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Researchers in Tokyo develop high-speed subject tracking system

Jul 16, 2013 at 18:58:37 GMT

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Engineers at Tokyo University's Ishikawa Oku Laboratory have come up with new technology to track extremely fast motion. Their new system - which uses 'Saccade Mirrors' for pitch and tilt, a 'pupil shift system', and very fast image processing - is able to keep even the quickest subject in the center of the frame at all times.

According to engineers, the initial application for this system could be to capture video at sporting events, and they expect this system to be market-ready in about two years. Check out the video below to see this intriguing new system in action.

Via: Colossal, Source: DigInfo TV

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Comments

Total comments: 17

Nice...but if they really want to get the tech down, they need to work on it until it can track a litter of shiba inu puppies, or, the hardest target of all, bridesmaids.

0 upvotes

Serious astrophotographers have known about this tech for years. In the astronomy community it's called adaptive optics and works almost exactly the same. https://www.sbig.com/products/adaptive-optics/ao-8t/

0 upvotes

Thanks for the link. But ...
1. The SBIG product is an optical image stabilizer, not adaptive optics (AO aspherically deformes a mirrors surface in real time), in an attempt to correct for wavefront errors. SBIG abuses the term AO here...
-> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Adaptive_optics_system_full.svg/1000px-Adaptive_optics_system_full.svg.png
2. The SBIG product works at 10Hz rather than 1000Hz.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 5 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Maybe you should look up the definition of Adaptive Optics. Whether the mirror is being deformed or there is a tip-tilt mirror in use and whatever the frequency happens to be, it's still considered Adaptive Optics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_optics

0 upvotes

I would like to have it when taking humming bird shots when they are going back and forth when feeding.

0 upvotes

Put a high power laser on that and you have something truly scary lol

0 upvotes

Extremely smart idea, and it works, too!

0 upvotes

FYI

The work is from 2011. The same institute, in 2009, demoed a fast contrast detect AF (CDAF) system:
-> http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/mvf/FocusingVision/index-e.html
A video where CDAF tracks an object in real time is here:
-> http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/mvf/FocusingVision/FV_FocusTracking.wmv
(AF time is 16ms).
Just a brute force approach, but nice to see anyway.

0 upvotes

FYI

Here is additional genuine information:
-> http://www.mechatronic.me/69-projection-mapping-system-lumipen

It includes a complete description of the optics of their so-called pupil-shift system:
http://www.mechatronic.me/images/a/13/06/Lumipen_Saccade_Mirror.jpg
It is composed of three lenses. The article links to the research papers too:
-> http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/members/okumura/pdf/okumura_icra11.pdf (engl., with illustrations)

Comment edited 6 minutes after posting

1 upvote

MILC's need not apply!

0 upvotes

The system captures and processes an image every 1/1000 second. DSLRs need not apply, a mirror flapping at 1000Hz would destroy your ears if not destroy itself earlier.
For comparison, tracking system of Panasonic GH3 (a MILC if you don't know) operates at 240Hz. New Oly cameras too if I remember correctly.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

I wonder if the system blows up if someone throws another ping-pong ball into the mix? :)

1 upvote

it might loose track, or switch tracking between balls when their trajectories overlap. That's all.

Tracking is the hard part in this demo. Needs computing power and a lot of light. And in this case, a simplified task where the target stands out (a white football against green grass may do as well). A similiar situation to tracking a PlayStation Move controller.

0 upvotes

3 ideas, clever combined. Nice result!

2 upvotes

That is most impressive!

2 upvotes

Very cool. I want one!

1 upvote

Wow!

1 upvote

Total comments: 17

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