Set up Vicon cameras

To configure Vicon cameras for optical data capture:

1. From the view pane tool bar, select Camera. The 2D data being captured by each Vicon camera selected in the Resources pane in the System list is shown in a separate Camera view pane.

2. View your capture volume in either of the following ways:

   • In the Options dialog box, under the General View Options section, select the Target Volume option. In the Camera view pane tool bar, from the View drop-down list, select 3D Overlay. A virtual representation of your target volume is overlaid on the 2D data from the camera image.
   • In the capture volume, place a selection of static markers on the floor to roughly outline your target capture volume.
3. In the System list in the Resources pane, select the Vicon camera node whose properties you want to configure.
4. In the Properties pane, view or change settings for the relevant properties. When you first set up your Vicon system, you must configure at least the following properties in the order shown. See the Properties table below.
5. When you have finished adjusting the Vicon Camera properties, in the Settings area, ensure that Grayscale Mode is set to Auto.

6. At the top of the System tab, click the Save current configuration button to save your system configuration settings to a .system file in one of the following folders:

   • If you select Shared the file will be saved in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Vicon\Tracker3.x\Configurations\Systems
   • If you select Private it will be saved in C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Vicon\Tracker3.x\Configurations\Systems

Check camera lens focus

You can check the image of the markers from the camera you are focusing in real time.

To check camera focus:

1. In the View pane, select the Camera view type.

   

2. In the Resources pane, ensure Live mode is activated (ie that Go Offline is displayed).
3. On the System tab, expand the ViconCameras node and select the required camera.
4. In the Properties pane at the bottom of the System Resources tab, go to the Settings section and set Grayscale Mode to All.
5. Right-click and drag in the Camera view pane to zoom in on the target marker pair.
6. If the image of the markers is not bright enough to allow confidence in the level of focus achieved, increase the intensity of the grayscale from the camera. To do this, in the Properties pane, ensure Advanced properties are displayed and in the Settings section, increase the value for Gain to a level above x1.
7. In the Camera view pane, observe the sharpness of the image of the markers.
8. After focusing the lens, return Tracker to its default capture settings. In the Properties pane at the bottom of the System Resources tab, set Grayscale Mode to Auto.

Check camera aim and field of view

You can check the aim and field of view of a camera in real time by switching the camera into Preview mode. This mode displays a video image from the optical sensor of Vicon cameras that offer this option.

To use Preview mode:

1. In the View pane, select the Camera view type (see Step 1 in Check camera lens focus).
2. On the System tab, right-click onVicon Cameras and selectEnable Preview Mode.

3. Select any camera from the list.

   If you select multiple cameras, only the first camera in the selection displays a preview.

If the preview image is dark:

• In the Camera properties, make sure that Enable Strobe 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.

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

• Valkyrie cameras support Preview mode from 30–900Hz. At frame rates above a Valkyrie camera's full frame rate (see Tracker 3.10 new features and functions), Preview mode uses windowing to display the same field of view as optical mode.
• Vantage and Vero cameras support Preview mode from 30–60Hz. At frame rates above this, an image may be displayed but this has not been tested. Vantage and Vero do not use windowing.

Properties table