Multi-View Hybrid Motion Capture System Using Spatial-Temporal Coherence

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional methods for capturing high-speed motion from multiple viewpoints are expensive and resource-intensive, limiting the number of viewpoints due to high bandwidth and hardware costs, as well as image quality issues with traditional high-speed cameras.

Innovation Solution

A multi-view hybrid system that combines a few high-speed cameras with multiple regular-speed cameras, using spatial-temporal coherence to align and synthesize image frames, creating a 3D model and generating high-speed motion analysis from virtual viewpoints, thereby reducing costs and enhancing image quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If multiple high-speed cameras are used to capture high-speed motion from multiple viewpoints, then the number of viewpoints and image quality are improved, but hardware cost and bandwidth cost increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage qualityVSAvoidhardware cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the camera array into two functional groups: high-speed cameras (capturing at 1000fps) and regular-speed cameras (capturing at 30fps). This segmentation allows the high-speed cameras to focus on capturing temporal dynamics while regular-speed cameras provide spatial coverage, reducing the total number of expensive high-speed cameras needed while maintaining multi-viewpoint capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates virtual copies of high-speed viewpoints by synthesizing images from regular-speed camera data using 3D reconstruction and view synthesis algorithms. This allows the system to emulate multiple high-speed viewpoints without physically deploying multiple expensive high-speed cameras, significantly reducing hardware costs

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple high-speed cameras are used to capture high-speed motion from multiple viewpoints, then the number of viewpoints is improved, but bandwidth cost increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of viewpointsVSAvoidbandwidth cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments video data processing into two streams: high-speed cameras generate sparse temporal data at low resolution, while regular-speed cameras generate dense spatial data at low frame rate. This segmentation reduces total bandwidth requirements compared to using only high-speed cameras for all viewpoints

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Virtual high-speed viewpoints are synthesized from regular-speed camera data through 3D reconstruction and image synthesis, eliminating the need to transmit and store multiple actual high-speed video streams. This significantly reduces bandwidth consumption while maintaining the ability to generate multiple viewpoints on demand

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Device complexity

If regular-speed cameras are used in a stagger fashion to emulate high-speed cameras, then hardware cost is reduced, but the system is limited to single viewpoint emulation and requires expensive special hardware control

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehardware costVSAvoidviewpoint limitation
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses segmentation to assign different functional roles to cameras based on their speed capabilities, allowing regular-speed cameras to contribute to multi-viewpoint reconstruction without requiring millisecond-level synchronization hardware, as they capture spatial information rather than temporal sequences

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system transitions from temporal emulation (staggered shutter timing) to spatial reconstruction (3D geometry-based view synthesis). By using 3D key frame reconstruction and projecting onto virtual camera positions, the system achieves multi-viewpoint capability without requiring temporal synchronization of regular-speed cameras

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Speed

If high-speed cameras are used to capture high-speed motion, then frame rate is improved, but image quality deteriorates due to limited exposure time

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveframe rateVSAvoidimage quality
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges data from high-speed cameras (providing temporal information) and regular-speed cameras (providing spatial and quality information) through 3D reconstruction. This combination allows the final synthesized images to achieve both high frame rate and high image quality by leveraging the strengths of each camera type

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3216216B1Methods and systems for multi-view high-speed motion capture
Publication Date: 2019.01.09 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3216216B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3216216B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3216216B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Systems and methods that facilitate an efficient and effective multi-view hybrid system for high-speed motion analysis are presented. The multi-view hybrid system can include a mix of relatively few high-speed cameras (e.g., 1000fps, etc. ) and a greater number of regular-speed cameras (e.g., 30fps, etc. ) that are utilized to provide more high speed views than high speed cameras included in the system. The new multi-view hybrid approach exploits spatial-temporal coherence in sampled images from both the regular-speed cameras and high-speed cameras to increase the number of high speed motion viewpoints. In one embodiment, the high-speed motion captured from one or a few high-speed cameras is "transferred"to other viewpoints to create a set of virtual high-speed camera viewpoints that provide the ability to obtain high-speed motion information (e.g., synthesized image frame sequences) from multiple viewpoints in addition to viewpoints of the physical high speed cameras in the system.