Next-generation low-cost motion capture systems can provide comparable spatial accuracy to high-end systems.
The objective quantification of three-dimensional kinematics during different functional and occupational tasks is now more in demand than ever. The introduction of new generation of low-cost passive motion capture systems from a number of manufacturers has made this technology accessible for teaching, clinical practice and in small/medium industry. Despite the attractive nature of these systems, their accuracy remains unproved in independent tests. We assessed static linear accuracy, dynamic linear accuracy and compared gait kinematics from a Vicon MX20 system to a Natural Point OptiTrack system. In all experiments data were sampled simultaneously. We identified both systems perform excellently in linear accuracy tests with absolute errors not exceeding 1%. In gait data there was again strong agreement between the two systems in sagittal and coronal plane kinematics. Transverse plane kinematics differed by up to 3° at the knee and hip, which we attributed to the impact of soft tissue artifact accelerations on the data. We suggest that low-cost systems are comparably accurate to their high-end competitors and offer a platform with accuracy acceptable in research for laboratories with a limited budget.
School of Health Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Dominic
D
Thewlis
Chris
C
Bishop
Nathan
N
Daniell
Gunther
G
Paul
D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*