ARD360 QGIS Plugin

A QGIS plugin for loading and viewing 360-degree imagery from PostgreSQL databases.

Features

• PostgreSQL Integration: Connect to PostgreSQL databases (no PostGIS required)
• Middleware Architecture: Converts lat/lon coordinates to QGIS vector geometries
• 360� Viewer: Interactive 360-degree panoramic image viewer using Pannellum
• Point-and-Click: Click on map points to instantly view associated 360 images
• Layer Management: Automatic vector layer creation with custom styling
• Configuration UI: Easy-to-use database configuration dialog

Requirements

• QGIS 3.0 or higher
• PostgreSQL database with 360 imagery data
• Database table with at minimum:
  • Latitude column (numeric)
  • Longitude column (numeric)
  • Image URL column (text)

Installation

Option 1: Install from ZIP

1. Download or build the plugin ZIP file
2. Open QGIS
3. Go to Plugins � Manage and Install Plugins
4. Click Install from ZIP
5. Select the ard-qgis-plugin.zip file
6. Restart QGIS

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Copy the plugin folder to your QGIS plugins directory:
   • Linux: ~/.local/share/QGIS/QGIS3/profiles/default/python/plugins/
   • Windows: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\QGIS\QGIS3\profiles\default\python\plugins\
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/QGIS/QGIS3/profiles/default/python/plugins/
2. Restart QGIS

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• UV package manager

Setup Development Environment

# Install UV (if not already installed)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install development dependencies
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

Building the Plugin

# Using the build script
./build.sh

# Or using Make
make build

Installing for Development

make install

Usage

1. Configure Database Connection

1. Click the ARD360 toolbar icon or go to ARD360 � Configure Database
2. Enter your PostgreSQL connection details:
   • Host (e.g., localhost)
   • Port (default: 5432)
   • Database name
   • Username
   • Password
3. Click Test Connection to verify
4. Click Refresh Tables to load available tables
5. Select your table containing 360 data
6. Specify column names for:
   • Latitude
   • Longitude
   • Image URL
7. Click Save

2. Load 360 Points

1. Go to ARD360 � Load 360 Points
2. The plugin will:
   • Connect to your database
   • Fetch all records with valid coordinates
   • Create a vector layer with point features
   • Add the layer to your QGIS project
   • Zoom to the layer extent

3. View 360 Images

Method 1: Automatic (Click on Map)

• Simply click on any point in the ARD 360 Points layer
• The 360 viewer will open automatically

Method 2: Manual Selection

• Select a feature using the QGIS selection tool
• Go to ARD360 � View Selected 360 Image

4. 360 Viewer Controls

• Pan: Click and drag
• Zoom: Mouse wheel or zoom controls
• Auto-rotate: Enabled after 3 seconds of inactivity
• Fullscreen: Click the fullscreen button
• Close: Click the close button