Convert image colors to boundaries

[rafaelricardorj]

hi, 

I have a very simple image (a road sign) and I would like to create boundaries based in the colors of the image.

I tried to use the raster tools in the Autocad Civil 3D and I still don't know how to transform it. 

I'm using the newer versions of both softwares

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> I have a very simple image (a road sign)

Please show it, the wording "simple" can have so many different meanings just from the point of views of different peoples 😉

>> I tried to use the raster tools in the Autocad Civil 3D

Which tools do you mean? Which commands did you use?

>> I would like to create boundaries based in the colors of the image.

Might be done with AutoCAD Raster Design (>>>click<<<), but that depends on the type of the image.

BUT ... if the image is really simple, why not just using _IMAGE to place the image in the modelspace and then use commands like _PLINE and _HATCH to draw over that image?

- alfred -

[rafaelricardorj]

Simple means two or three colors. It's a road sign.
It's an image generated by a software that draws road signs. I would like to recognize the image and convert it to an 3D solid.
I tried to use all the comands in te raster design and It looks like doesn't recognize the image.
Drawing over the image would take a lot of time, I need something faster because evry road sign would take a lot of time to draw over it.

Is this even possible? 

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> convert it to an 3D solid.

If you need it as 3D-Solid then most probably for visualization. In that case create a box, a material with texture map and the texture is that image (or another one). That's the fastest was possible. This one is done in a minute (for the first sign, later you just have to change the image as long as the sign has the same size/ratio).

- alfred -

[rafaelricardorj]

I tried this solution, but It's impractical when comes to a large scale project.
Because I would have to create a material based in a Image and configure it depending on the size of the road sign. Also this 3D solid is supposed to receive "property set definitions" in order to be quantifiable in Navisworks software.

My problem is that I have to create an 3D solid based in an image but it must be made of Autocad elements not material texture or Image.

So I'm developing a code to extrude and create this 3D solid based on the boundaries generated by the image. 

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> I tried this solution, but It's impractical when comes to a large scale project.

Why is that impractical?

For large objects you just need to have better resolution for your photos.

>> Because I would have to create a material based in a Image and configure it depending on the size of the road sign

For me creating one box and a material with a specific image can be done much faster than creating outlines from fonts and run then different extrusions based on their colors, assign different colors and then run _UNION.

Not to forget that your sign are about 3000 polygons to display and to render (or even worse to calculate shadows), my box has just 6 polygons. Well, not a problem if you have just a few signs, but thinking about Infraworks where you might have hundreds of them?

>> My problem is that I have to create an 3D solid based in an image but it must be made

>> of Autocad elements not material texture or Image.

Is that a rule for transferring the data to Navisworks (which is tricky with material, Autodesk seems to not know enough about the DWG-format, e.g. that DWG-files can have materials with textures, they first have to learn this) or does that have any other reasons?
Sorry, for now I have not understood the way to go via geometry.

>> So I'm developing a code to extrude and create this 3D solid based on the boundaries generated by the image.

If you do development, even then I guess the creation of material could be done faster than analyzing an image an find contours/especially find letters.

But I know it's tricky with AutoCAD to develop applications in AutoCAD for texture mapping 😉

- alfred -

[rafaelricardorj]

I have to do this only by geometry otherwise I see two problems:
1 - For every road sign I would have to send an image to the costumer, ends up with hundreds of images to run one single file.
2 - Navisworks is terrible for importing images and materials, so the whole concept of the view gets compromized if I use this solution.

I'm trying to do this automatic road sign extrusion by lisp routine, it basically identifies the contours and extrude, then generate only onde 3d solid, which is the only thing working so far that I can give special attributes for Navisworks.