Check the coverage of the capture volume

After you have positioned cameras and markers in the capture volume (see Position the cameras and markers), the next task is to ensure that the cameras can see the whole of the volume.

1. Ensure your cameras are physically connected to the system (for details, see the hardware documentation supplied with your Vicon system).
2. Switch on your Vicon system and start Vicon Shogun Live.
3. In the System panel (by default located on the left of the Shogun Live window), click the Vicon Cameras heading to select all the cameras.

4. In the Workspace ensure that the Cameras view is selected.

   

5. Keeping all the cameras selected, in the Optical Setup section below, change Grayscale Mode to All.

   

6. Using the default lens settings on each camera, ensure that:
   
   • You can see 2D marker images from each connected optical camera.
   • Two or more cameras can see every point in the volume in which you intend to capture motion.

To take advantage of Vicon cameras' features that help you to position and aim your cameras and get your volume ready for capture, see the following topics.

For information on adjusting the camera lens to give the optimum marker images, see Adjust the focus and aperture.

Use Video Preview mode

To make it easier to orient yourself in the Cameras view, you can check the aim and field of view of a camera in real time by switching the camera into Video Preview mode. This mode displays a video image from the optical sensor of Vicon cameras that offer this option (Valkyrie cameras support Video Preview mode at higher frame rates than other supported cameras: see Video Preview Mode frame rates). All other camera views and parameters are inactive.

1. In the Workspace, select the Cameras view.

2. In the System panel, in the Vicon Cameras list, right-click a camera and select Video Preview Mode > Video Preview Mode.

   

   The camera view changes to Video Preview mode and the camera begins shipping video data. Video Preview Active is displayed in the menu bar:

   

   If you selected multiple cameras, only the last camera in the selection displays a preview.

3. To turn off Video Preview mode:

   • In the menu bar, select the X next to Video Preview Active.

     

   • Right-click any camera in the list and select Video Preview Mode > Exit Preview Mode.

If the preview image is dark:

• In the System panel, make sure that Enable Strobes is selected.
• Use external lights to illuminate your volume.
• Open the aperture.
  When you have finished checking the camera aim and field of view, be sure to set the aperture back to its original value.

Video Preview Mode frame rates

All supported cameras can use Video Preview mode but their performance is dependent on frame rate:

• Valkyrie cameras support Video Preview mode from 30–900Hz. At frame rates above a Valkyrie camera's full frame rate (see Compare Range towards the bottom of the Vicon Valkyrie web page), Video Preview mode uses windowing to display the same field of view as optical mode.
• Vantage and Vero cameras support Video Preview mode from 30–60Hz. At frame rates above this, an image may be displayed but this has not been tested.Vantageand Vero do not use windowing in Video Preview mode.

Use Tap-to-Select

Supported Vicon cameras (Valkyrie and Vantage) provide a Tap-to-Select feature, which enables you to lightly tap the camera in the volume to select it (and deselect the other cameras). Enable Tap to Select is on by default.

To turn Tap to Select off or on:

1. In the System panel, ensure the advanced settings are displayed.

2. Clear or select Enable Tap-to-Select.

   If you tap a calibrated camera too hard, the camera may be reported as 'bumped' (that is, it may be displayed with an additional red icon in the Vicon Cameras list and the status lights on the affected Valkyrie camera flash blue).

   If this is a frequent occurrence, you can change its sensitivity to being tapped by reducing the Bump Sensitivity.

For information on removing a camera's bumped status and changing Bump Sensitivity, see Use bump detection and display.

Use bump detection and display

In addition to the Tap to Select feature (see Use Tap-to-Select), Vicon cameras that offer this feature (Vantage and Valkyrie) also provide bump detection.

Bump detection works on calibrated cameras to alert you when they have moved from their calibrated positions. If a calibrated camera is accidentally knocked, the camera's icon changes to red in the Vicon Cameras list and the status lights on the affected Valkyrie camera flash blue.

To change the sensitivity of the accelerometer:

1. In the Vicon Cameras list, select the required camera.
2. In the camera's properties, go to the Accelerometer section and select a different option in the Bump Sensitivity menu.

For information on what action (if any) you need to take to remedy a bumped camera, see Fix bumped cameras in Getting started with Vicon Shogun.

Note the following limitations of Valkyrie bump detection:

• Bump detection is active only on calibrated cameras.
• Bump detection cannot detect movement that does not change the local gravity vector, for example. slow translation with no rotation; rotation about the G-vector.
• Bump detection cannot detect movements that occur when the camera is not connected to a live system.
• The camera is detected as bumped when the reading from the accelerometer is sufficiently different from the last reading that was sent. Therefore gradual changes (for example, a slipping camera mount) may not be detected until they are large enough to trigger a new notification.

Monitor camera temperature

Significant changes in camera temperature can have small effects on the camera's lens. Camera calibrations take into account lens intrinsics. Changes in these intrinsic properties can have small impacts on overall data quality. However, note that large temperature changes generally result in only very small data effects. Temperature monitoring is made available to optimize calibration-to-collection consistency.

Vicon Valkyrie and Vantage cameras have onboard temperature sensors. These onboard temperature sensors enable you to determine when cameras have reached a stable temperature from a cold start and to observe any change in camera temperature (possibly associated with environmental changes).

To view the data for the onboard sensors:

1. In the System panel, ensure the required camera is selected.
2. In the selected camera'sproperties, go to the Temperature section and view the temperature information.

A numeric indicator (in degrees Celsius) is displayed for each of the sensors.