Method for Capturing, Measuring and Analyzing Motion
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for capturing motion, comprising:
- receiving a captured image having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns;
for each pixel of the captured image, comparing an intensity of the pixel of the captured image to an intensity of a corresponding pixel in a threshold image;
if the intensity of the pixel of the captured image exceeds the intensity of the corresponding pixel in the threshold image, then designating the pixel of the captured image as a hot pixel;
comparing hot pixels in adjacent rows to determine related hot pixels;
designating the related hot pixels as a glob;
comparing characteristics of the glob with predetermined characteristics of an item to track the motion associated with the item.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for capturing, measuring and analyzing motion in real-time is provided which operates with or without markers. A threshold image is based on a background image and is created to minimize noise during the motion capture. A captured image is compared to the threshold image to identify collections of hot pixels or globs. The globs are compared to expected characteristics of the markers or the subject and are tracked between frames. Glob information is used to determine the location of the markers or subject in each frame.
-
Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A method for capturing motion, comprising:
-
receiving a captured image having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns; for each pixel of the captured image, comparing an intensity of the pixel of the captured image to an intensity of a corresponding pixel in a threshold image; if the intensity of the pixel of the captured image exceeds the intensity of the corresponding pixel in the threshold image, then designating the pixel of the captured image as a hot pixel; comparing hot pixels in adjacent rows to determine related hot pixels; designating the related hot pixels as a glob; comparing characteristics of the glob with predetermined characteristics of an item to track the motion associated with the item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. A method for capturing a background image, comprising:
for each of a plurality of cameras, capturing a plurality of images over a period of time using a predetermined shutter speed, wherein each image has a plurality of pixels; for each pixel of a selected captured image, comparing an intensity of the pixel with an intensity of a corresponding pixel of other ones of the captured images; determining a maximum intensity of the pixels; and using the maximum intensity of the pixels as the intensity for the corresponding pixel of the background image. - View Dependent Claims (6)
-
7. A method for capturing motion associated with a first item, wherein the first item is associated with a marker and a second item, wherein the second item is not associated with a marker, comprising:
-
receiving a captured image having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns; comparing the captured image to a threshold image on a pixel-by-pixel basis; based on the comparison, identifying globs within the captured image; comparing the globs to a first set of criteria, wherein the first set of criteria correspond to characteristics of the marker; comparing the globs to a second set of criteria, wherein the second set of criteria correspond to characteristics of the second item; based on the comparison to the first set of criteria and the second set of criteria, identifying any globs that correspond to the marker and identifying any globs that correspond to the second item to track the motion of the marker and the second item. - View Dependent Claims (8)
-
-
9. A method for creating a threshold image, comprising:
-
determining a center of an image for curvature falloff; lowering a threshold intensity until detected noise exceeds a predetermined threshold; raising the threshold intensity until the detected noise satisfies a second predetermined threshold; lowering a threshold curvature until detected peripheral noise exceeds a third predetermined threshold; and raising the threshold intensity and the threshold curvature until the detected noise satisfies a third predetermined threshold and the detected peripheral noise satisfies a fourth predetermined threshold, wherein determining the detected noise and the peripheral noise includes determining a number of globs in the image and comparing the globs to certain thresholding parameters. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
-
Specification