Marker Tracking Setup
To create a reflective marker tracking configuration, follow the steps described below
From the “Trackings” tab, select “Add Tracking Configuration”
Select “Reflective Markers” and choose a title and select your currently used calibration.
If you have not added your current camera and lens yet, please do this before proceeding with creating your Tracking configuration.
Either
- Cancel, to revert and not create a new tracking configuration
- Save, to create the tracking configuration but not activate it
- Save and activate, to create the tracking configuration and make it active
Once on the dashboard, you will be advised of the remaining steps that must be completed, these can be reached directly from the blue notification area or alternatively from the “Reflective Marker” side panel
This step is intended to ensure that reflective markers are placed correctly to ensure a good quality tracking result.
Before beginning to place markers ensure that the CamBar is angled so that it is perpendicular to the surface that the markers are being placed on. It is also recommended to apply the IR filter to the CamBar.
The user interface will display a grid pattern, aim to place at least two markers in each grid square
When a marker is detected, this will be indicated by a red dot. The grid containing the marker will turn orange when one marker is detected and green when two or more markers are detected.
If no markers are being detected, adjust the IR strength value to ensure that sufficient IR light is being emitted. Additionally, the Gain and Exposure can be adjusted to further improve the detection of markers if necessary
It is recommended that the IR filter is applied to the CamBar during this phase.
Continue applying markers until at least 70% of the pattern is filled, this is indicated by the “marker coverage” at the bottom of the UI
Coverage values lower than 70% can work but are more likely to produce poor results.
Once the current view is covered, move the camera to a new part of the environment and continue placing markers. Repeat this process until all areas of the environment that the camera is required to operate in are adequately covered.
Press “Next: Learn Marker Pattern” to proceed to the next step
The system will now learn all the markers that have been placed in the environment and save them so that the system can easily locate itself while being operated in the space. It is recommended that the IR CamBar filter is applied before learning the markers.
The UI will display a view from the CamBar. Markers that are currently detected will be shown with a red dot in the CamBar view. Markers that have been learnt and added to the pointcloud will be represented by a green dot.
For optimal results it is recommended to adjust the “Marker range” parameter so that the markers are closely sandwiched between the minimum and maximum distance. This can help minimise the detection of incorrect features
Proceed to move the camera around the environment ensuring that all previously placed markers are successfully learnt. Ensure that the CamBar view is not occluded when moving around the environment, and if tracking is lost then return to a previously learnt area before continuing again.
Once all markers have been detected, select “Done” to proceed to the Dashboard. This completes the placement and learning of tracking markers.
After completing the Learn Phase, the system will not detect any new markers or markers that were not seen during the learning phase. Before completing this stage, please ensure that all (or enough) markers have been successfully added to the pointcloud. It is possible to add more markers to a configuration later, for details on how to do this please see the “Adding more markers at a later time” section.