Hybrid Motion Capture System for Drift Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motion capture systems face challenges in accurately capturing and re-targeting actor movements, especially when camera placement is difficult or impossible due to set constraints, leading to issues with absolute position tracking and drift in inertial systems, which affects the alignment of actors on digital sets.
Innovation Solution
A combined motion capture system that integrates optical, infrared, and inertial motion capture technologies with electro-oculography, using modules for input management, cleaning, labeling, and re-targeting to manage and combine sensory data from various sources, including 3-D and 2-D data points, to produce accurate animations for digital characters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If inertial motion capture is used, then camera placement constraints are overcome, but absolute position tracking accuracy deteriorates due to drift
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines inertial motion capture data with optical motion capture data from multiple cameras to create a hybrid system. The optical system provides absolute position references that correct the drift in inertial data, while the inertial system fills gaps when optical tracking is unavailable due to camera placement constraints. This merging resolves the contradiction by achieving both camera placement flexibility and absolute position accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that fuses data from inertial sensors and optical cameras. This intermediary layer reconciles the drift-prone inertial data with the absolute position data from optical tracking, producing corrected position information that maintains accuracy while allowing flexible camera placement.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensory inputs are combined, then data accuracy and completeness improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the motion capture system into separate functional modules: inertial sensor units attached to actors, optical camera systems positioned around the capture volume, and a central processing system that receives and integrates data from both sources. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall system accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal processing framework that can handle multiple types of sensory inputs (inertial data, optical data, electro-oculography data) through a single integrated system. This multi-functional approach improves measurement precision by combining data sources while managing complexity through a unified processing architecture.
3Measurement precision
If optical motion capture is used, then absolute position tracking is accurate, but camera placement becomes constrained by set requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges optical motion capture with inertial motion capture to resolve the placement constraint issue. When optical cameras cannot be positioned ideally due to set constraints, the inertial sensors continue to provide motion data independently of camera placement, while still being corrected by available optical references when possible.
Solution Approach 2:
The inertial sensors attached to actors perform self-service by providing motion tracking data independently of external camera placement. This allows the system to maintain functionality and partial accuracy even when optical cameras cannot be optimally positioned due to set constraints.
Data Source
AI summary
Animating digital characters based on motion captured performances, including: receiving sensory data collected using a variety of collection techniques including optical video, electro-oculography, and at least one of optical, infrared, and inertial motion capture; and managing and combining the collected sensory data to aid cleaning, tracking, labeling, and re-targeting processes. Keywords include Optical Video Data and Inertial Motion Capture.