They develop a system that can measure objects in 3D with just a camera and a projector

A team from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), A Japanese public research institution, has devised a new motion capture system that allows you to measure objects in 3D using only a camera and a projector, No need to place sensors on the subject or object.

A group of AIST has developed a technology for the measurement of objects in 3D, using only a camera and a projector. With this new method, The pattern light is projected onto the object, and the standard images captured by the camera are processed to measure their shape in 3D. Because the 3D shape can be measured from a single image, This method can also be used with a high-speed camera..

“If you look closely, You can see that every line is wavy. Wavy line patterns have been carefully designed, so the pattern from the projector can be recognized from the camera image. This makes it possible to use the projector and camera for triangulation, so that we can know the form at that moment”, They explain from the Japanese Institute.

This method provides more measurement positions than conventional motion capture. So, can measure wrinkles on clothing, or very precise details of the hand. The method is accurate, with a tolerance of only 1-2 Mm. Like this, It is expected to be useful in fields where shapes could not be measured before because they changed too quickly..

“For example, Research has been done on using the body to control things like multimedia apps., Virtual reality and gaming, And this system can be used as part of such technologies.. As for the applications, We believe that the data obtained by this measurement method could be used to analyze how athletes move.”, add from the AIST.

Moving objects

The system is perfect for capturing any moving or rapidly changing object, What no other system can currently do. So it's perfect for devices like Kinect that need to measure the constant change in the body in order to create precise movement.. AIST also say they intend it to be able to analyze an athlete's movement from a great distance., For example, Across a stadium.

A characteristic of this system is that as long as the patterns can be captured, It can also be applied to different devices. For example, If a stereo microscope is used it is used to create a system that projects patterns over a very small area., It would be possible to measure image shapes of the microscope.

How this system is so accurate and can capture more measurements than conventional motion capture systems, can be used in many different ways. “Today, We have stopped at the stage of making the measurements. But we're also thinking about how to use the measured data.. We would like to work on applications to sports science and materials analysis. We would also like to increase the variety of things that can be measured.. We believe this method could be used to determine how much buildings move in an earthquake.. In the future, We hope it will be possible to measure from far away, For example, The movements of an athlete in the center of a stadium. If we can do that, we thought this method would be very useful to make 3D videos”, conclude at AIST.

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