A High Performance Motion Capture System to Support Versatile Research Programs

实时精确跟踪物体和测量其3D姿态（位置方向）在工业和学术界有许多应用，例如，用于仪器校准和运动分析。动作捕捉或动作捕捉系统就是为了满足这种需求而设计的。自推出以来，动作捕捉系统已有效地用于军事，娱乐，体育，医学，工程，特别是概念和方法验证的研究中的各种应用。一些报告表明，动作捕捉系统在加快复杂系统的开发周期方面发挥了重要作用。例如，在机器人技术中，动作捕捉系统通常用于移动机器人的精确跟踪和姿态测量，以评估和验证姿态估计，SLAM（同步定位和映射）和控制方法。此外，来自动作捕捉系统的数据经常被用作代表理想感知模块的基础事实。最近的市场报告显示，全球3D动作捕捉市场将从2018年的1.298亿美元增长到2024年的2.5288亿美元。（美通社，2019年9月11日）在动作捕捉系统中，光学系统由于其优势而变得流行，例如，相对于惯性系统（引入漂移并具有较低的定位精度），机械系统（需要穿着昂贵的机械套装）和磁性系统（易受环境中金属物体的电磁干扰）。******在这个提案中，一个光学动作捕捉系统，即Vicon Vero被要求满足多功能研究项目的需求。该设备将被安装在校园内其他研究人员可以进入的区域，以最大限度地利用它。申请人的研究项目将立即受益于所要求的设备，包括与以下相关的项目：(1)图像引导连续体机器人的建模和控制，重点是心脏干预；(2)通过演示开发机器人编程视觉学习系统；(3)基于人工智能的自主播种机器人目标检测、控制和农田覆盖路径规划方法；(4)空中操纵系统建模与控制；(5)机器人手术远程机器人平台设计；(6)机器人车辆同步定位与制图技术。******除了申请人和合作者，他们的博士后、研究生和本科生将接受培训，操作最先进的动作捕捉系统，并学习先进的测量、数据集成和分析方法。这些技能对他们的学习很重要，在加拿大的主要行业，如娱乐、制造业和医疗保健，对这些技能的需求很高。除了瑞尔森大学，这种新设备将扩大工业合作伙伴、iBest（生物医学工程、科学和技术研究所）和合作医院的研究能力。* * * * * * * *

Accurate tracking of objects and measurement of their 3D pose (position-orientation) in real-time have numerous applications in industry and academia, e.g., for instruments calibration, and motion analysis. Motion capture or mocap systems have been designed to fulfill such a need. Since their introduction, mocap systems have been effectively used in a variety of applications in military, entertainment, sports, medicine, engineering, and, particularly, research for verification of concepts and methods. Several reports have shown that mocap systems have had a major role in speeding up the development cycle of complex systems. For instance, in robotics, mocap systems are commonly used for accurate tracking and pose measurement of mobile robots to evaluate and verify pose estimation, SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping), and control methods. Moreover, the data from mocap systems are often used as ground-truth representing ideal perception modules. Recent market report indicates that global 3D motion capture market will grow from USD 129.8 million in 2018 to USD 252.88 million by 2024 (PR Newswire, Sep 11, 2019). Among mocap systems, optical systems have become popular due to their advantages, e.g., over inertial systems (that introduce drift and have lower positional accuracy), mechanical systems (which need wearing expensive mechanical suits), and magnetic systems (that are susceptible to electromagnetic interference from metal objects in the environment). ******In this proposal, an optical mocap system, namely Vicon Vero is requested to meet the needs of versatile research programs. The equipment will be installed in a zone accessible to other researchers across the campus to maximize its use. The research programs of the applicants that will immediately benefit from the requested equipment include projects related to: (1) modeling and control of image-guided continuum robots, with the focus on cardiac interventions; (2) development of a visual learning system for robot programming by demonstration; (3) AI-based methods for object detection, control, and farm-field coverage path planning of an autonomous seeding robot; (4) modeling and control of aerial manipulation systems; (5) design of telerobotic platforms for robotic surgery; and (6) simultaneous localization and mapping techniques for robotic vehicles.******Besides the applicants and collaborators, their postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students will be trained to operate state-of-the-art mocap system, and learn advanced measurement, data integration and analysis methods. These skills will be important to their studies and in high-demand by key Canadian industries such as entertainment, manufacturing, and healthcare. In addition to Ryerson University, this new equipment will expand research capacity of industrial partners, iBest (Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Technology) and partner hospitals. ********