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3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

I was working on tracking (human) motion fast and with high quality. We used a virtual skeleton and infrared markers.

Skeleton illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

The overall tracking problem could be split in a number of subproblems: Finding the configuration of the trunk, the hip and the shoulders.

Skeleton trunk illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Skeleton hip illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Skeleton shoulder illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

To improve the workflow I created software models of the skeleton. For rendering I used POV-Ray.

Povray skeleton illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Povray markers illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Povray scene illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

Finally, I was working on an interface for testing the data structures and algorithms. First I created some scetches.

Interface scene illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Interface subject illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL. Interface list illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

Then I implemented a prototype in C++ and Qt. The prototype was based on a custom C++ plugin framework.

Screenshot illustration from 3D Motion Capture Documents from my PhD Studies at EPFL.

In another article I might show you how the custom C++ plugin framework was implemented. It was actually a very interesting experience for me, as plugin framework design turns out to be a challenging task.

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