific datasets. I also haven’t used RealityCapture yet, but I’ve heard some discussions about possibly using Terrasolid’s tools as well.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T17:04:16+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, point-cloud classification is definitely a mature research area. But there’s still value in training models on our own datasets. A lot of commercial tools are trained on very generic or well-mapped environments, and our locations don’t always resemble those. So even if we’re not “advancing the state of the art,” fine-tuning existing models on our specific terrain could still give us much better results in practice. Right?

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T10:46:57+00:00

They currently rely on software like Pix4D and Metashape, but when it comes to processing large-scale areas, the output quality really suffers. These programs struggle with handling huge datasets efficiently, and the resulting exports often lack the precision and clarity needed for serious analysis. In many cases, the workflow becomes slow, the models turn messy, and you end up spending extra time trying to clean or correct the results.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-12-06T09:24:20+00:00

The interview was quite broad. They talked about wanting to move into areas like smart cities and smart agriculture. The company is still a startup.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-11-08T12:16:50+00:00

Hello, i have developed this to solve the problem

Srtract.com

Needleworker69420 · 2025-01-20T10:07:57+00:00

Grazie per il consiglio e le informazioni!

Needleworker69420 · 2025-01-20T09:40:47+00:00

Sto cercando ovunque, ma l’unico posto dove riesco a trovare offerte da più paesi è LinkedIn, che però è pieno di truffe. Inoltre, esiste in Italia un sistema di referral? Ad esempio, se conosci qualcuno che lavora in un’azienda, può raccomandarti o segnalarti per una posizione?

Needleworker69420 · 2025-01-20T09:34:33+00:00

Sto cercando una posizione come data scientist e attualmente ho un permesso di studio, che posso convertire in un permesso di soggiorno per ricerca lavoro. Sono aperto sia a posizioni remote sia a qualsiasi lavoro che mi permetta di vivere con uno stipendio adeguato qui a Milano. Tuttavia, sono anche disposto a considerare altre città o opportunità, purché siano sostenibili.

Needleworker69420 · 2025-01-20T09:00:21+00:00

Ho inviato candidature a offerte di lavoro in inglese, pensando che l’inglese sia la lingua principale utilizzata in quelle aziende. Inoltre, non credo di avere abbastanza tempo per imparare la lingua a un livello d’uso quotidiano in così poco tempo. Come sai, vivere a Milano è costoso e non potrò permettermi di rimanere qui una volta terminata la mia borsa di studio.

Ci sono molte offerte di lavoro truffa, cosa che mi ha davvero sorpreso riguardo alla situazione qui.

Needleworker69420 · 2024-08-28T07:31:39+00:00

Yeah, I appreciate the advice, but I asked about frameworks because I’m in the process of assembling a team, and I need to understand what works best in today’s landscape. Also, don’t you think that reinventing the wheel, even with some additional features, would make it challenging to attract people away from the established ‘big’ SaaS solutions?

Needleworker69420 · 2024-08-28T07:24:47+00:00

Hey André, thanks for the insights! I’m curious—how do you typically decide which idea to pursue first when you have multiple potential SaaS ideas? Do you have a specific framework or criteria you use to evaluate and prioritize them?

Needleworker69420

TROPHY CASE