System and method for motion capture
AssigneeMotion Reality, Inc.
InventorsNels Howard Madsen, Thomas M. McLaughlin, Ronnie J. H. Wilmink, Robert Michael Glover
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Abstract
A system and method for measuring, animating, and analyzing motion in real-time is provided which operates with or without markers. System variables are used with a motion model to restrict the number of possible locations of a subject. The system variables are based on known or detected relationships between the motions of the various elements of the model. Visual comparisons and quantitative comparisons provide feedback and help a subject learn or improve a motor skill.
Claims32
A method for capturing motion associated with a subject in real-time, comprising:
- defining a plurality of elements, wherein each element corresponds to at least one interconnected segment of the model;
- defining a plurality of marker positions, wherein each marker position is associated with an element;
- defining a predetermined condition;
- defining a value for a variable when the predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein a possible position of a first element is restricted by the value;
- for each of a plurality of frames,
- predicting locations for the markers, by:
- determining whether the predetermined condition is satisfied;
- and
- if the predetermined condition is satisfied, then associating the value with the variable so that the possible position of the first element is restricted;
- and
- measuring locations of the markers;
- and
- determining positions of the elements by comparing the predicted locations for the markers with the measured locations of the markers.
A method for capturing motion associated with a subject in real-time, wherein the subject includes a plurality of interconnected segments and selected ones of the segments are associated with an element, and wherein a plurality of markers are associated with selected ones of the elements, comprising:
- for each of a plurality of frames:
- measuring a location for each of the markers;
- predicting a location for each of the markers by:
- determining whether a predetermined condition is satisfied;
- and
- if the predetermined condition is satisfied, then associating a value with a variable, wherein a relationship between the predetermined condition, the variable and the value is predefined, and wherein a possible position of a first element is restricted when the value is associated with the variable;
- and
- determining a configuration for the model by comparing the measured locations with the predicted locations.
A method for comparing motion of two subjects, comprising:
- storing at least one frame representing a configuration of a first subject performing a task;
- capturing motion of a second subject in real-time as the second subject performs the task by:
- for each frame:
- measuring a location for each of a plurality of markers associated with the second model;
- predicting a location for each of the markers by determining possible positions for each marker, wherein the possible positions for a selected marker are based upon past positions of the marker;
- and
- determining a configuration for the second subject by comparing the measured locations with the predicted locations;
- comparing the configuration of the second subject to the configuration of the first subject;
- and
- providing feedback to the second subject that quantifies any differences between the configuration of the second subject and the configuration of the first subject.
A method for markerless motion capture, comprising:
- receiving a captured image having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns;
- analyzing the captured image on a pixel-by-pixel basis to determine a candidate, wherein the candidate includes a set of points in three-dimensional space that potentially correspond to a subject;
- defining an area of interest proximate to the candidate;
- performing a Hough transform on the area of interest to create a Hough image;
- analyzing the Hough image on a pixel-by-pixel basis to identify a glob, wherein the glob is a set of connected hot pixels;
- determining three-dimensional coordinates for candidate points that correspond to the glob;
- using the three-dimensional coordinates for the candidate points to determine a candidate of interest;
- and
- comparing the candidates of interest to predetermined characteristics of the subject to track the subject's motion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.