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3D Technologies

Digitizing and Tracking in a Dynamic Environment

In the Digitizing and Tracking in a Dynamic Environment project, NRC-IIT partners with Neptec, McGill University, and the Canadian Space Agency to create new methods in the capture and processing of moving 3D objects in dynamically changing environments. By adding a fourth dimension (4D) to 3D metrology, these new methods will be able to scan and measure, process and display 3D objects in a dynamic environment. This will remove the need for complex mechanical infrastructures that maintain stability of the acquisition setup. The fast interactions and minimum delays of this new acquisition system can benefit a variety of applications.

This project began on April 1, 2002, and will continue until April 1, 2004.

Aim of the Project

This research aims to develop methods and algorithms to simplify the acquisition of rigid 3D objects in non-rigid environments; a fourth dimension (4D) is added to the general problem of 3D metrology, the time constraint. An analogy with conventional video imaging can be made; in 3D this will create a set of X,Y,Z, colour, and time coordinates.

Research context

State of the art in accurate 3D acquisition systems still requires very constraining static and rigid environments for maintaining accuracy in the measurements. The slow acquisition speed of current 3D scanners, typically minutes for 1024x1024 high-resolution images, requires that the relative position between the 3D cameras and the object under inspection must be kept perfectly stable to maintain accuracy. Furthermore this constraint requires rigid objects and environments. Any deviation or perturbation during the acquisition will distort the measurements. This often results in complex and massive mechanical structures to maintain stability of the acquisition setup.

Processing algorithms and display systems that can manage the vast amount of data created by 4D systems are also non-existent. Although warping of the images or the mesh can be used to create nice looking 3D models, in practice, no useful metrology measurement can be done because of the lack of 4D acquisition system, processing software, and display systems. Processing algorithms and display of the 3D data are today limited to static scenes.

The first phase of this research will focus on:

Study of the dynamics of the acquisition process where time constraints are added:
- Rigid objects – non-rigid environments
- Non-rigid objects – rigid environments
- Non-rigid objects – non-rigid environments
Creation of intelligent scanning methodologies using existing techniques
Analysis and experimentation of multiple scenarios to simultaneously acquire high resolution images while tracking objects in real-time
Creation of software and system architecture to support real-time acquisition and processing
Accurate dynamic model-based calibration
Study of the behavior of deformable (non-rigid) objects and non-rigid environments on software algorithms

Examples of applications:

Conventional inspection, based on statistical sampling will benefit from major cost savings, removing the need for complex mechanical infrastructures
100% quality control and on-line inspection applications
Robotics – Tele-robotics – Haptics: that require minimum delays and fast interactions between users and their environments
Virtualized interaction between humans, computers, and their dynamically changing environments
Real-time medical and anthropometric applications, the human body obviously being a moving and deformable object (non-rigid).

Related NRC-IIT Publications

Research Contact

François Blais
Research Officer
Visual Information Technology
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Building M-50, Room 359
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Telephone: +1 (613) 993-3285
Fax: +1 (613) 952-0215
E-mail: Francois.Blais@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Business Contact

Charles Gauthier
Business Development Officer
Business Development Office, NCR
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Telephone: +1 (613) 993-2491
Fax: +1 (613) 952-7998
E-mail: Charles Gauthier