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VIVE Trackers conflict with cameras of motion capture system


ruiying

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We tried the trackers with both OptiTrack Flex13 and Vicon system. While the cameras of motion capture system are on the Vive trackers turned very unstable...if you wave around trackers they can be tracked at some point but lost tracking very quickly. 

Isn't there any work around to solve this problem? any suggestion please...

Thanks

Ruiying

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     Hi Ruiying, we're looking into it. What type of Vicon Setup are you using? Have you tried disabling the infrared sensors on the cameras and using just the visual tracking system? The Vive Trackers are essentially work the same as Vive controllers so I’m curious if about whether or not you’re having issues with tracking other Vive hardware since any IR interference from the cameras should also affect the headset as well as the controllers similarly… I suspect that you may have to use physical IR filters to isolate the systems from each other.

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Thanks for your reply

Our Vicon system using T10 near infrared cameras

Vive headset and controllers have been working fine with both of our motion capture systems. We are using first generation of headset and controllers.

I guess you might be using different sensors in trakcers and new generation of your product...

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     I've looked further into this and it appears that both camera systems as well as lighthouse tracking rely on 850nm IR technology which is the root source of your interference problems. The trackers use the same TS3633s that are used in the HMD as well as the controllers and are merely arranged in a different configuration. The shell material for the tracker are the same as the controllers as well. We don't have access to either one of those MoCap systems to run our own tests to attempt to understand the interference but it might be that the Vive trackers are simply more sensitive to 850nm interference than the other Vive hardware due to their slightly different design and layout.

 

     For the time being I can only recommend that you disable the IR emitters on the cameras and relying on optical tracking when using trackers. If disabling the IR LEDs in-software is not possible I’d recommend trying to use physical IR filters that absorb 850nm to attempt to block the IR emissions from the cameras or unplugging the LED rings which is apparently possible on some configurations. I'll keep looking into this as I'm sure others will encounter this problem as the trackers become adopted.

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     I dug around some tech sheets and discovered that my previous statements are incorrect. The Vive HMD and the controllers use an HTC/Valve designed light to digital converter and PBC assembly whereas the Vive Trackers are using Triad manufactured TS3633's as well as a new PBC design. This could explain why they're more susceptible to IR interference than the HMD/controller technology. They fundamentally preform the same function but have underlying differences in design. This may mean that other technologies that will use the TS3633 may also face similar interference issues. 

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  • 6 months later...

Hello, I'm curious as to your motion capture use cases and if you've considered a Vive Tracker only setup for motion capture. Were you able to work around the issue with the advice of using just video capture instead of infrared? I would also suggest to look at the hotspots or rather cold spots of coverage in the Tracker documentation as tracker placement could be a factor as well. Relatively speaking sensor coverage is greater on the HMD and controllers compared to the trackers, therefore placement (or how it's held) can affect tracking due to occlusion, Base station placement may need to be higher than usual to avoid occlusion.

 

-Dario

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