How to upload 3D models to Birdi (Growth & Ultimate Plans)
You can upload 3D tiles and point clouds to your Birdi project with a Growth or Ultimate subscription. Birdi supports 3D Tiles for smooth, browser-based 3D visualization.
Not on a Growth or Ultimate plan? You can upload images and process them into 3D outputs via our platform. If you’re on Plus, you can visualize them in Map View once the output has been generated.
This guide will walk you through:
Accepted formats and structure
How to upload your 3D to a Birdi map
How to export from common tools like Metashape and DroneDeploy
How to manually zip your files
Accepted formats
Birdi currently supports the following 3D formats:
Format | Description |
.3tz | Optimized tiled 3D model format |
.zip | Must contain a tileset.json file and a folder with associated tiles (e.g., .b3dm, .pnts) |
.obj | Coming soon |
.gltf | Coming soon |
.las and classified .las | Coming soon |
If your .zip also includes original data like .las or .gltf files, that’s no problem. They’ll remain in the zip, but Birdi will only use the tiled content for visualization.
Uploading to Birdi
Head to your Map View in Birdi.
Click Upload → 3D Model.
Drag and drop your .3tz file or .zip (with tileset.json and tiles).
Birdi will validate your upload:
At least one tileset.json must be present (tileset.json is the most common name for the cesium tileset metadata file, but doesn't have to be, can be any_file_name.json)
Tiles folder must be included (e.g., tiles/, L0/, etc.)
Once validated, Birdi will process and display your 3D model in the viewer.
The amount of time it takes to process will depend on the size of the model. Large models may take a long time to load.
Exporting 3D Tiles from Common Tools
To upload 3D tiles from common tools into Birdi, you first need to export them.
Metashape (Agisoft)
Point Cloud
Build your point cloud Workflow→ Build Point Cloud …
Go to File → Export → Export Point Cloud …
Select Cesium 3D Tiles (*.zip) in Metashape below 2.1 OR Cesium 3D Tiles 1.1 (*.3tz) in Metashape 2.1 and higher.
Model
Build your Model Workflow→ Build Tiled Model …
Go to File → Export → Export Tiled Model …
Select Cesium 3D Tiles (*.zip) in Metashape below 2.1 OR Cesium 3D Tiles 1.1 (*.3tz) in Metashape 2.1 and higher
The *.zip or *.3tz file will contain required files to render Point Cloud or Model as Cesium 3D Tiles and can be uploaded to the platform directly.
DroneDeploy
Open your processed map in DroneDeploy.
Go to Export → 3D Model.
Choose either:
Cesium 3D Tiles (preferred)
Point Cloud (.las) (note: .las currently only supports preview in Birdi’s advanced viewer)
If the export results in a folder, zip it as described below.
Make sure the exported structure includes a tileset.json and a folder of tiles.
Other platforms
We recommend exporting in .3tz format or a folder containing tileset.json and 3D Tiles for compatibility with Birdi. If you're using another tool you may need to consult their user guides for assistance.
Pix4D does NOT currently support Cesium 3D Tiles export directly.
It outputs models as .obj, .las, or .laz, which are not yet supported for full 3D visualization in Birdi but coming soon.
For now, consider exporting from Pix4D into a format that can be converted to 3D Tiles using external tools like Cesium ion (note: separate account required).
Propeller exports point clouds (.las) and 3D mesh (.obj) formats, which are not yet supported for full 3D visualization in Birdi but coming soon.
Bentley Context Capture supports Cesium 3D Tiles export natively, Output: .3tz or folder with tileset.json and tiles which are Birdi-ready with no conversion needed
Platform | 3D Tiles Export | Upload to Birdi Directly | Notes |
Metashape | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Best compatibility |
DroneDeploy | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Native 3D Tiles |
ContextCapture | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Produces .3tz |
RealityCapture | ⚠️ With effort | ⚠️ After conversion | Needs Cesium tools |
Pix4D | ❌ No | ❌ Convert first | Use Cesium ion |
Propeller Aero | ❌ No | ❌ Convert first | Use Cesium ion |
OpenDroneMap | ❌ No | ❌ Convert first | Possible with .gltf export |
Cesium ion | N/A (converter) | ✅ Yes (as .3tz) | Great for post-processing |
Need help converting? We have put together a step-by-step guide to help you in Cesium: How to convert to Cesium 3D tiles if your platform doesn’t support It
How to manually zip your 3D model files
To upload your 3D model files as a zip, follow these steps for creating the zip file.
Make sure you include:
tileset.json
A folder containing your tiles (e.g., .b3dm or .pnts)
On Windows:
Select the tileset.json file and the folder containing your tiles.
Right-click → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder.
Rename your .zip as needed.
On Mac:
Select the tileset.json and tiles folder.
Right-click → Compress 2 items.
This will create an archive like Archive.zip — rename it if needed.
Need Help?
If you're unsure whether your 3D model is in the right format, or you're getting an upload error, contact our support team via in-app chat or at [email protected]. We’re happy to help!