We are in the process of configuring our capture space. The setup will use 6 ps3 eye cams in a full circle mounted on the wall. I plan to place 2 up high ~3m (as per the recommendation in the wiki). But what about the other 4, should they all be the same height e.g. 1.5m?

J

In general, if you stagger the heights of the cameras it helps with calibration. Placing one or two a bit higher, like 8 to 10 feet, will give you better overhead coverage which can be helpful if the character is lying down. This should work well most of the time.

The idea is to give iPi Studio as much visual information about the performer as possible within the scope of 4 to 6 cameras. I also think it helps if there is some visual overlap between the cameras.

In special situations, the type of motion you're capturing may require a different arrangement. In these situations, you should experiment--i.e., place some cameras very low or very high, or even placing them closer together (i.e., less than 360 degrees coverage.) But I don't think you need to worry about this unless your performer is doing something unusual and Studio is having trouble tracking the data.

Here's the Wiki entry on the topic:

http://wiki.ipisoft.com/User_Guide_for_ ... figuration

Scroll down to Six Camera Configuration.

Hope this helps.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Can some one make 8 PS3 camera setup tutorial?

Assuming your hardware can handle 8 cameras, the setup is the same as using 4 - 6 cameras--you just need more space, additional cables and controller cards, and a really fast drive. A circle is a good arrangement but you should avoid pointing cameras directly into each other. Staggering the heights of each will also help the system accurately reconstruct the environment. In other words, you want to make each position a little distinct to help the system orient itself.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Why avoid pointing cameras at each other? I've been doing it, and now I wish I hadn't! I suppose I've been duplicating the same data...

Positioning the PS3 Eye cameras at the same height and pointing them directly into each other makes the arrangement more difficult to calibrate. In general, staggering the heights and varying the angles makes each camera distinct, thus making the scene orientation and camera locations clearer to iPi Mocap Studio. They don't need to be wildly different but you should avoid making each camera the same and mirroring positions.

In the case of dual Kinect, there's an additional issue with pointing the devices directly into each other:IR interference.

Hope this helps.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Thanks for the tips, very useful. I'm now trying to calibrate an 8 camera set-up and it's not bloody easy. It certainly is a kind of art all its own. It seems as if making sure all 8 cameras can see the calibration light for a good duration is important. If even one camera can't see it for a few frames it seems to throw it off completely. This means that one can't use one camera to be trained away from the center of the performance volume (for special duty when an actor strays a bit).