Viewfinder: supporting the installation and reconfiguration of multi-camera motion capture systems with a mobile application

Abstract

We present ViewFinder, a cross-platform mobile application to support the installation and reconfiguration of marker-based motion capture systems with multiple cameras. ViewFinder addresses a common issue when installing or reconfiguring motion capture systems: that system components such as cameras and the host computer can be physically separate and/or difficult to reach, requiring personnel to maneuver between them frequently and laboriously. ViewFinder allows setup technicians or end users to visualize the output of each camera in the system in a variety of ways in real time, on a smartphone or tablet, while also providing a means to make adjustments to system parameters such as exposure or marker thresholds on the fly. The app has been designed and evaluated through a process observing user-centered design principles, and effectively reduces the amount of work involved in installing and reconfiguring motion capture systems.