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Below is an e-mail that I sent to the members of the listserv regarding
recommendations for motion analysis systems for beginners. It is
followed by the responses. They were very helpful and most include
links. I greatly appreciate your input.
Sincerely,
John Mclester
I would like to know some opinions on various motion analysis systems in
terms of their ease of use for those who may not be completely
proficient in the area of biomechanical analysis (e.g. universities that
are first-time buyers). I know that everyone has their favorites, but I
would like to know about features that specifically help the novice.
Thanks everyone,
John McLester
Western Kentucky University
Dear John McLester.
Our KineView 2D motion analysis system is very easy to use. The system is
based on standard PC and camcorder. There are interactive tools that are
easy to understand. You can record, browse and analyse data all in one
program and you can export data to other applications. You can measure
positions, distances, angles and time.
The system is also very portable. In the field you really don't need more
than the camcorder. But if you want to analyse in the field you can run
KineView on laptop.
Besides of all the general purpose 2D features you can also make a quick
gait report in less than 5 minutes.
For further details please check our web site (www.kine.is) and don't
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Best regards
Baldur
-----------------
Baldur Thorgilsson, baldur@kine.is
Kine ehf, www.kine.is
Baejarhraun 8, 220 Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
tel: +354 580 8300, +354 5808302, fax +354 5808309
Hi John,
I have been working at the University of Waterloo in the department of
Kinesiology for 6 years now and we use the Optotrak system by Northern
Digital Inc. It is an active marker system, which in the long run when
it comes to doing analysis, is very helpful. The thing that most people
like about Optotrak is that you can easily write your own program to do
any anslysis and are not handcuffed into using their data analysis
packages. Optotrak works very well with C-Motion's software, Visual
3-D. If you want to learn more check out their web site: www.ndigital.com
Mike
Hi: John
My quick suggestion is find out what you need first.
There are three main (commericially available) motion capture system based on
the mechanism of tracking object. Mechanical-based, optical-based, and
magnetic-based motion capture system. Each of them has it pro and cons. there
is a slides for compariing three kinds system may be helpful to you. You may go
to www.gatech.edu to find it.
good luck.
Leo Wu
Hi John,
We have been using systems from Motion Analysis Corp. for the
past fifteen years. We started with one of their original 2-D single
camera systems and have evolved to an 8 camera 3-D system. We also have
both force plates and EMG interfaced with the system. We use MAC's EVA
software (both the older version and the more recent Real-time version)
for data collection and processing, and both OrthoTrak and KinTrak for
data analysis. The system is heavily used by students (graduate and
undergraduate) as a reglar part of instruction, as well as for thesis
and dissertation research. The students are able to become reasonably
proficient in using the system with a modest amount of instruction and
periodic technical assistance. I think that key (regardless of what
hardware/software is used) is to have someone on the staff who takes the
initiative to become really proficient with the system. This requires
some effort, but it is certainly manageable for anyone with a reasonable
amount of technical interest/aptitude. We have been very pleased with
our relationship with MAC, and I personally believe that they are the
best in the business. Feel free to contact me with any specific
questions.
Best Wishes
Chuck Armstrong - Dept. of Kinesiology
University of Toledo
Hey John,
We recently purchased a VICON system and I have to say the people there have
been great. They have tech support located in San Diego that came out and
trained us on the system, and you can post questions on support.vicon.com and
they get back to you within the hour. I would highly recomend them if you're a
beginner like us. Hope this helps!
Brian Glaister
Research Assistant
Harrington Department of Bioengineering
and
The Center for Rehabilitation Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Engineering at
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University
John,
We are using a software called MotionMonitor (www.innsport.com) that integrates with several different kinematic and analog data acquisition systems. We purchased this integrated system to facilitate kinematic data collection for our (primarily) clinical research fellows who have limited technical backgrounds. We have used Polhemus Fastrak, Ascension Flock of Birds, and Northern Digital Optotrak hardware. We have seen an increase in fellow's understanding as well as a reduction in data loss and fellows' frustration. If you need any more specific information, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks!
Kristin Zhao
Hi John,
I work with Vicon Peak, a company that develops motion measurement
systems to suit the novice as well as the most sophisticated researcher.
The Peak Motus Basic system, our starter system, is a MS Windows
compliant product that has the essentials for 2-D analysis: video
capture from camcorders, user specified spatial models (single point to
multi-point multi-body setup), angle and center of mass setup,
computer-assisted manual digitizing, digital filtering and data display
featuring combined stick figure, video, and Cartesian graph replay. We
have many universities that use the system for undergraduate Kinesiology
labs to learn the fundamentals of data acquisition and kinematic
computations.
In addition, the software can be upgraded to full-featured
configurations, including 3-D collection and analysis, automatic marker
tracking, analog acquisition from force platforms and EMG, real-time
optical capture, and kinetic calculations.
More information about our options are available at www.viconpeak.com.
Regards,
Gary Scheirman
Hi John,
I posted an enquiry for a motion system suitable for outdoors earlier
this year. I received a number of feedback which I think may be useful to
you. Below is my summary posted a couple of weeks ago.
Hope it helps.
May you be well and Happy!
Regards,
Kelvin Hau-Kong CHAN
Member of Technical Staff
DSO National Laboratories
Defence Medical & Environmental Research Institute
(Centre for Human Performance)
27 Medical Drive #11-00
Singapore 117510
DID: 64857164
Fax: 6485 7172
================================================== ====
Dear all,
Earlier this year, I posted an enquiry on suggestions of motion capture
system with outdoor capabilities. I was overwhelmed with many enthusiastic
responses and would like to sincerely thank those who have replied. I
apologise for not being able to reply to all the responses but am
appreciative of the advice everyone has provided. Some list members have
also requested that I post a summary of responses. In order to avoid any
conflict or disclosure of any confidential information, I have summarised
some of the suggestions together with my posting as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: Chan Hau Kong
To: Biomch-L@nic.surfnet.nl
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 1:17 PM
Subject: Outdoor Motion Capture System
Dear Members,
I am planning to purchase an outdoor motion capture system for
biomechanics research and need some advice from experienced users of such
systems.
While there is a plethora of motion capture system in the market, the
system I need has to be able to function well in an outdoor environment as
certain constraints do not allow me to reproduce the setting in a
laboratory. Because of this outdoor requirement, certain traditional motion
capture system (e.g. Vicon) is not suitable due to occlusion, environment
interference or large number of equipment needed to be set up. Has anyone
evaluated a system suitable for outdoor use?
I came across a couple of motion capture system, namely Gypsy Gyro by
Meta Motion, Analogus and Animazoo; and Shapewrap by Measurand but is
sceptical about their accuracy, software roboustness and suitability for
biomechanics research. Hope to hear some feedback from users of these
systems.
Thank you very much for your time and advice!
Regards,
Kelvin Chan Hau Kong
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Markers/Video Based System
1. Qualisys Precision Motion Capture System (www.qualisys.se) I have
personally witnessed a demonstration of this system under bright day light
in an open field using passive markers and am convinced that it can be used
in an outdoor environment.
2. Codamotion by Charnwood Dynamics (www.charndyn.com) An active marker
system.
3. APAS (Ariel Performance Analysis System) (http://www.arielnet.com/) A
video based motion capture system. Users have testified that it is capable
of outdoors capture since it is video based. It is relatively cheap and a
trial version can be downloaded from the website.
4. SIMI Reality Motion Systems (http://www.simi.com/en/) Also a video
based system.
5. Motion Analysis Coporation (http://www.motionanalysis.com/) A well
established optical motion capture system, but I am still not able to
verify/witness its capability in outdoor environment under bright sunlight.
6. KineView (www.kine.is) A 2D windows based motion analysis software
that works on video capture.
Inertial/Magnetic System & Others
1. Xsens Motion Technologies (http://www.xsens.com/) Based on a network
of inertial measurement units that is placed on each limbs.
2. Ascension Technology Coporation (http://www.ascension-tech.com/) Using
Advanced DC Magnetic Technology.
3. Minisun (http://www.minisun.com/) An interesting device for physical
activity assessment, portable gait analysis, energy expenditure measurement
and functional capacity evaluation, but not exactly a motion capture system.
Thanks again!
May you be well and Happy!
Regards,
Kelvin Chan Hau Kong
DSO National Laboratories
Defence Medical & Environmental Research Institute
(Centre for Human Performance)
27 Medical Drive #11-00
Singapore 117510
DID: 64857164
Fax: 6485 7172
recommendations for motion analysis systems for beginners. It is
followed by the responses. They were very helpful and most include
links. I greatly appreciate your input.
Sincerely,
John Mclester
I would like to know some opinions on various motion analysis systems in
terms of their ease of use for those who may not be completely
proficient in the area of biomechanical analysis (e.g. universities that
are first-time buyers). I know that everyone has their favorites, but I
would like to know about features that specifically help the novice.
Thanks everyone,
John McLester
Western Kentucky University
Dear John McLester.
Our KineView 2D motion analysis system is very easy to use. The system is
based on standard PC and camcorder. There are interactive tools that are
easy to understand. You can record, browse and analyse data all in one
program and you can export data to other applications. You can measure
positions, distances, angles and time.
The system is also very portable. In the field you really don't need more
than the camcorder. But if you want to analyse in the field you can run
KineView on laptop.
Besides of all the general purpose 2D features you can also make a quick
gait report in less than 5 minutes.
For further details please check our web site (www.kine.is) and don't
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Best regards
Baldur
-----------------
Baldur Thorgilsson, baldur@kine.is
Kine ehf, www.kine.is
Baejarhraun 8, 220 Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
tel: +354 580 8300, +354 5808302, fax +354 5808309
Hi John,
I have been working at the University of Waterloo in the department of
Kinesiology for 6 years now and we use the Optotrak system by Northern
Digital Inc. It is an active marker system, which in the long run when
it comes to doing analysis, is very helpful. The thing that most people
like about Optotrak is that you can easily write your own program to do
any anslysis and are not handcuffed into using their data analysis
packages. Optotrak works very well with C-Motion's software, Visual
3-D. If you want to learn more check out their web site: www.ndigital.com
Mike
Hi: John
My quick suggestion is find out what you need first.
There are three main (commericially available) motion capture system based on
the mechanism of tracking object. Mechanical-based, optical-based, and
magnetic-based motion capture system. Each of them has it pro and cons. there
is a slides for compariing three kinds system may be helpful to you. You may go
to www.gatech.edu to find it.
good luck.
Leo Wu
Hi John,
We have been using systems from Motion Analysis Corp. for the
past fifteen years. We started with one of their original 2-D single
camera systems and have evolved to an 8 camera 3-D system. We also have
both force plates and EMG interfaced with the system. We use MAC's EVA
software (both the older version and the more recent Real-time version)
for data collection and processing, and both OrthoTrak and KinTrak for
data analysis. The system is heavily used by students (graduate and
undergraduate) as a reglar part of instruction, as well as for thesis
and dissertation research. The students are able to become reasonably
proficient in using the system with a modest amount of instruction and
periodic technical assistance. I think that key (regardless of what
hardware/software is used) is to have someone on the staff who takes the
initiative to become really proficient with the system. This requires
some effort, but it is certainly manageable for anyone with a reasonable
amount of technical interest/aptitude. We have been very pleased with
our relationship with MAC, and I personally believe that they are the
best in the business. Feel free to contact me with any specific
questions.
Best Wishes
Chuck Armstrong - Dept. of Kinesiology
University of Toledo
Hey John,
We recently purchased a VICON system and I have to say the people there have
been great. They have tech support located in San Diego that came out and
trained us on the system, and you can post questions on support.vicon.com and
they get back to you within the hour. I would highly recomend them if you're a
beginner like us. Hope this helps!
Brian Glaister
Research Assistant
Harrington Department of Bioengineering
and
The Center for Rehabilitation Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Engineering at
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University
John,
We are using a software called MotionMonitor (www.innsport.com) that integrates with several different kinematic and analog data acquisition systems. We purchased this integrated system to facilitate kinematic data collection for our (primarily) clinical research fellows who have limited technical backgrounds. We have used Polhemus Fastrak, Ascension Flock of Birds, and Northern Digital Optotrak hardware. We have seen an increase in fellow's understanding as well as a reduction in data loss and fellows' frustration. If you need any more specific information, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks!
Kristin Zhao
Hi John,
I work with Vicon Peak, a company that develops motion measurement
systems to suit the novice as well as the most sophisticated researcher.
The Peak Motus Basic system, our starter system, is a MS Windows
compliant product that has the essentials for 2-D analysis: video
capture from camcorders, user specified spatial models (single point to
multi-point multi-body setup), angle and center of mass setup,
computer-assisted manual digitizing, digital filtering and data display
featuring combined stick figure, video, and Cartesian graph replay. We
have many universities that use the system for undergraduate Kinesiology
labs to learn the fundamentals of data acquisition and kinematic
computations.
In addition, the software can be upgraded to full-featured
configurations, including 3-D collection and analysis, automatic marker
tracking, analog acquisition from force platforms and EMG, real-time
optical capture, and kinetic calculations.
More information about our options are available at www.viconpeak.com.
Regards,
Gary Scheirman
Hi John,
I posted an enquiry for a motion system suitable for outdoors earlier
this year. I received a number of feedback which I think may be useful to
you. Below is my summary posted a couple of weeks ago.
Hope it helps.
May you be well and Happy!
Regards,
Kelvin Hau-Kong CHAN
Member of Technical Staff
DSO National Laboratories
Defence Medical & Environmental Research Institute
(Centre for Human Performance)
27 Medical Drive #11-00
Singapore 117510
DID: 64857164
Fax: 6485 7172
================================================== ====
Dear all,
Earlier this year, I posted an enquiry on suggestions of motion capture
system with outdoor capabilities. I was overwhelmed with many enthusiastic
responses and would like to sincerely thank those who have replied. I
apologise for not being able to reply to all the responses but am
appreciative of the advice everyone has provided. Some list members have
also requested that I post a summary of responses. In order to avoid any
conflict or disclosure of any confidential information, I have summarised
some of the suggestions together with my posting as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: Chan Hau Kong
To: Biomch-L@nic.surfnet.nl
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 1:17 PM
Subject: Outdoor Motion Capture System
Dear Members,
I am planning to purchase an outdoor motion capture system for
biomechanics research and need some advice from experienced users of such
systems.
While there is a plethora of motion capture system in the market, the
system I need has to be able to function well in an outdoor environment as
certain constraints do not allow me to reproduce the setting in a
laboratory. Because of this outdoor requirement, certain traditional motion
capture system (e.g. Vicon) is not suitable due to occlusion, environment
interference or large number of equipment needed to be set up. Has anyone
evaluated a system suitable for outdoor use?
I came across a couple of motion capture system, namely Gypsy Gyro by
Meta Motion, Analogus and Animazoo; and Shapewrap by Measurand but is
sceptical about their accuracy, software roboustness and suitability for
biomechanics research. Hope to hear some feedback from users of these
systems.
Thank you very much for your time and advice!
Regards,
Kelvin Chan Hau Kong
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Markers/Video Based System
1. Qualisys Precision Motion Capture System (www.qualisys.se) I have
personally witnessed a demonstration of this system under bright day light
in an open field using passive markers and am convinced that it can be used
in an outdoor environment.
2. Codamotion by Charnwood Dynamics (www.charndyn.com) An active marker
system.
3. APAS (Ariel Performance Analysis System) (http://www.arielnet.com/) A
video based motion capture system. Users have testified that it is capable
of outdoors capture since it is video based. It is relatively cheap and a
trial version can be downloaded from the website.
4. SIMI Reality Motion Systems (http://www.simi.com/en/) Also a video
based system.
5. Motion Analysis Coporation (http://www.motionanalysis.com/) A well
established optical motion capture system, but I am still not able to
verify/witness its capability in outdoor environment under bright sunlight.
6. KineView (www.kine.is) A 2D windows based motion analysis software
that works on video capture.
Inertial/Magnetic System & Others
1. Xsens Motion Technologies (http://www.xsens.com/) Based on a network
of inertial measurement units that is placed on each limbs.
2. Ascension Technology Coporation (http://www.ascension-tech.com/) Using
Advanced DC Magnetic Technology.
3. Minisun (http://www.minisun.com/) An interesting device for physical
activity assessment, portable gait analysis, energy expenditure measurement
and functional capacity evaluation, but not exactly a motion capture system.
Thanks again!
May you be well and Happy!
Regards,
Kelvin Chan Hau Kong
DSO National Laboratories
Defence Medical & Environmental Research Institute
(Centre for Human Performance)
27 Medical Drive #11-00
Singapore 117510
DID: 64857164
Fax: 6485 7172