Developing a panoramic image

1. A method comprising:

receiving a three-dimensional point cloud generated from an optical distancing system;

receiving at least one two-dimensional image generated from at least one camera;

colorizing the three-dimensional point cloud with the at least one two-dimensional image, thereby forming a colorized three-dimensional point cloud;

synthesizing, using a processor, an equal area projection panoramic image from the colorized three-dimensional point cloud, wherein the panoramic image comprises a plurality of pixels, and each pixel in the plurality of pixels represents a same amount of area, wherein the equal area projection panoramic image is a complete spherical image having 360 degrees of image data in both a latitudinal direction and a longitudinal direction;

dividing, using the processor, the equal area projection panoramic image into six equal regions defining six faces of a cube, wherein each region corresponds to a face of the cube; and

storing the six cube faces of the complete spherical image in a database in a rectangular formation to provide a compressed image, wherein the rectangular formation is represented by two rows of cube faces and three columns of cube faces.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving comprises six two-dimensional images generated from six cameras.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising matching the equal area projection panoramic image with geographic coordinates.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the matching is performed using global positioning system geographic coordinates collected from the three-dimensional point cloud image or the at least one two-dimensional image.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical distancing system is a Light Detection and Ranging system.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising retrieving the stored panoramic image on a mobile device, personal computer, or workstation, wherein the compressed configuration is rearranged for viewing the complete spherical image.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a three-dimensional point cloud generated from a Light Detection and Ranging system;

receiving six two-dimensional images generated from six cameras;

colorizing the three-dimensional point cloud with the two-dimensional images, thereby forming a colorized three-dimensional point cloud;

synthesizing, using a processor, an equal area projection panoramic image from the colorized three-dimensional point cloud, wherein the panoramic image comprises a plurality of pixels, and each pixel in the plurality of pixels represents a same amount of area, and the panoramic image is a complete spherical image having 360 degrees of image data in both a latitudinal direction and a longitudinal direction;

dividing the complete spherical image into six equal regions defining six faces of a cube using a quadrilaterized spherical cube projection, wherein each region corresponds to a face of the cube; and

storing the panoramic image in a database, wherein the six faces of the cube are arranged in a compressed rectangular configuration represented by two rows of cube faces and three columns of cube faces.

8. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform:

receive a three-dimensional point cloud image generated from an optical distancing system;

receive at least one two-dimensional image generated from at least one camera;

colorize the three-dimensional point cloud image with the at least one two-dimensional image to form a colorized three-dimensional point cloud image;

synthesize an equal area projection panoramic image from the colorized three-dimensional point cloud, wherein the panoramic image comprises a plurality of pixels, and each pixel in the plurality of pixels represents a same amount of area, wherein the equal area projection panoramic image is a complete spherical image having 360 degrees of image data in both a latitudinal direction and a longitudinal direction;

divide the complete spherical image into six equal regions defining six faces of a cube using a quadrilaterized spherical cube projection, wherein each region corresponds to a face of the cube; and

store the six cube faces of the complete spherical image in a database in a rectangular formation to provide a compressed image, wherein the rectangular formation is represented by two rows of cube faces and three columns of cube faces.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the equal area projection panoramic image comprises an improved image compression rate in comparison with a similar panoramic image developed by a plate carrée projection or a cubic projection.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

match the equal area projection panoramic image with geographic coordinates using global positioning system geographic coordinates collected from the three-dimensional point cloud image or the at least one two-dimensional image.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to further perform:

retrieve the stored panoramic image on a mobile device, personal computer, or workstation, wherein the compressed configuration is rearranged for viewing the complete spherical image.