Uploading a 3D model without images

Uploading a 3D model without images

Some projects have a 3D model and no photography behind it: a laser scan, a model supplied by a client, or a reconstruction whose source images you do not hold. Twinsity accepts the tileset on its own, without camera parameters or images.

Choosing the mode

In the wizard's Setup step, the Select Project Files heading carries two buttons: With images and 3D model only.

Click 3D model only. The Camera Metadata and Images pickers disappear and the 3D Model picker is the only one left.

Switching between the two modes clears any files you have already chosen, so pick the mode first and select files afterwards.

What you still fill in

Field Required Notes
Project title ✓
Asset type ✓
Reconstruction software ✓ The tool that produced the model. If yours is not in the list, choose the closest match.
Observation profile ✓ See Setting up Observation Profiles.

AI processing is not offered in this mode. Every AI model reads images.

The 3D Model picker accepts .zip or .3tz, and it checks the same things it always does: the archive must contain a 3D Tiles root file, and file and folder names must not contain characters we cannot accept. See Troubleshooting missing images and rejected files for the naming rules.

What the preview shows

The Preview step loads your model in the 3D viewer as usual. There is no thumbnail strip beneath it, no camera markers on the model, and no image alignment check, because there are no images to line up against the model.

Everything else works as it does for any project: the model loads, the quality slider adjusts the preview, and the project thumbnail is captured from what you see. Check the model here. This is still the last point at which fixing a bad export costs you minutes rather than a full re-upload. See Checking the preview before you upload.

What the finished project can do

Everything that works on the 3D model works normally:

  • Moving around the model, and the clipping box.
  • Adding observations to the model: tags, lines and areas.
  • Filling in classes, severities and your Observation Profile fields.
  • Attaching your own images, videos and documents to an observation as evidence.
  • Section views and reports.

What needs images

These are unavailable in a project uploaded without them:

  • Marking damage on an image. The image drawing tools need project images.
  • Nearby images. Clicking the model finds images of that spot, and there are none to find.
  • Smart Detections. The AI reads images.

Adding images later

A project uploaded without images keeps that shape. To have images in it, upload the project again with With images selected, choosing the tileset, the camera parameters and the image folder together.

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