nerf_plus_plus/FORK.md

# Why this fork

This is a fork from the original NeRF++ implementation. The original code has
some isses I needed to fix in order to get the algorithm working and to be able
to reproduce the authors work.
Hopefully this version should be better explained, will the necessary scripts
and without bugs to enable someone to train a dataset from start to finish
without having delve into the code if do not want to.

## How to install

Create a virtual env if you want to
```
pip3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate
```
Install the needed dependencies
```
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
```
You will also need [COLMAP](colmap.github.io/)

## How to run
### Dataset
First you need to create or find a dataset. A large set of images (at least 30,
more if you want a 360 degree reconstruction).
In order to maximise the quality of the reconstuction it is recommended to take
pictures with the same illumination, from differents angles from the same
subject (take a step between each picture, do not only rotate).
Remember that higher quality pictures can always be resized later if needed
with tools like ImageMagick (mogrify or convert)

```
mogrify -resize 800 *.jpg
```

### Camera pose estimation
Then use the wrapper colmap `colmap_runner/run_colmap.py`

First change the two lines corresponding to input and output at the end of the
script `img_dir` is your dataset and `output_dir` is the ouput.  If your COLMAP
binary is not located in `/usr/local/bin/colmap` also change it.

```
cd colmap_runner
python3 run_colmap.py
```

Then you will need to use the `format_dataset.py` script to transform the
wrapper COLMAP binary format data into the datastructure required by NeRF++.

You again need to change the `input_path` and `output_path`.

```
python3 format_dataset.py
```

Before training you can visualise your camera poses using the
`camera_visualizer/visualize_cameras.py` script.

### Training the model

You then need to create the configuration file, copying the example in
`configs` and tweaking the values to your need is recommended. Refer to the
help inside `ddp_train_nerf.py` if you need to understand a parameter.

```
python3 ddp_train_nerf.py --config configs/lupo/training_lupo.txt
```

Your training should be running, if you want to visualise the training in real
time using tensorboard you can use:

```
tensorboard --logdir logs --host localhost
```
And opening the given socket (`ip:port`) in your browser.
It should be 0.0.0.0:6006