Brand new to all of this! I am working in TouchDesigner and I need a way to track multiple actors on stage - I don’t care about their specific poses, I just need to know WHERE they are, x,y,z, on stage - to then input that data into TouchDesigner to have a projection track them on stage.
Caerma tracking in TouchDesigner works great for ONE actor, but is beyond my capabilities for multiple. So, I was thinking each actor would have something on them that could then be tracked.
I am a very lost as to where to begin, can I get pointed in the right direction? What would be the transmitter? What would be the receiver?
If using IR LED… would that have to be visible on the actor? And… what if they turn upstage or whatever? (Maybe my questions are dumb?) I need something not seen, so that they can be in costume without something “on” them.
As for flying, no, but perhaps platforms, stairs, balconies? However, yes, 2D is probably more the norm.
I was thinking invisible infrared light. Imagine two performers holding identical television remote controls and each pressing a different button: Terry presses Volume Up and Jerry presses Channel Down. The cameras can see the IR light & the software detects the different blinking patterns and determines the positions of each. Night vision users may be familiar with a similar IR positioning and indicating blinkers. I believe some VR gaming systems track controllers in a similar way.
The LEDs could be on the performers’ shoulders or helmets(?) or shoes and blink in unison so more in view simply makes redundancy for the cams to see. The limited size of a stage helps here and you might even be able to get away with a single overhead cam. The possibility of the signal getting washed out with ambient light should be considered.
You also might consider something like a Jetson Orin (currently backordered) and use OpenCV with an overhead cam to track up to 15-20 moving objects in real-time
Not likely. Accurate indoor tracking of multiple moving objects by radio tags is a very challenging problem, and as far as I know, no DIY solutions are available. Here is a solution for ONE tracked tag.
As mentioned, overhead cameras are popular for such tasks, and many examples are already available.
I’m having a hard time thinking of a period with better apparel and personal ornamentation for concealing props or tags than the Victorian. Put a half dozen LEDs around the hem of a skirt or dress, bodice straps, waistcoat, hairpins, shoe buttons, um, Tiny Tim’s wobbly crutch, they’ll pretty much always (unless seated at a table, in a buggy, on the Pinafore’s yards, etc) be in view of the cams.