title: A protocol and calibration method for accurate multi-camera field videography.
abstract: Stereo videography is a powerful technique for quantifying the kinematics and behavior of animals, but it can be challenging to use in an outdoor field setting. We here present a workflow and associated software for performing calibration of cameras placed in a field setting and estimating the accuracy of the resulting stereoscopic reconstructions. We demonstrate the workflow through example stereoscopic reconstructions of bat and bird flight. We provide software tools for planning experiments and processing the resulting calibrations that other researchers may use to calibrate their own cameras. Our field protocol can be deployed in a single afternoon, requiring only short video clips of light, portable calibration objects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA deht@cs.bu.edu thedrick@bio.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Diane H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Theriault
authors.affiliation: Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bluhm
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Evangelista
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Margrit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Betke
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA deht@cs.bu.edu thedrick@bio.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Tyson L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hedrick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D002685:Chiroptera; D005426:Flight, Animal; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D010780:Photogrammetry / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D046388:Swallows; D014741:Video Recording / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Bundle adjustment; Direct linear transformation; Kinematics; Photogrammetry; Stereography; Three-dimensional; Tracking; Videography