Compatibility with Vicon Vantage systems

The latest version of Tracker is compatible with the Vicon Vantage range of cameras and hardware, enabling you to benefit from the power and usability of the new system.

Vicon Vantage includes three camera models, beginning with the V5, which offers up to 420 fps with 5 megapixel resolution, the V8 at up to 270 fps with 8 meegapixel resolution and the V16, which can provide up to 120 fps with 16 megapixel resolution.

In addition, all three models offer:

• A front-facing OLED display as well as side-mounted status lights, which give clearly visible camera ID information and system feedback. For more information, see New camera status LEDs and OLED display.
• An accelerometer, which enables you to select a camera in the volume simply by tapping it, and which monitors the camera position to alert you if any cameras are accidentally knocked or moved from their intended positions. For more information, see New Tap to Select feature and New bump detection and display.
• Thermal sensors, which monitor camera temperature levels so that you are warned of any changes in temperature that could affect the system status. For more information, see New temperature sensor display.

With a new Vicon-provided PoE+ switch, you can connect up to 12 Vicon Vantage cameras to the Vicon Vantage host PC. The system can be expanded to add more cameras or additional hardware by connecting further PoE+ switches.

For synchronization to third-party devices and timecode, together with connections for analog devices, you can add a Vicon Lock unit (see Compatibility with Vicon Lock+).

For more information on Vicon Vantage systems, see the Vicon Vantage Quick Start Guide and the Vicon Vantage Reference.

New camera status LEDs and OLED display

• Location: Camera's Properties pane > Settings section.

  

To help you monitor the status of Vicon Vantage cameras, the cameras include status LEDs and an OLED display:

• Two pairs of tri-color LEDS provide feedback on camera operation, one pair on either side of the camera, and the second pair on either side of the strobe.
• The display on the front of the Vicon Vantage strobe, combined with the status LEDs' color, gives information about the current camera status.

Under normal conditions (unless a connected application changes the display, and unless the display has been disabled in Tracker), the display changes to reflect the camera status.

To change the display of Vicon Vantage camera status information:

1. In the System Resources list, select a camera (or all cameras).

2. In the Settings section of the Properties pane, select or clear Enable LEDs and/or Enable Display.

   With Enable LEDs and Enable Display selected, while the camera is booting, the OLED display shows the Vicon logo and the status LED color changes from yellow during booting, to red when booting is complete.

   When the cameras are communicating with Tracker, the status LEDs turn blue.

The display changes to reflect the camera's status, giving information about camera status, for example when the camera has finished booting, its calibration status, and whether it has been moved since calibration.

When Enable Display is cleared, the display is blank.

When Enable Accelerometry is selected (see New bump detection and display), the image on the display rotates based on the orientation of the camera.

After the camera has booted, you can check the cameras' status by observing the status LEDs and the OLED display on each camera. You can also monitor the camera status in Tracker.

For more information about the status LEDs, see the Vicon Vantage Reference.

New Tap to Select feature

• Location: Camera's Properties pane > Settings section.

  

Vicon Vantage cameras 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 Resources list, select the required camera.
2. In the Properties pane, go to the Settings section and clear or select Enable Tap to Select.

Note that when Enable Accelerometry is selected, if you tap a calibrated camera too hard, the camera is reported as 'bumped' (that is, its status LEDs and OLED display (if enabled) indicate that it is a bumped camera).

You can remove the camera's bumped status in Tracker. If this is a frequent occurrence, you can change its sensitivity to being tapped by reducing the Bump Detection Sensitivity.

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

New bump detection and display

• Location: Camera's Properties pane > Settings section and Camera's Properties pane > Status section
  

In addition to the Tap to Select feature (see above), Vicon Vantage cameras also provide bump detection.

When Enable Accelerometry is selected, (its default state) bump detection works on calibrated cameras to alert you when they have moved from their calibrated positions. (This setting also turns on or off the auto-rotation of the display on Vantage cameras.)

To turn bump detection off or on:

1. In the System Resources pane, select a camera (or all cameras).

2. In the Properties pane, expand the Settings section and clear or select Enable Accelerometry.

   When Enable Accelerometry is selected, if a calibrated camera is accidentally knocked, its display changes.

   

   In Tracker, the camera's Bumped check box (in its Status properties) displays a check mark.

To change the sensitivity of the accelerometer:

1. In the System Resources list, select the required camera.
2. In the Properties pane, go to the Status section and select a different option in the Bump Detection Sensitivity pull-down.

To clear a camera's Bumped status:

For a single camera:

1. In the System Resources list, select the bumped camera.
2. In the Status section of the Properties pane, clear the Bumped check box.

For all cameras:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+B

Note the following limitations:

• 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.

New temperature sensor display

• Location: Camera's Properties pane > Hardware section > Strobe Temp, Camera Body Temp 1 and Camera Body Temp 2

  

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 Vantage cameras have on-board 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).

The data for the onboard sensors is displayed in the Hardware section. A numeric indicator (in degrees Celsius) and a colored temperature indicator is displayed for each of the sensors. The color of the indicator changes to reflect a change in temperature: yellow (warming up to the temperature specified by the lower bounds), green (between the specified upper and lower bounds) or red (overheated above the upper bounds).

Because Vicon motion capture cameras are used in a wide variety of environments, a stable camera temperature will be different for different users. The Camera Temperature Range option enables you to set values that are representative of your laboratory environment.

You can change the upper and lower bounds of the temperature range in the Options dialog box (F7).

Compatibility with ViconLock+

Tracker 3.1 is compatible with Vicon Lock+, a new Vicon connectivity device that facilitates the integration of synchronous third-party equipment with Vicon Vantage and Vicon Bonita cameras by providing or receiving synchronization and/or timecode.

It also provides connectivity for third-party analog capture sources, such as force plates, EMG equipment, and generic devices.

When a Lock+ is connected into a compatible Vicon system, it appears in the System Resources list in the same way as other Vicon connectivity devices.

To access its properties and settings, in the System Resources list, click the name of the Lock+ device.

You can then access its controls in the System Resources list.

For information on connecting a Vicon Lock+ into a Vicon camera system, see the Vicon Lock+ Quick Start Guide and the relevant specification sheet.

Compatibility with ViconControl

With the latest version of Tracker, you can use the Vicon Control app, currently available on iOS 8 devices, to set up, calibrate, and capture with a Vicon Vantage, T-Series or Bonita system.

Control connects wirelessly to Vicon Tracker and streams camera data to your mobile or tablet, enabling a single user to change camera settings, calibrate the system, and start or stop capture from anywhere in the volume.

Vicon Control features include:

• The ability to change camera settings, calibrate, and start and stop capture with its intuitive single-handed dial

  

• View adjustments to the aperture and focus settings by selecting the camera from Control
• Select a Vantage camera and display it automatically using Tap to Select

Note that Vicon Control is compatible with the following devices:

• Phone 5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6+
• iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, and iPad 3

Connect Vicon Control

Before you can use your iOS device with Tracker, you must pair it with the PC that is running Tracker (the Vicon host PC).

To connect an iOS device running the Vicon Control app to Tracker on a Vicon host PC:

1. Ensure that your iOS device is connected to a Wifi access point that is on the same subnet as the Vicon host PC.

2. On the Vicon host PC, ensure that the required connection is used, that Tracker is running, and the system is connected.

   

3. On the device, open the Vicon Control app.The connection to Tracker is displayed on the initial Control screen:

   

4. Tap the Tracker icon.You are alerted that you must authorize the connection on the Vicon host PC before you can continue.In Tracker on the Vicon host PC, an authorization request is displayed:

   

5. To use the same connection in future, select Remember this choice for future connection attempts. To let Control access Tracker, click Allow.

   Tip: If later you need to revoke authorizations for Vicon Control, on the Window menu in Tracker, click Reset Control Authorization. This revokes all stored authorizations.

   On the iOS device, a screen similar to the following is displayed:

   

6. To select a camera and display a camera view, tap the bottom of the screen.

   Swipe the camera view right or left to change to the next or previous camera. Use stretch and pinch to zoom in and out.

   To access the dial control, tap and hold in a selected camera view.

   

   Use the dial to view and change settings, calibrate and capture.