Active LED Marker question

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Hamsterboy
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:18 am

Active LED Marker question

Post by Hamsterboy »

Hi All
My first time here so please be gentle... also I hope I can make this as clear as possible.
My company works in digital optics and bought an Optitrack system 2 years ago which I have been using for acquisitions.
We have 3 Prime 17W cameras, eSync, markers on a hat etc.
We have the system on a custom rig placed in a corner where there is light coming in through a window both in front and from the side.
This all worked fine until another office in another european city got the same system and set it up the same way.
This other location gets a lot more sunlight than we do here and the result was that in sunlight, the marker spheres seem to scatter reflections everywhere, causing the data we stream from from Motive to jump wildly.....see video here https://photos.app.goo.gl/B9Z2711jHa46qNCo2
We're wondering would active LED markers solve this problem, though they are expensive. Maybe one of you have come up against this problem before and maybe has a solution

Any help would be really apppriciated

HB
steven.andrews
NaturalPoint Employee
NaturalPoint Employee
Posts: 737
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:52 am

Re: Active LED Marker question

Post by steven.andrews »

Hello HB,

Thank you for reaching out to the community regarding your questions.

The nice thing about the 17W is that you have access to the aperture on the lens. You can change this to let less light into the camera. I would put the rigid body in the sunlight, then adjust the aperture to see if it is possible to reduce the light noise from the sun without losing tracking.

Active markers may be able to help in this situation. Since the active markers tend to be very bright, they often allow you to reduce the light received by the cameras without losing tracking on the markers. In general, when trying to compensate for direct sunlight we tend to cut the range of the cameras in half. Blocking out the sunlight would usually provide the best results if you are indoors.

Best,
Steven
--
Steven Andrews
OptiTrack | Senior Customer Support Engineer
help.naturalpoint.com
support@optitrack.com
Hamsterboy
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:18 am

Re: Active LED Marker question

Post by Hamsterboy »

Hey Steven
Thanks for the reply.
I will try changing the aparture on the cameras and see does it help....Amazingly we actually have sunlight here today in Galway so I'll let ye know :)

Cheers

HB
Hamsterboy
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:18 am

Re: Active LED Marker question

Post by Hamsterboy »

Hey Again
I have just become a legend in 2 offices thanks to your suggestion :)
Owe you a beer man!

Thanks for everything

HB
steven.andrews
NaturalPoint Employee
NaturalPoint Employee
Posts: 737
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:52 am

Re: Active LED Marker question

Post by steven.andrews »

Great! I am glad you were able to make this work.

If you ever need assistance, feel free to reach out to us directly

Cheers,
Steven
--
Steven Andrews
OptiTrack | Senior Customer Support Engineer
help.naturalpoint.com
support@optitrack.com
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