Release v0.4 - Augmented Reality



Hello everybody,

First of all thank you for your comments, is nice to have feedback. And special thanks to Joe Parisi for his help!

Many of you asked for some references in the video, so I have been working in a new version that makes a big step forward. This version makes use of augmented reality functions to find how and where the camera was placed with respect to the circle and draw any reference in the image. As a side result, it is also useful to remove distortion of wide angle cameras due to the required camera calibration.

Let's see an example:



This new version can work the same way as previous ones, using distortion correction only or using distortion correction and references.

In order to use the correction and references, it is necessary to calibrate the camera. Another program is included in the file called CamCalibration. This program takes an special video as an input and saves a .npz file with the camera parameters.
The video mentioned must be made with the same camera and configuration that is used for flight videos, and must show different perspectives of this pattern:

https://markhedleyjones.com/storage/checkerboards/Checkerboard-A4-25mm-10x7.pdf

This is an example video, the duration should be similar, 30-50s. Following calculations will take long if a long video is used:





As a result, this program saves a .npz file that will be used in the main program and two undistorted images. If those images show straight lines and good symmetry our chances are good. This is the result of an action camera distorted video:



Back to the main program, VideoF2B. After start it will ask for the previous .npz file of the camera used for the flight video. If you cancel this dialog, the program will work the same as v0.3.

If the file is loaded, it will ask for line length (including arm and half wingspan) and distance of the height markers to the circle center. This markers are per FAI rules, at 1.5m height, spaced 45 degrees and usually in a 25 m radius circle.

After that, a new window opens asking the user to click in the reference points. See the example video. If you close this window, the program will continue using only distortion correction.



If all went well, the flight video with references will be shown. You can rotate the sphere with the arrow keys, delete the track with space, or recalibrate references with 'c'. The output video will be saved in the folder of the input video.


I know this version is more complex to use, I have done my best to keep it as simple as posible but the problem itself is not easy. There are readme files included for both programs with more detailed instructions.

Next logical step is to include the maneuvers shape, stay tuned.




For its installation it is only necessary to unzip the corresponding file and open the executable file (VideoF2B_vX_X.exe). There are versions for 64bit Linux and for Windows. There is also a test video obtained from Youtube.

Some users reported failures related to antivirus, you may try disabling it if it is your case. This is a known problem related to the packaging software, Pyinstaller, causing false positives for some antivirus.

Windows version works at least in Windows 7 and 10, not in XP. Linux version tested in Ubuntu 16.04.

The path to the video must be free of special characters (the succesive folders must not have names with characters like รจ or spaces) if in doubt place videos in desktop to check.


Hope you enjoy,

Alberto Solera


Comments

  1. Fred (Brazil)20 April 2019 at 07:26

    Thank you for your dedication. It is realy very usefull for comunity.
    I'm thinking to make a championship via internet, where anyone can send the video and we analise the flight using your app. Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presentation

Image
Hello world! I start this blog to present a desktop application that I have developed to draw F2B stunt maneuvers. Development began a week ago and the potential it has immediately shown has encouraged me to publish it for use by all. The application is released as open source, so that everyone can use and distribute it freely, it is only necessary to quote the author. This is the first program I publish, so please be patient with the possible problems that will arise. Its use is very simple, when starting the application, a menu appears to choose the input video. Once selected, a window appears where the video is played along with the model trace. During processing, you can delete the trace with the space key and exit with the escape key. When finished, a copy of the video with the trace is saved with the original video. The input video must be recorded with the camera on a tripod, any movement will spoil the result. For best results, place the camera about 25 to 3
Read more

New developments and migration to github. v0.6

Image
 Hello again! It has been a long time since the last blog post, but videoF2B has not been abandoned! Luckily, Andrey   came along a few years ago and has been developing the code with much more professional results and methods. The new version offers a much better user interface (I mean, a user interface...), faster processing and amazing features, like drawing the complete F2B pattern figures in their ideal shape. 99% of the credit for the new features should go to Andrey. @clflyers regularly uploads videos recorded with the new software to his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@clflyers/videos  You can download the executables and source code from github (expand "Assets" for each release): https://github.com/alsolera/VideoF2B/releases  Documentation is here:  https://videof2b.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ Hope you enjoy! Alberto Solera
Read more