Art ARTTRACK1 User manual

version 2.14
July 2018
c
2018 A.R.T. GmbH
Contents are subject to
change without notice
weisser Text als Fake ...
System user manual
ARTtrack R
, TRACKPACK & DTrack R 
dasbetrifft die gesamte seitenbreite der seite des dokumentes etetcetcetcetcetcetcetc etcetcetcetc

Trademarks
The following overview shows the registered trademarks of A.R.T. GmbH (Advanced Re-
altime Tracking GmbH):
trademarks illustrated as in Germany in the EU in the USA
A.R.T. R
ART ×××
ARTtrack R
ARTTRACK ×××
DTrack R
DTrack2 ×
smARTtrack R
SMARTTRACK ×××
×××
Microsoft R
and Windows R are trademarks registered in the United States and
other countries by the Microsoft Corporation.
The company names and product names written in this manual are trademarks
or registered trademarks of the respective companies.

Warranty regarding further use of the open source software
A.R.T. GmbH provides no warranty for the open source software programs
contained in this product, if such programs are used in any manner other than
the program execution intended by A.R.T. GmbH. The licenses define the
warranty, if any, from the authors or licensors of the open source software.
A.R.T. GmbH specifically disclaims any warranties for defects caused by
altering any open source software program or the product’s configuration. You
have no warranty claims against A.R.T. GmbH in the event that the open source
software infringes the intellectual property rights of a third party. Technical
support, if any, will only be provided for unmodified software. The full license
text can be obtained from A.R.T. GmbH directly.
Disclaimer
In no event shall A.R.T. GmbH be liable for any incidental, indirect, or
consequential damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for
loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or
any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the software
or hardware.
c
1999 - 2018 by A.R.T. GmbH
Am Öferl 6
D-82362 Weilheim i. OB
Germany
T+49 (0)881-92530-00
v+49 (0)881-92530-01
 http://www.ar-tracking.de

What’s new in version v2.14?
Following, a short overview of the main new features in DTrack2 version v2.14:
•Integration of optical-inertial hybrid tracking (sensor fusion)
•Minor features (e.g. display IP address using DHCP, display ATC’s CPU tempera-
ture)
What’s new in version v2.13?
Following, a short overview of the main new features in DTrack2 version v2.13:
•Support of FINGERTRACKING2 Tactile. Based on the vibro-tactile Fingertracking
prototype the product version offers tactile feedback for the fingertips and compati-
bility to the high frame rates of ARTTRACK5 &TRACKPACK/E cameras.
•Integration of new ’Fingertracking Administration’ GUI. It facilitates and streamlines
the configuration of all Fingertracking devices.
•Detailed export functionality of system-configuration and event-log for tech support
What’s new in version v2.12?
Following, a short overview of the main new features in DTrack2 version v2.12:
•Easier addition of cameras: To add a camera, simply re-calibrate the room with-
out losing the origin and orientation of the original coordinate system and continue
tracking. A similar procedure applies when removing cameras from the system.
•Integration of ’COOTrans’, our co-ordinate adjustment utility. This means that the
room adjustment can now be used to transform the tracking coordinate system
into the coordinate system of specific 3rd party objects, provided that the reference
points are known and can be measured (license-based)
•Support of bodies with up to 30 markers each
•Support of bodies with visibility restrictions including display of emission cones
within ’Body Adjustment’
•Additional information dialog regarding cylindrical markers within ’Body Calibration
Result Dialog’
•New function to remove unused markers from a rigid body within ’Body Adjustment’
•Radio channel settings are saved persistently when choosing a specific channel
number

What’s new in version v2.11?
Following, a short overview of the main new features in DTrack2 version v2.11:
•Support of new TRACKPACK/E cameras with Controllers including Synccard3 (see
e.g. chapter 4.3 on page 35)
•Support of new ARTTRACK5/C cameras for cave installations with Controllers in-
cluding Synccard3 (see e.g. chapter 4.2 on page 32)
•Improvements of usability of Hybrid Motion Capture (see chapter 7 on page 106)
What’s new in version v2.10?
Following, a short overview of the main new features in DTrack2 version v2.10:
•Support of ARTTRACK5 cameras with Controllers including Synccard3 (see e.g.
chapter 4.1 on page 29)
•Support of external sync source ’TTL signal, both edges’ (see e.g. chapter 8.5.2 on
page 151)
•New license model. (see e.g. table 8.6 on page 141)

Contents
Termsanddefinitions ................................. 12
1 Safety 14
1.1 Symbols and their meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2 Safetywarnings ................................. 14
2 Introduction 17
3 Markers and targets (rigid bodies) 20
3.1 Passivemarkers ................................. 20
3.2 Activemarkers .................................. 21
3.3 Standardtargets ................................. 24
4ART Tracking Cameras 29
4.1 ARTTRACK5 .................................. 29
4.2 ARTTRACK5/C ................................. 32
4.3 TRACKPACK/E ................................. 35
4.4 ARTTRACK2 (discontinued) .......................... 37
4.5 ARTTRACK3 (discontinued) .......................... 40
4.6 TRACKPACK (discontinued) .......................... 42
4.7 TRACKPACK/C (discontinued) ......................... 45
4.8 Settingupthecameras ............................. 48
4.8.1 Camera orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.8.2 Localizing and removing of disturbing reflections . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.8.2.1 Mutual blinding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.8.3 Room Calibration overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5ART Tracking Controllers 54
5.1 Installation of the ART Controller (DTrack2 since v2.10) . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.1.1 Ports & Plugs on the ART Controller.................. 55
5.1.2 Connecting cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.1.3 Dynamically adding / removing of cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.1.4 Connection to local network LAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.1.5 External synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.2 Installation of the ARTTRACK Controller (discontinued) . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.3 Installation of the TRACKPACK Controller (discontinued) . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.4 Cascadedsystems................................ 66
5.4.1 Connecting a cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.4.2 Configuration of a cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6

6 Interaction devices 71
6.1 Flystick2...................................... 71
6.1.1 Controlelements............................. 71
6.1.2 Batterypack ............................... 73
6.1.3 Radiomodule............................... 75
6.2 Flystick3...................................... 75
6.2.1 Controlelements............................. 76
6.2.2 Batterypack ............................... 77
6.2.3 Radiomodule............................... 79
6.2.4 Wireless synchronization (active Flystick3 discontinued) . . . . . . . 79
6.3 FlystickInstallation................................ 80
6.3.1 RadioTransceiver ............................ 80
6.3.2 Flystick Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.3.2.1 Flystick Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
6.3.2.2 Flystick Output settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
6.4 Fingertracking .................................. 83
6.4.1 Standard Fingertracking Hand Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
6.4.2 FINGERTRACKING2 Tactile Hand Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.4.2.1 Radiomodule ......................... 89
6.4.3 Finger thimble sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
6.4.4 Wireless synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.4.5 Batterycharger.............................. 91
6.4.6 Fingertracking Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.4.6.1 Fingertracking Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.4.6.2 Fingertracking Available hand geometries . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.4.6.3 Fingertracking Body calibration via Target Library . . . . . 94
6.4.6.4 Fingertracking Body calibration Custom . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6.4.6.5 Fingertracking Hand geometry calibration . . . . . . . . . . 96
6.4.6.6 Fingertracking Tactile Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
6.4.6.7 Fingertracking Tactile Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.4.6.8 Fingertracking Output settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.4.7 Display tool Fingertracking Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.5 MeasurementTool ................................101
6.5.1 Measurement Tool Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6.5.1.1 Measurement Tool Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.5.1.2 Measurement Tool Output settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7 Hybrid tracking 106
7.1 Hybrid motion capture suit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
7.1.1 Connecting the wireless transceivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
7.1.2 Connecting the wireless inertial sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7.1.2.1 Adding wireless inertial sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.1.3 Calibration of custom wireless hybrid targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.2 Wiredhybridtargets ...............................111
7.2.1 Connecting the wired inertial sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
7.2.1.1 Adding wired inertial sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

7.2.2 Assigning the wired inertial sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
7.2.3 Hybrid Body Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
7.2.4 Inertial Sensor Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7.2.4.1 Warm-up of inertial sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
7.2.5 Selecting the pulse generating source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8DTrack2 frontend software 121
8.1 Gettingstarted ..................................121
8.1.1 Installation guide (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.1.2 Installation guide (Linux) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
8.1.3 Softwareupdate .............................123
8.1.4 Start DTrack2 frontend software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.1.5 DTrack2 command line parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.2 Connecting to the controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.2.1 Other Controller (1st run after installation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.2.2 Setting a static IP address inside DTrack2 ..............125
8.2.3 WakeOnLAN ..............................126
8.2.4 Configuring your controller without the DTrack2 frontend . . . . . . 127
8.2.4.1 The information file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
8.2.4.2 Thesetupfile..........................128
8.2.5 Remote command strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.3 MainGUI .....................................132
8.3.1 Menu bar overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8.3.2 Toolbar ..................................134
8.3.3 DockingDisplays.............................135
8.3.3.1 Monitor 2DOF display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
8.3.3.2 DataDisplay..........................138
8.3.3.3 Fingertracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
8.3.3.4 Flystick.............................139
8.3.3.5 Measurement Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
8.3.3.6 Event display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
8.4 MenuDTrack2 ..................................141
8.4.1 License management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
8.4.2 Configuration management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.4.2.1 Backup of Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
8.4.2.2 Export System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
8.4.3 Start/Stop.................................144
8.4.4 Search for new hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8.4.5 Controller standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8.4.6 Controllerreboot.............................145
8.4.7 Quit ....................................145
8.5 MenuSettings ..................................146
8.5.1 CamerasSettings ............................146
8.5.1.1 All Cameras tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.5.1.2 Individual tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

8.5.2 Synccard Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.5.2.1 Synccard Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.5.2.2 Direct Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8.5.3 Inertial Sensor Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.5.4 ARTRadioInfo..............................154
8.5.5 Tracking Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.5.6 Body administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.5.6.1 Filtering options for 6DOF tracking data . . . . . . . . . . . 158
8.5.7 OutputSettings .............................160
8.5.8 Fingertracking ..............................161
8.5.9 FlystickSettings .............................162
8.5.10 Measurement Tool Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.5.11 Advanced Controller Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.5.11.1 Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.5.11.2 NTP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8.5.12 Cascaded System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
8.6 MenuCalibration.................................165
8.6.1 Static reflex suppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
8.6.2 Inertial Sensor Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
8.6.3 Roomcalibration.............................166
8.6.3.1 Room Calibration Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.6.3.2 Room Calibration Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
8.6.3.3 Room re-calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
8.6.4 Roomadjustment ............................171
8.6.4.1 Transform the room coordinate system . . . . . . . . . . . 174
8.6.5 Bodycalibration .............................176
8.6.5.1 Body calibration overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
8.6.5.2 Body calibration procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
8.6.5.3 Body calibration result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
8.6.5.4 Selecting the coordinate system for 6DOF targets . . . . . 178
8.6.5.5 Selecting the coordinate system for 5DOF targets . . . . . 179
8.6.5.6 Calibration with a calibration file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
8.6.5.7 Body re-calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
8.6.5.8 Target Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
8.6.6 Bodyadjustment.............................183
8.6.6.1 GraphicView..........................184
8.6.6.2 Changing of body geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
8.6.7 Hybrid Body Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
8.6.8 Fingertracking Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
8.6.9 Measurement Tool Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
8.7 MenuDisplay...................................187
8.8 MenuTools ....................................188
8.8.1 Controller Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
8.8.2 Measurement Tool Demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
8.9 MenuAbout....................................189

9 Frequently asked questions (FAQ) 192
9.1 Backup ......................................192
9.2 Cameras .....................................192
9.3 Controller .....................................195
9.4 Synchronization .................................195
9.5 DTrack2 andshutterglasses ..........................202
9.6 DTrack2 andinterfaces .............................202
9.7 Software DTrack2 ................................203
9.8 Calibration ....................................207
9.9 Tracking......................................211
9.10Flystick ......................................213
9.11Fingertracking ..................................214
9.12MeasurementTool ................................216
9.13ActiveTargets...................................216
9.14 ART trackingand3DTVs ............................217
9.15 Radio transceivers used in ART products ...................217
10 General Information 218
10.1Service ......................................218
10.2 Cleaning of the equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
10.3 Warranty and liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
10.4 Declaration of conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
A Technical specifications 236
A.1 Cameras .....................................236
A.1.1 ARTTRACK5 ..............................236
A.1.2 ARTTRACK5/C .............................237
A.1.3 TRACKPACK/E .............................238
A.1.4 ARTTRACK cameras (discontinued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
A.1.5 TRACKPACK cameras (discontinued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
A.2 Flysticks......................................241
A.3 Standard Fingertracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
A.4 FINGERTRACKING2 Tactile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
A.5 ARTController ..................................243
A.6 Overallsystem ..................................244
A.7 Systemlatency..................................246
B Technical Appendix 250
B.1 Definition of Coordinates and Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
B.1.1 RoomCalibration.............................250
B.1.1.1 Room Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
B.1.2 BodyCalibration .............................251
B.1.2.1 Definition of the Coordinates by the Body itself . . . . . . . 251
B.1.2.2 Definition of the Coordinates by the Room Coordinate Sys-
tem, with Origin in the Center of the Markers . . . . . . . . 251

Chapter 0
B.1.2.3 Definition of the Coordinates by the Room Coordinate Sys-
tem, with Origin in a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
B.1.2.4 Coordinate System Definition for 5DOF Targets (with and
without cylinder markers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
B.1.2.5 Coordinate System Definition for two 5DOF Targets with
cylindermarkers........................252
B.1.3 6DOFResults ..............................252
B.1.4 3DOFData ................................253
B.1.5 Flystickdevices..............................253
B.1.5.1 Flystick1 ............................254
B.1.5.2 Flystick2 ............................254
B.1.5.3 Flystick3 ............................254
B.1.6 Measurement Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
B.1.6.1 Orientation of a Measurement Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
B.1.6.2 Using a reference body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
B.1.6.3 Covariance of Measurement Tool tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
B.1.7 Fingertracking ..............................256
B.2 Output of Measurement Data via Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
B.2.1 FrameCounter..............................259
B.2.2 Timestamp ................................259
B.2.3 Standard 6DOF Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
B.2.4 Standard 6DOF Bodies (extended format) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
B.2.5 Flysticks..................................261
B.2.6 Flysticks (Old Format) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
B.2.7 Measurement Tools with sphere tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
B.2.8 Measurement Tool references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
B.2.9 Measurement Tools (Old Format) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
B.2.10Fingertracking ..............................266
B.2.11 Additional 3DOF Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
B.2.12 Additional Informations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
B.3 Input of Special Control Data via Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
B.3.1 Fingertracking Tactile Control Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
List of Figures 270
List of Tables 273
Index 274
11

Terms and definitions
term definition
3DOF three degrees of freedom (i.e. only position)
6DOF six degrees of freedom (i.e. position and orientation)
5DOF five degrees of freedom (i.e. one degree less in orientation)
ART Controller calculates tracking data and generates the data output stream
(compatible to ARTTRACK2 ,ARTTRACK3 ,ARTTRACK5 ,
ARTTRACK5/C ,TRACKPACK/E )
ARTTRACK Controller (discontin-
ued)
calculates tracking data and generates the data output stream
(compatible to ARTTRACK1 ,ARTTRACK2 ,ARTTRACK3 )
ARTTRACK 2 & 3 (discontinued) infrared camera
ARTTRACK5 infrared camera
ARTTRACK5/C infrared camera dedicated for multi-sided projections
body calibration teach the system the geometry of a rigid body
body, rigid body rigid arrangement of multiple markers intended for 6DOF track-
ing (see also "target")
calibration angle (410mm or 710mm) belongs to the room calibration set and defines origin and orien-
tation of the room coordinate system
ceiling suspension equipment to mount an infrared camera to the ceiling
DTrack2
backend software software running on the controller doing all necessary calcula-
tions
frontend software graphical user interface running on customer’s computer to con-
trol the controller
Field of View (FoV) is the area of interest captured on the camera’s image
finger thimble a fixture for the finger tip to hold the active marker(s)
Fingertracking tracks the orientation of the hand and the position of the fingers
Flystick wireless interaction device for virtual reality (VR) applications
hand geometry describes the dimensions of your hand and fingers
hybrid tracking sensor fusion of optical and inertial data into one consolidated
output
inertial sensor an inertial measurement unit simultaneously measures 9 phys-
ical properties, namely angular rates, linear accelerations (un-
used) and magnetic field components (unused) along all 3 axes.
This is achieved using solid state gyroscopes for measurement
of roll, pitch and yaw and optical tracking for drift correction.
infrared optical tracking position measurement of bodies (subjects or objects) based
upon infrared light and optical measurement procedures
license code (license key) software key to unlock certain capabilities of the tracking system
marker object either made of retro reflective material or LED for position
tracking (3DOF)
Measurement Tool a pointing device which allows to measure the position of the
tool’s tip with high accuracy
measurement volume defines the volume where optical tracking is possible
modulated flash infrared signal which is used for wireless synchronization
motion capture track movements of a human body
mutual blinding one camera sees disturbing reflections caused by the infrared
flashes of another one
prediction predicts output for the specified time in the future to compensate
tracking and rendering latency
room calibration teach the system the position of each camera and define origin
and orientation of the room coordinate system
room calibration set consists of angle and wand
12

Chapter 0
term definition
syncgroup cameras being in one syncgroup receive the sync signal at the
same time. Syncgroups are distinguished by a short time delay
between their sync signals (i.e. mutual blinding may be avoided).
synccard (Synccard2/3 or Sync-
cardTP)
plug-in card for the controller which serves for synchronizing the
cameras
Tactile Feedback system for finger-based interactions in immersive virtual reality
applications (wires touch the inside of the finger tips and provide
an impression when they are shortened)
target rigid arrangement of several single markers ( = rigid body)
tracking position measurement of bodies that move in a defined space
TRACKPACK (discontinued) infrared camera
TRACKPACK/C (discontinued) infrared camera dedicated for multi-sided projections
TRACKPACK/E infrared camera
TRACKPACK Controller (discontin-
ued)
calculates tracking data and generates the data output stream
(compatible to TRACKPACK and TRACKPACK/C )
USB radio transceiver (RT2, RT3) exchange data with Flystick or Tactile Feedback
virtual point cloud used for calculating the relative positions of the IR cameras
wand precalibrated stick carrying two markers. The wand belongs to
the room calibration set and is used to generate a virtual point
cloud and to scale the system
13

1 Safety
1.1 Symbols and their meaning
You can find the following symbols and their signification on the equipment or in the man-
ual:
iUseful and important notes.
ZImportant notes, which may lead to system malfunction or to the
loss of warranty by non-observance.
Important safety warning to assure operation safety.
These warnings have to be considered, otherwise user
and equipment could be endangered, the equipment could be
damaged or the function of the equipment is not warranted.
Safety warning for infrared radiation.
These warnings have to be considered, otherwise users eyes
could be endangered.
Table 1.1: Symbols and their meaning
1.2 Safety warnings
Safe operation of the equipment is only warranted if the warnings in
this manual and on the equipment are observed.
•Never use the equipment if any part looks damaged.
•Safe operation is not possible, if
–the housing is damaged,
–any fluid attains in the housing,
–objects attain inside the equipment,
–the equipment shows any visible faults (smoke, sparks, fire, smells, etc.) or
–the power cord is damaged.
14

Chapter 1
1.2 Safety warnings
•In any of the cases mentioned above (or similar) pull the power cord out of the power
socket immediately. Otherwise, users or environment are endangered. Please con-
tact the ART service.
•Never change or alter the equipment, neither mechanically nor electrically. Only the
components described by ART shall be used. The conformity and the warranty of
the producer (ART ) expire by non-compliance.
•Never open the equipment! Only personnel authorized by ART is allowed to open
the equipment. Inside of the equipment there are various hazards like high voltage,
electric shocks - even if the equipment is disconnected - which can lead to death on
contact. In case of malfunction of the equipment please contact the ART service.
•Only peripheral devices which meet the safety requirements of EN/IEC 60950 for
extra low voltage may be attached on Ethernet-, BNC- and the DC-circuit of the
equipment.
•The cameras emit infrared light. Keep a distance of min. 20 cm when operating the
cameras. All cameras are assigned to the Exempt Group according to IEC62471-1
and therefore pose no risk or hazard to the human eye or skin at this distance.
•Be sure that the cameras are firmly mounted in the correct position.
•Do not touch the front pane of the cameras, since the acrylic pane and the lens are
highly sensitive surfaces. Be careful to avoid permanent damages (e.g. scratches).
Only touch the housings of the cameras.
•The ventilation holes of the ARTTRACK2 camera must not be covered. Air circu-
lation is necessary to prevent the cameras from overheating. If the air circulation
is restricted overheating will damage the cameras. The minimum distance between
equipment and environmental objects has to be greater than 3 cm.
•The equipment has to be attached to a power socket with grounding. If the ground-
ing wire is defective the requirement of the safety and the electromagnetic compat-
ibility (EMC) are not guaranteed. To check the function of the grounding wire ask
your regional located electrician.
•Before switching on any device, verify that voltage and frequency of your electric
installation are within the allowed ranges of the equipment. The characteristics of
the equipment can be found on the appliance rating plate or in chapter A on page
236. The appliance rating plates are on the equipment’s housing (ARTTRACK1 on
the lower side of the housing; ARTTRACK2 /ARTTRACK3 on external power sup-
ply, ARTTRACK5 &ARTTRACK5/C /TRACKPACK/E on camera housing, all con-
trollers on the backside of the housing).
•The power switch on the backside does not completely separate the devices from
the electricity network. To completely separate the equipment from the electricity
network the power plug must be disconnected from the power socket. The power
plug has to be accessible freely. The power socket must be close to the equipment.
15

1 Safety
•Please install the cables such that
–no one can stumble over the cords,
–the cords cannot be damaged,
–the cords cannot damage the cameras due to mechanical strain,
–the line of sight of the cameras is not obstructed.
Install a strain relief!
•Only use original ART (or ART authorized) components and accessories. Using
non-original components or accessories may damage the equipment, cause mal-
functions or may void operation safety. The provided components and original ac-
cessories can be found in chapters 4 on page 29, 5 on page 54 and 6 on page
71. Only use the originally provided external power supply for operating the camera
ARTTRACK2 and ARTTRACK3 and, if applicable, only the provided PoE+ switch
for ARTTRACK5 &ARTTRACK5/C .
•The equipment must not be dropped and/or knocked.
•Do not use any solvents or water to clean the cameras. For more information about
cleaning the cameras please read chapter 10.2 on page 218.
•Never expose the equipment to high levels of humidity or condensating humidity.
Protect the cameras against water and chemicals.
•The equipment must not be operated in environments with intensive formation of
dust or hot environments where temperatures rise above 40◦C (100◦F).
ZART explicitly denies any liability or warranty if the product is modified
in any way or not used according to this manual and the specification
labels on the equipment.
16

Chapter 2
2 Introduction
ART tracking systems are infrared (IR) optical tracking systems. In this user manual we
are going to perceive "tracking" as measurement of positional and rotational information
(i.e. orientation) of objects or individuals that move in a defined space.
Concept of tracking The simultaneous measurement of spatial position (X, Y, Z) and
orientation (three independent angles) is called "six degrees of freedom" (6DOF) track-
ing. If only the spatial position (X, Y, Z) is to be measured it is called "three degrees of
freedom" (3DOF) tracking.
Single markers are sufficient if only 3DOF coordinates are needed, but single markers
cannot be identified. DTrack2 will assign an ID to a tracked 3DOF marker as long as it
can be followed, but after losing the tracking (e.g. due to occlusions) it will not be able to
re-identify the marker and thus assign a new ID.
For 6DOF tracking, however, a target is mandatory. Targets are unique and rigid ar-
rangements of markers (=rigid bodies) and thus can be identified by their relative marker
position. Figure 2.1 on page 17 shows the concept of infrared optical tracking with a two-
camera system and a standard target.
Figure 2.1: Concept of optical tracking (stereo vision)
17

2 Introduction
Marker types Passive markers are covered with retro reflective material - they act as
light reflectors. Active light emitters (i.e. based on infrared LEDs) are called active mark-
ers (see chapter 3 on page 20).
Tracking in detail The cameras send out synchronized IR flashes which are reflected
back into the lens by retro-reflective material covering the markers of the target. The
tracking cameras scan a certain volume, detect the IR radiation that is reflected by the
markers and create a greyscale image based on the received IR radiation. During prepro-
cessing the intelligent cameras calculate the 2DOF marker positions with high accuracy
using pattern recognition algorithms.
Then the 2DOF data are being sent to a controller via ethernet which calculates 3DOF
or 6DOF information. The base for this calculation is that the cameras’ field of views
are overlapping. DTrack2 calculates the path of the optical rays from the cameras to the
markers and delivers the ray intersections in three-dimensional coordinates. These inter-
sections are the positions of the markers.
The position and orientation of the cameras is made known to the system during ’room
calibration’, while during ’body calibration’ DTrack2 identifies the unique arrangements of
markers as targets. Based upon these two teaching steps, DTrack2 is able to calculate
6DOF data and, finally, knows position and orientation of the target and therefore of the
object or individual to be tracked.
Note: In pure optical tracking systems tracking is only possible as long as
•objects or individuals to be tracked are equipped with single markers or targets
•the target is not occluded by any other objects in the cameras’ line of sight, which
could even be the object itself
•the target is positioned inside the tracking range of the cameras
•at least four markers of a target are visible to at least two cameras (in more detail:
to enable tracking).
Hybrid tracking In addition to tracking by a pure optical system it is possible to uti-
lize data from inertial measurement units (IMU). These devices usually consist of several
components such as gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers. The underlying
principle is the combination of solid-state microelectromechanical systems with integrated
circuits and analog or digital outputs to achieve 6DOF rotational information.
Some of the most important advantages of hybrid tracking are:
•tracking data from IMUs offers low noise-levels while running at very high frequen-
cies in combination with low latencies
•IMUs deliver tracking data (i.e. rotational information) even when the optical target
is not inside the tracking volume or if the target cannot be tracked due to viewing
limitations or occlusions
18

Chapter 2
•drifting of IMUs (i.e. mostly from the 3-axis gyroscope) is compensated by fusing the
inertial data with position measurements calculated from the optical tracking system
A hybrid target is basically an optical target additionally equipped with an IMU, which it-
self is connected to the controller. There the tracking data from both worlds (i.e. hybrid)
is combined, which also leads to the term ’sensor fusion’. By nature the IMU contains an
independent coordinate system which needs to be aligned to the optical tracking system
axes. This additional teaching process is called hand-eye calibration or ’hybrid body cali-
bration’ in DTrack2 .
19

3 Markers and targets (rigid bodies)
3.1 Passive markers
Passive markers used in ART tracking systems are retro-reflective, which means they
reflect a high fraction of the incoming light in a small cone around the incoming light’s
direction (cat’s eye effect). More precise: the IR radiation is reflected into a narrow range
of angles around the (opposite) direction of the incoming light. Passive markers can be
either
1. spherical markers:
+ excellent visibility from any perspective,
- expensive fabrication,
- sensitive surface,
- target requires larger volume →danger of mechanical damage.
2. flat markers:
+ low price,
+ flat targets possible,
+ robust surface because cover may be applied,
- the angular range of visibility is limited to approx. ±45◦.
3. ring markers:
+ low price,
+ cylindrically shaped targets possible,
+ robust surface,
- the angular range of visibility is limited to approx. ±45◦.
Passive markers are mostly spheres covered with retro reflecting foils. However, they can
also be stickers made from retro reflecting material.
Retro reflecting sheets or foils available on the market can be based on two different op-
tical principles:
20