Low Cost 3D Motion Capture of Rapid Maneuvers Using a Single High Speed Camera

Abstract

Motion capture options at a high rate, for example, kinematics of flying organisms, are limited. Inertial sensors or marker-based tracking are infeasible due to the mounting requirement. The advent of high-speed cameras being made available for commercial use has facilitated the discovery of intriguing high-rate behaviors. However, analyzing rapid kinematics in three dimensions necessitates using two or more high-speed cameras, which are specialized equipment and come at a significant expense. In this study, we utilize a conventional methodology of capturing synchronized multiple views using a solitary camera and a planar mirror. We introduce a user-friendly software package that facilitates the calibration of this economical setup, enabling the three-dimensional (3D) analysis of high-rate maneuvers and automatic tracking over long video sequences. Within ∼15 min, a single high-speed camera is calibrated and can be used to acquire 3D data. We accompany the toolbox with a detailed user guide and video tutorial ( https://tinyurl.com/yckm9y6b) for ease of use. We accurately reconstruct dense tracks for multiple high-rate maneuvers, including flying insect species (dragonfly, butterfly, and housefly), spinning coin, and rotating fan blades. We believe that our affordable setup will assist in gathering high-rate natural phenomena, leading to realistic and diverse simulations.