12.04.2008, 12:29
I am responding here to tangani's questions so maybe somebody else can use the info.
Yes, you have to make the IR LEDs flat for better angle. The best, easy and risk free way is to cover the part you don't want to lose with a paper insulator tape... it is used in electronics for insulating soldered wires etc, or some duct ape. This way the LED is protected from braking. You put it in a pliers tool and then use a sandpaper to shave the rounded top off. Go to a maximum 1mm before the actual diode! Don't bother in making that surface polished... it actually helps to be a bit scratchy at dissipating the IR emission at wider angles.
Also, many webcams work OK without removing the IR filter but if you observe poor quality in the spots of the LEDs you should consider removing it.
Applying a filter for the visible range of the light is also a good idea as you will get less disturbances this way. The camera will see only IR. Watch out for sun light or normal light bulbs... they emit a lot of IR
.
The camera should be set on 320X240 resolution, not more so you will get the best and stable FPS. Also in the camera settings you should disable all auto features and try to reduce exposure as much as you can so you will get better FPS. RGB mode is OK but i420 can also be used.
The camera settings should be done via an external program such as AmCap ( it comes with most of the webcams an can be freely downloaded from here: http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=video ) because you can see the results better in the program window as it is a normal view not a "infrared-analytic view" as Feetrack has and also sometimes Freetrack loses or it mess the settings of the webcam and you have to start over. At the end you should obtain 3 white spots clearly seen from most angles and the 3 green dots on the Freetrack right-down corner always on.
Don't use Freetrack and AmCap at the same time!
the dots should look like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wM66wmJX4M but only 3.
After that... all you need to do is create a profile.
1. you need to enter the distances between the LEDs... Don't be extremely precise as all resides in the profile settings in the end and extreme values on that could crash Freetrack.
2. you need to change the sensitivity values.
3. You need to make changes to the curves.
I'll post pictures how my freetrack is set sou you could have a reference.
Yes, you have to make the IR LEDs flat for better angle. The best, easy and risk free way is to cover the part you don't want to lose with a paper insulator tape... it is used in electronics for insulating soldered wires etc, or some duct ape. This way the LED is protected from braking. You put it in a pliers tool and then use a sandpaper to shave the rounded top off. Go to a maximum 1mm before the actual diode! Don't bother in making that surface polished... it actually helps to be a bit scratchy at dissipating the IR emission at wider angles.
Also, many webcams work OK without removing the IR filter but if you observe poor quality in the spots of the LEDs you should consider removing it.
Applying a filter for the visible range of the light is also a good idea as you will get less disturbances this way. The camera will see only IR. Watch out for sun light or normal light bulbs... they emit a lot of IR
.The camera should be set on 320X240 resolution, not more so you will get the best and stable FPS. Also in the camera settings you should disable all auto features and try to reduce exposure as much as you can so you will get better FPS. RGB mode is OK but i420 can also be used.
The camera settings should be done via an external program such as AmCap ( it comes with most of the webcams an can be freely downloaded from here: http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=video ) because you can see the results better in the program window as it is a normal view not a "infrared-analytic view" as Feetrack has and also sometimes Freetrack loses or it mess the settings of the webcam and you have to start over. At the end you should obtain 3 white spots clearly seen from most angles and the 3 green dots on the Freetrack right-down corner always on.
Don't use Freetrack and AmCap at the same time!
the dots should look like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wM66wmJX4M but only 3.
After that... all you need to do is create a profile.
1. you need to enter the distances between the LEDs... Don't be extremely precise as all resides in the profile settings in the end and extreme values on that could crash Freetrack.
2. you need to change the sensitivity values.
3. You need to make changes to the curves.
I'll post pictures how my freetrack is set sou you could have a reference.