Patent ID: 8773424

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to compute a three-dimensional (3-D) point cloud representing one of a structure or a scene by locating a plurality of recognizable features that appear in two or more photographs of a collection of digital photographs by calculating positions of the plurality of recognizable features in space using one of location, perspective and visibility or obscurity of the plurality of recognizable features of each photograph of the two or more photographs, each position of the plurality of recognizable features corresponding to a point in the 3-D point cloud, generate a two-dimensional top-down map by projecting points of the 3-D point cloud into a 2-D plane, and representing each projected point of the 3-D point cloud in the top-down map with a dot, the top-down map providing a visual reconstruction of one of the structure or the scene computed from the 3-D point cloud, receive a user interaction with the top-down map, the user interacting specifying a feature in the 3-D point cloud represented by at least one dot in the top-down map, determine a representative digital photograph from the collection of digital photographs based on the received user interaction, the representative digital photograph corresponding to at least a located recognizable feature associated the received user interaction, and display an image of the representative digital photograph being overlaid on the top-down map representing the one of the structure or the scene.