Over-smoothed surfaces/corners and “wing” artifacts on edges in the Point Cloud

Problem

Edge and shape geometry in the point cloud are important for algorithms such as Stitching and CAD matching. However, the point clouds look over-smoothed, with thin fin-like outliers (“wing” artifacts) extending from edges into free space. These artifacts can also be described as phantom points, spikes, or stray points near object edges.

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_before_grid.png

Potential Solutions

Tuning acquisition settings

Aperture: If the camera supports aperture/f-number settings, try reducing it (higher f-number) to reduce the “wing” artifacts. Compensate by increasing the exposure time.

Tuning filters

Configure specific filters to prioritize edge sharpness and realistic surface geometry. This works especially well for stitched multi-view captures, where aggressively trimmed edge points in one point cloud are often recovered in others.

Cluster Filter	Value	Why
`Removal → MaxNeighborDistance`	`4` → `3.5`	Removes more outliers near edges, often “wing” artifacts.
`Removal → MinArea`	`300` → `50`	Keeps small but legitimate surface patches.

Contrast Distortion Filter	Value	Why
`Correction → Strength`	`0.3` → `0.0`	No correction needed if there is no contrast distortion; keeping the filter enabled still smooths the surface noise.
`Removal → Threshold`	`0.5` → `0.6`	Trims the very ends of edges, often “wing” artifacts.

Tip

If you do not plan to stitch multiple captures, lower Removal → Threshold to 0.3-0.5 to preserve more edge geometry. The 0.6 value assumes missing edge points will be recovered from another viewpoint.

Noise Filter	Value	Why
`Removal → Threshold`	`2` → `10`	Trims more high-uncertainty points, typically “wing” artifacts on edges.
`Suppression → Enabled`	`yes` → `no`	Common source of edge “wing” artifacts.

Gaussian Smoothing	Value	Why
`Sigma`	`5` → `0.5`	Small sigma to preserve shape geometry while still smoothing the surface noise.

Note

Most scenes need some smoothing to reduce surface noise.

Contrast Distortion smooths surfaces even with Correction → Strength = 0, so adding Gaussian → Sigma = 0.5 is mostly redundant. The example keeps Gaussian Smoothing enabled as a safety margin, but you can usually disable it with little visible change. Another option is to disable Contrast Distortion Correction and set Gaussian → Sigma between 0.5 and 1. You can also disable both and use Noise Suppression, but that can re-introduce wing artifacts, so re-check the full chain after any change.

Hole Repair Filter	Value	Why
`Enabled`	`no` → `yes`	Repairs the smallest holes left by the previous aggressive filters.
`HoleSize`	`0.4` → `0.1`	Limits repair to very small holes only.
`Strictness`	`1` → `4`	Only repairs when surrounding evidence is strong.

Filters not listed are left at their defaults.

Example

In each pair below, the left images show the initial settings (over-smoothed surfaces and corners and edges with wing artifacts). The right images show the tuned settings using the recommendations above (correct shapes and sharp edges).

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view1_before.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view1_after.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view2_before.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view2_after.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view3_before.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view3_after.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view4_before.png

../../_images/wing_edge_tuning_view4_after.png

Trade-offs

This tuning intentionally removes more edge points than the defaults. Expect slightly more missing data at edges, some loss of sub-millimeter features, and better overall edge fidelity.

Warning

Filters interact between each other. For example, enabling Noise Suppression can re-introduce wings even if everything else is tuned. Re-check the whole chain after any individual change.