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 (ESSAY), a Japanese public research institution, has devised a new motion capture system that allows measuring objects in 3D using only a camera and a projector, without the need to place sensors on the subject or object.

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

“If you look carefully, you can see that each line is wavy. The 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 way at that moment”, they explain from the Japanese institute.

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

“For example, There has been research into using the body to control things like multimedia applications, virtual reality and games, and this system can be used as part of technologies of that type. Regarding applications, We believe that the data obtained by this measurement method could be used to analyze how athletes move.”, added from 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 constant change in the body in order to create precise movement.. AIST also say that they intend to be able to analyze the movement of an athlete from a great distance., For example, on the other side of a stadium.

A feature of this system is that while the patterns can be captured, 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 onto a very small area, it would be possible to measure shapes from microscope images.

Because this system is so precise and can capture more measurements than conventional motion capture systems, can be used in many different ways. “Currently, we have stopped at the stage of making measurements. But we are also thinking about how to use the measured data. We would like to work on applications to sports sciences 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 very far away, For example, the movements of an athlete in the center of a stadium. If we can do that, We think this method would be very useful for making 3D videos.”, conclude in the AIST.

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