Hi there,
I set up a 10 camera system and got really good calibration results. One cam was at calibration level "good", the others "great" or "excellent". Now if I try to capture some data, I'm seeing some flickering markers. From watching the camera views I can tell that the issue is not unwanted reflecting objects in the capture volume. The cameras see only the markers attached to the suit and nothing else. However, in the 3D view I can see markers disappearing from the suit and appearing in some weird places and also a lot of additional markers flickering on and off as the actor moves. When the actor stands still there is no flickering. Of course the skeleton is hardly every fitted right, most likely due to the disturbing (and the disappearing markers). How can I deal with this? What should I try to improve?
Thanks
Marcell
flickering points
Re: flickering points
My guess is the calibration itself.
When it comes to the wording in the calibration results, it can be misleading. Say for example � I have a setup, and I only move the wand in the very center of the capture volume, I can get great results (from the software), but the actual calibration will be incomplete, as the edges of the capture volume will not have been covered, and the cameras will not have taken that information into the equation.
Now if I run it again, making sure to get the wand across as much of the capture volume as possible, my rating from the software, may only appear as fair, or good, but will be more accurate as the calibration algorithm will have taken the entire volume into it�s calculations. Giving me better results, across the entire capture area.
When it comes to the wording in the calibration results, it can be misleading. Say for example � I have a setup, and I only move the wand in the very center of the capture volume, I can get great results (from the software), but the actual calibration will be incomplete, as the edges of the capture volume will not have been covered, and the cameras will not have taken that information into the equation.
Now if I run it again, making sure to get the wand across as much of the capture volume as possible, my rating from the software, may only appear as fair, or good, but will be more accurate as the calibration algorithm will have taken the entire volume into it�s calculations. Giving me better results, across the entire capture area.
Re: flickering points
Hi Vincent,
I repeated the calibration process just now. I centered all cameras on a fix point in the middle of the capture volume as exactly as I could. Then I tried to fill the volume with the wand and I think it went well. At the end the screens of all ten cameras were mostly covered in green except for some corners. I took 300 data points for calibration. The results were not as good this time, but everything at least "good". The flickering is still occurring.
I prepared a demo. Do you think you can download it http://marcell.missura.de/flickerdemo.zip and take a look at it and see if you can see something wrong with my setup? The file includes a camera calibration file, the calibration wand data I used and a 10 seconds capture of me walking through the volume wearing the hat and the jacket only. There are no markers disappearing, but you can see points flickering around me.
I'm using Arena 1.3.0035 on WinXp. The cams are set up similar to the recommended truss setup on a 13' by 13' ground area. Most of the cams are mounted on the ceiling 8,5' high. Three of them are mounted 4' high.
Thanks a lot
Marcell
I repeated the calibration process just now. I centered all cameras on a fix point in the middle of the capture volume as exactly as I could. Then I tried to fill the volume with the wand and I think it went well. At the end the screens of all ten cameras were mostly covered in green except for some corners. I took 300 data points for calibration. The results were not as good this time, but everything at least "good". The flickering is still occurring.
I prepared a demo. Do you think you can download it http://marcell.missura.de/flickerdemo.zip and take a look at it and see if you can see something wrong with my setup? The file includes a camera calibration file, the calibration wand data I used and a 10 seconds capture of me walking through the volume wearing the hat and the jacket only. There are no markers disappearing, but you can see points flickering around me.
I'm using Arena 1.3.0035 on WinXp. The cams are set up similar to the recommended truss setup on a 13' by 13' ground area. Most of the cams are mounted on the ceiling 8,5' high. Three of them are mounted 4' high.
Thanks a lot
Marcell
Re: flickering points
OK, I will show it to the development team, but something to try....
For the lower cameras - try setting them up slightly, then pointing them towards the center marker, to try and eliminate them from seeing the other camera LEDs.
Also try rotating the cameras 90 degrees, the lower ones
For the lower cameras - try setting them up slightly, then pointing them towards the center marker, to try and eliminate them from seeing the other camera LEDs.
Also try rotating the cameras 90 degrees, the lower ones
Re: flickering points
I found the cause of the flickering points, there is no need to trouble anyone. Some of our cameras were not mounted firmly enough, they were sort of "swinging" off the ceiling (not visible to the naked eye). We mounted them really firmly and the flickering completely disappeared. Now it works like a charm! Thanks for the support and a great product.