W W W . K A A R T A . C O M
4 9
confidence in the map building process. As the confidence level drops, it transitions to
yellow (warning), then orange, and finally red (low confidence). When the confidence drops
to orange, new data is no longer added to the map. This avoids the introduction of
significant errors to your map. However, your position continues to be updated.
To resume confident mapping, future data will be evaluated prior to inclusion in the map.
This may happen, for instance, when walking through a doorway quickly. If the confidence
drops, try backing out into a room that was mapped well, or turning toward an area that is
mapped well, until mapping resumes. In challenging areas, like turns in featureless hallways
or narrow doorways, you may need to back up and retry several times to generate a map.
In this way, Contour provides instant user feedback to correct possible errors while
scanning. This prevents building an error-filled map that is difficult to correct in post-
processing.
If the confidence meter stays low with no data being added for 12 seconds, scanning is
automatically paused, and location is reset to the last good position. This automatic
“jumpback” increases the likelihood of recovering a scan by resetting the location to the last
stable position, 5 seconds prior to the loss of confidence. The user can then return to that
position and hit play to seamlessly restart adding data to the map.
To adjust the levels at which Contour pauses scanning due to confidence of scan data, see
Confidence Threshold on page 47.
To increase the confidence displayed, adjust your data collection techniques by following
the tips in the Tips for Collecting Better Data section of this manual (e.g., avoiding rapid
rotations or pointing toward reliable 3D and visual features when going through narrow
corridors to enable the device to “lock on”). Keep in mind that Confidence Meter is
not
a
guarantee of good or bad matches, but an indication of the statistical likelihood that the
match was good.
Scan Tip:
Use Confidence Meter as a training tool. Watch the numbers as you
develop your scanning techniques. Observe changes to the meter when you
point Contour at a larger expanse of blank wall, or in darker spaces.
T o t al Po i n t s C o l l e c t e d an d E l aps e d T i me
These Total Points Collected and Scanning Time metrics calculate the current duration of
the scan and the total number of points collected (see Figure 30). With practice, these
numbers can be used to help understand the density of point data you are collecting based
on the size of the room being scanned.
