Tracker is part of the fully integrated and expandable Vicon system that lets you build an architecture best suited to your motion capture application.
It is assumed that your Tracker system hardware components are connected to a power supply, and that Tracker is installed and licensed.
If you're installing your Tracker system yourself, see any Vicon documentation that was supplied with your hardware and Installing and licensing Vicon Tracker. If you need further help, please contact Vicon Support.
In the following topology diagram, Tracker is installed on the host PC.
For further examples of Vicon system topology, see Vicon system configuration and connection examples. |
For further examples of Vicon system topology, see Vicon system configuration and connection examples in the Setup & Connectivity documentation. |
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The following diagram shows an example of a Tracker system with up to 80 Vicon Valkyrie cameras and a Vicon Lock Lab for connecting analog devices.
In a system that requires more than one Ethernet switch:
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Remember that, when you connect switches, one port is taken on each switch in connecting the two, as shown in the above example.
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You can include the following components in a Vicon Tracker system architecture:
Component | Description |
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Valkyrie cameras | Valkyrie cameras (VK26, VK16 and VK8) can be used with Tracker 4.1 and later. You can use Valkyrie cameras with Vero, Vantage, and Viper (including ViperX) cameras in systems running Tracker 4.1 and later. See also the Vicon Valkyrie documentation. |
Vicon Viper and ViperX cameras | Viper cameras and ViperX cameras can be used with Tracker 4.1. You can use Viper and ViperX cameras in systems running Tracker 3.8 and later. See also the Viper documentation, Connect cameras and Configure Vicon cameras. |
Vicon Vero cameras | Vicon Vero cameras (v1.3 and v2.2) can be used with Tracker 4.1. You can use Vicon Vero cameras in Vicon Valkyrie and Vantage systems. See also the Vero documentation, Connect cameras and Configure Vicon cameras. |
Vicon Vantage cameras | Vantage cameras (V16, V8, and V5) can be used with Tracker 4.1. See also the Vicon Vantage documentation, Connect cameras and Configure Vicon cameras. |
Vicon connectivity units | Vicon Lock devices facilitate the integration of synchronous third-party equipment with Vicon cameras by providing or receiving synchronization and/or timecode. Lock Lab also provides connectivity for third-party analog capture sources, such as force plates and EMG equipment. Connect to a PoE switch to which the host PC is connected. Vicon Lock Lab and Vicon Lock Studio are RoHS-compliant. See also Configure Vicon connectivity devices and Configure analog devices. |
Switches | Switches obtained from Vicon that may provide PoE, PoE+, UPoE, and SFP+ connectivity |
Host PC | The main PC in the Vicon system, with at least one dedicated Ethernet port to enable Vicon system communications (in addition to any other network ports on the PC). Vicon Tracker application software is installed on this PC. Remote PCs may be used for other Vicon application software or third-party applications connected to the host PC via Ethernet. |
Vicon cables | Proprietary Vicon cables plus commercially available Ethernet cables and transceivers connect Vicon system components, providing a combination of power, Ethernet communication, synchronization signals, and data. |
Vicon calibration device | Specialized device used to accurately calibrate the Vicon system. See also Calibrating Vicon cameras. |
Vicon accessories | Supplies for the Vicon system, including markers, tape, and Velcro. |
Vicon engineering software | Vicon Tracker software, DataStream SDK and Vicon Virtual System. |
Analog devices | Your Vicon system may also include one or more analog devices, such as LVDTs, accelerometers, and load cells. See also Configure analog devices. |
For further details of these components, see the Vicon Systems Setup Guide in the Setup & Connectivity documentation.
Vicon Tracker checks for supported Vicon devices before allowing connection. If your system contains non-supported devices, when you start Tracker, it displays a message alerting you to the incompatibility and asks you to disconnect incompatible devices.
Before you begin, ensure that:
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To connect cameras into your Vicon system, you must specify the correct IP address for the network port that is connected to the PoE switch.
For legacy videos that show you how to mount your cameras, see the Installation tutorials in the Tracker 3 Tutorials playlist on YouTube.
To connect the cameras:
For more information, see also Configuring network card settings.
When you install Tracker, a Vicon Tracker shortcut appears on your Windows desktop (and an entry is added to the Windows Start menu).
Depending on the options selected during installation, you may also see an icon for Vicon Firmware Manager.
To start Tracker:
Ensure the System panel is visible.
Tip: If you can't see the System panel, one way to display it is to select the Default view.
To do this, on the right of the menu bar, click View Settings and then select Default.
From this panel, you monitor and control devices connected to the software.
When you first start Tracker, you may see a warning icon on the right side of the menu bar, like this:
This icon indicates that the current power plan is set to favor power savings over performance. The power-saving features of Windows can significantly reduce Tracker's performance and increase output latency, depending on the power plan that is chosen and the processor support for power-saving features.
For more information and access to the Power Options in the Windows Control Panel, click the icon.
For best performance, choose the High performance plan (or a plan created from the High Performance plan).
When you have finished setting up your system, you can save your current settings so that you can re-use them in future. The settings that are saved include all device settings, system-wide settings (eg, frame rate), as well as processing parameters.
To save your current Tracker settings:
On the right of the Tracker menu bar, click System Settingsand then select Manage.
The next time you need to reload your settings, you can select the saved configuration by clicking System Settings again and selecting your saved configuration.
Objects define a pattern of markers that Tracker can locate from camera centroid detections.
To enable tracking of objects, you must create objects in Tracker for each physical object that you want to track.
For more information, see Work with objects.