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OptiTrack motion capture systems support the integration of National Instruments data acquisition (NI-DAQ) devices. Through NI-DAQ devices, signals from various analog devices (e.g. transducers or EMG sensors) can be converted into digital signals at a user-defined sampling frequency, and they can be precisely synchronized with the motion tracking data. This page provides instructions on connecting NI-DAQ devices and acquiring analog signals within Motive.
For a list of supported models, please refer to the Supported NI-DAQ Models section of this page.
For instructions specific to the NI-DAQ devices, please refer to the respective product User Guide or the NI's getting started guide.
OptiTrack motion capture system
The eSync 2 synchronization hub
Motive version 1.10 and above with a valid software license.
OptiTrack Peripheral Device module
NI-DAQ device(s): PCI or USB. See more at Supported Devices
Third party analog devices
The NI-DAQ functionalities are not supported with the use of the Motive API.
For integration of digital force plates, follow the Force Plate Setup guide. Analog platforms can be integrated through a NI-DAQ, but only raw voltage signals can be detected and the force plate features within Motive will not be supported.
Up to 32 analog channels are supported for each NI-DAQ device. If you wish to use higher channel counts, please contact us for more details.
OptiHub 2: Precise synchronization with a USB camera system is NOT supported. An Ethernet camera system with the eSync 2 synchronization hub should be used for NI-DAQ integrations. It is possible for the USB camera system to roughly synchronize to a NI-DAQ device via triggered sync, however, there will always be a variable time delay between the trigger and when the cameras start exposing. Due to this variable offset, the two of the recorded datasets cannot be perfectly aligned at the start of recording.
Motive supports PCI and USB data acquisition devices from National Instruments, and the NI-DAQmx driver must be installed on the computer in order to use the devices. The driver setup instructions will be covered in the software setup section of this page. A list of supported models can be found in the section below.
For general instructions on setting up the mocap system, refer to the Hardware Setup pages.
Hot plugging is not supported with the integration. When a new device is connected to the system, you must re-start Motive to instantiate it.
Below is the list of NI-DAQ device models that are supported with Motive. For best compatibility, use the recommended models or verified models since they are most tested to work with Motive. Unverified models are expected to work as well, but their integration has not been tested yet.
USB-63XX X-Series
Verified Devices
USB-6341, USB-6351, USB-6361
USB-6002
USB 6281 (M Series)
(Low Cost) USB Basic Series
NI 6000, NI 6001, NI 6002, NI 6003, NI 6008, NI 6009
E Series
NI 6023E, NI 6024E*, NI 6025E, NI 6030E, NI 6031E, NI 6032E/33E/34E/35E, NI 6036E*, NI 6040E, NI 6052E, NI 6062E*, NI 6070E, NI 6071E, NI PCI-MIO-16E-1, NI PCI-MIO-16E-4, NI PCI-MIO-16XE-10, NI PCI-MIO-16XE-50
M Series
NI 6210/11/12/15/16/18, NI 6220, NI 6221, NI 6224, NI 6225, NI 6229, NI 6230/32/33/36/38/39, NI 6250, NI 6251, NI 6254, NI 6255, NI 6259, NI 6280, NI 6281, NI 6284, NI 6289
X Series
NI 6320, NI 6321, NI 6323, NI 6341, NI 6343, NI 6345, NI 6351, NI 6353, NI 6355, NI 6356, NI 6358, NI 6361, NI 6363, NI 6365NI 6366, NI 6368, NI 6375
S Series
Simultaneous Sampling: NI 6110, NI 6111, NI 6115, NI 6120, NI 6122, NI 6123, NI 6124, NI 6132, NI 6133, NI 6143, NI 6154
SC Express
Signal Conditioning: NI 4300, NI 4302, NI 4303, NI 4304, NI 4305, NI 4322, NI 4330, NI 4331, NI 4339, NI 4353, NI 4357
DSA Series
Sound and Vibration: NI 4431, NI 4432, NI 4461, NI 4462, NI 4463, NI 4464, NI 4472/B, NI 4474, NI 4492, NI 4495, NI 4496, NI 4497, NI 4498, NI 4499, NI 4610
CompactDAQ
Platform to be used with I/O Modules:
Not Supported
C Series
Network DAQ
USB DAQ
I/O Modules to be paired with Chassis: NI 92xx, NI 94xx
NI MyDAQ
Educational: NI MyDAQ
Compact DAQ systems are not supported.
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding supported devices or if you are unsure of which NI-DAQ component to use, please contact us to discuss.
The following diagrams show wiring setups for connecting and synchronizing NI-DAQ devices with Prime series motion capture systems. Please note that NI-DAQ devices can be synchronized either through reference clock sync or through recording trigger sync, and both approaches are shown below. For most precise synchronization, using external clock signal as the reference is recommended.
OptiTrack mocap systems use the eSync 2 to provide highly accurate synchronization. When synchronizing the NI-DAQ device through an external clock signal or the reference clock signal, the eSync 2 generates and outputs clock signal to the NI-DAQ device(s), so that it can be used as the master reference clock that the connected devices can synchronize to. This approach is referred to as the reference clock sync, and in this approach, the data samples collected from two systems will be aligned on a per frame basis.
Wiring the eSync 2 and the NI-DAQ device: Connect one of the output ports of the eSync 2 into a programmable function interface (PFI) terminal of the NI-DAQ device that supports external sample clock inputs. For screw input terminals, ground signals must be separated from the BNC output of the eSync 2 and relayed into a digital ground terminal.
Wiring analog devices with the NI-DAQ device: Connect the output of an analog device(s) into one of the analog input channels of the NI-DAQ device. For screw terminals, a corresponding ground signal needs to be connected to an analog ground channel. For BNC terminals, wiring the ground signal is not necessary, but the input ports should be configured to either FS (Floating Source) or GS (Ground Source) setting depending on the characteristic of the signal source. For more information on connecting peripheral devices into a NI-DAQ device, visit NI support.
Screw Terminal Device Cabling
BNC Terminal Cabling
Required for setups using reference clock synchronization
In order to utilize the clock signal, a NI-DAQ device(s) that supports external sample clock input must be used. When using DAQ devices without the sample clock support, they will not be able to reference the clock signal. In this case, the device will have to sync at the start of the recording through the triggered sync and operate in the Free Run mode with independent acquisition rate which may result in synchronization drift over time.
NI-DAQ models supporting external sample clock:
X Series: (e.g. PCIe 6320, USB 63XX Series)
Bus-Powered M Series: ( e.g. USB 6210)
M Series: (e.g. USB 6221, PCI 6220)
Non-USB B Series: (e.g. PCI-6010)
NI-DAQ models NOT supporting external sample clock:
Low cost USB Series (e.g. USB-6002)
For best results, the reference clock sync approach is recommended to achieve per-sample basis synchronization between two systems; however, there are cases where this is not applicable. For example, you may need to use the clock signal to sync other devices that are sampling at a different rate than the sampling rate of the NI-DAQ device you wish to achieve. In such cases, you can use recording signal to trigger sync both systems at the start of the recording and have them free-run at their own sampling rates. This will align the recorded samples from two systems, but long recordings may be susceptible to phase shift.
Wiring the eSync 2 and the NI-DAQ device: Connect one of the output ports of the eSync 2 into an analog input terminal (e.g. ai0) of the NI-DAQ device. For screw input terminals, ground signals must be separated from the BNC output of the eSync 2 and relayed into an analog ground terminal.
Wiring analog devices with the NI-DAQ device: Connect the output of an analog device(s) into one of the analog input channels of the NI-DAQ device. For screw terminals, a corresponding ground signal needs to be connected to an analog ground channel. For BNC terminals, wiring the ground signal is not necessary, but the input ports should be configured to either FS (Floating Source) or GS (Ground Source) setting depending on the characteristic of the signal source. For more information on connecting peripheral devices into a NI-DAQ device, visit NI support.
Screw Terminal Device Cabling
BNC Terminal Cabling
For Motive to communicate with NI-DAQ devices, the OptiTrack Peripheral Modules must be installed along with Motive and NI-DAQ device drivers. The OptiTrack Peripherals Module is a software plugin package that installs required drivers and plugin DLLs for integrating external devices, including NI-DAQ devices and force plates (AMTI and Bertec). The following section describes the steps on integrating NI-DAQ device(s) within Motive.
During the Motive installation process, optional program features will be listed in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripherals Device, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive.
After agreeing to install the Peripheral Device, the installer will ask to install NI-DAQmx 15.1.1 driver. You will need to install this driver for MS Windows to recognize the connected NI-DAQ devices. Press Yes to initiate the NI-DAQmx installation and follow the instructions to set up the driver.
Installation Note: For integration into Motive, the NI-DAQmx 15.1.1 or later runtime driver must be installed. If you are already using an older version of the NI-DAQmx runtime and Motive is having problems recognizing the connected device, update the driver or uninstall and re-install the packaged version of the driver before contacting Support. In Motive, you can inspect device connection status via the Log Pane which can be accessed under the View tab in Motive.
Ensure the NI-DAQ device is powered and detected by MS Windows. For USB DAQ devices, you could also use the installed NI Device Monitor software to confirm and monitor the connection. The NI Device Monitor can be accessed from the Windows taskbar tray when a USB DAQ device is connected.
In the Devices pane, all of the connected NI-DAQ devices will be listed along with respective analog input channels (up to 32) under the Data Acquisition group.
Once the NI-DAQ device is recognized properly, you will be able to observe the real-time signal on the Graph View pane.
a. Device Pane: Select a NI-DAQ channel with an active signal.
b. Device Pane: Toggle the NI-DAQ device to begin sampling.
c. Device Pane: Select the active channel.
d. Graph Pane: Show the 'Scope' View.
6. Zero the DAQ device
Detected voltage signals from a NI-DAQ input channels can be zeroed. Right-click on a NI-DAQ device from the Devices pane and click Zero. Doing this will zero all of the enabled channels for the selected NI-DAQ device.
Now that the device is detected in Motive, you can select and configure settings for the device and its analog channels through Motive. When a data acquisition device or an analog channel is selected in the Devices pane, their respective properties will be displayed on the Properties pane or on a separate pop-up for the analog channels.
Properties of connected NI-DAQ devices get listed in the Properties pane when a device is selected in the Devices pane. These properties need to be configured in order to properly synchronized the data acquisition device and the camera system together. Details about appropriate property settings will be covered in the following section.
For specific details about each properties, visit Properties: NI-DAQ page.
Depending on the model, NI-DAQ devices may have different sets of allowable input types and voltage ranges for their analog channels. Refer to your NI-DAQ device User's Guide for detailed information about supported signal types and voltage ranges.
(Default: -10 volts) Configure the terminal's minimum voltage range.
(Default: +10 volts) Configure the terminal's maximum voltage range.
Configures the measurement mode of the selected terminal. In general, analog input channels with screw terminals use the single-ended measurement system (RSE), and analog input channels with BNC terminals use the differential (Diff) measurement system. For more information on these terminal types, refer to NI documentation.
Terminal: RSE Referenced single ended. Measurement with respect to ground (e.g. AI_GND) (Default)
Terminal: NRSE NonReferenced single ended. Measurement with respect to single analog input (e.g. AISENSE)
Terminal: Diff Differential. Measurement between two inputs (e.g. AI0+, AI0-)
Terminal: PseudoDiff Differential. Measurement between two inputs and impeded common ground.
Notes on devices with Diff terminals
Motive will report all terminals detected through the device. Some BNC NI-DAQ models wrap two RSE terminals into each BNC Diff terminals (e.g. USB-6212: 16 RSE terminals into 8 Diff terminals), and it will report all RSE terminals into Motive. This means the actual number of channels reported in Motive may be more than the actual number of Diff terminals on the device. In this case, there will be an error message when attempting to enable channels that are not available. Please be aware of the device specification and enable only the Diff channels that are available on the device.
In order to precisely synchronize the motion capture system with NI-DAQ devices, the eSync 2 must be used. This section walks through the steps on configuring the settings of the eSync 2 and the NI-DAQ in order to synchronize two systems together through the reference clock sync or the recording trigger sync.
Reference clock synchronization keeps Motive and your device continuously synchronized every few frames. In Motive 3.0+ achieving this level of synchronization is easier than ever with new right click menus in the Devices pane.
1. [Hardware]: Connect one of the eSync 2 Output(N) ports into the NI-DAQ digital input terminal.
2. [Motive]: Open the Devices pane.
3. [Motive: Devices pane]: Right click the eSync 2 in the Devices pane and choose one of the "Biomech Presets".
4. [Motive: Devices pane] Right click the eSync 2 in the Devices pane, hover over the "Reference Clock" option, hover over the eSync 2 Output # used in step 1, then choose the corresponding DAQ PFI #.
5. [Motive: Control Panel] Record. The recorded NI-DAQ device samples will be synchronized with the external clock signal outputted from the eSync 2.
The internal clock signal is generated from the eSync 2 and outputted to the NI-DAQ device(s) for precisely synchronizing two systems together. This approach is referred to as the synchronization through reference sample clock signal, and in this setup, all of the data samples will be synchronized per-frame basis.
To configure this, set the Source to Internal Clock in the Sync Input Settings section under the eSync properties. Here, the clock frequency of the internal clock signal will basically set the sampling rate of the NI-DAQ device(s). Then, the input divider/multiplier can be adjusted to achieve desired camera frame rate, and the final camera system framerate will be calculated and indicated under the eSync properties and in the Devices pane. The following steps summarize the reference sample clock sync setup steps:
1. [Hardware]: Connect one of the eSync 2 Output(N) ports into the NI-DAQ digital input terminal.
2. [Motive]: Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
3. [Motive: Devices pane]: Select the eSync 2 in the Devices pane and the corresponding properties will be displayed in the Properties pane
4. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)]: Configure the Sync Source to Internal Clock.
5. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)] Set the Clock Freq to desired acquisition rate of the NI-DAQ device(s).
6. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)] Adjust the Input Divider/Multiplier to set the final frame rate for the camera system. In order to accurately sample analog signals, the acquisition rate of the NI-DAQ device(s) should not be greater than X16 of the configured camera frame rate. In other words, the Input Divider should not exceed 16. The final camera system frame rate will always be displayed under the Devices pane and the eSync properties.
7. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)] For the eSync 2 output ports connected to the NI-DAQ devices, set the Output(N) Type to Internal Clock. Now the internal clock signal is configured to be outputted through the output(N) port into the connected NI-DAQ channel.
8. [Motive: Devices pane] Select the NI-DAQ device in the Devices pane and the corresponding properties will be displayed in the Properties pane.
9. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Within the NI-DAQ device property, set the Reference Clock Sync to True. At this point, the sampling rate of the NI-DAQ device in the Device Panel should be set to the same frequency as the internal clock signal configured for the eSync 2.
10. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Under the NI-DAQ device properties, designate the Reference Clock Terminal to the NI-DAQ digital input terminal connected in Step 1.
11. [Motive: Control Panel] Record. The recorded NI-DAQ device samples will be synchronized with the external clock signal outputted from the eSync 2.
For best results, use the external clock sync approach to achieve per-sample basis synchronization between two systems. However, there are cases where this is not applicable. For example, you may need to use the external clock signal to sync other devices that are sampling at a different rate than the sampling rate of the NI-DAQ device you wish to achieve. In such cases, you can use recording signal to trigger sync both systems at the start of the recording and have them free-run at their own sampling rates. This will align the recorded samples from two systems, but long recordings may be susceptible to phase shift.
1. [Hardware]: Connect one of the eSync 2 Output(N) ports into the NI-DAQ analog input terminal.
2. [Motive]: Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
3. [Motive: Devices pane]: Select the eSync 2 in the Devices pane and the corresponding properties will be displayed in the Properties pane
4. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)]: Configure the Sync Source under the Sync Input Settings. You can set it to either Internal Free Run or Internal Clock.
When this is set to Internal Clock, the camera system will reference the clock signal from the eSync 2 to determine the system frame rate. You will be able to configure the clock frequency and apply dividers and multipliers as necessary under the eSync 2 properties.
When this is set to Internal Free Run, the camera system will not reference the clock signal but will operate at its own rate which can be adjusted directly from the Devices pane.
5. [Motive: Properties pane (eSync 2)] For the eSync 2 output ports connected to the NI-DAQ devices, set the Output(N) Type to Recording Gate. This will configure the respective output ports to send out a signal into the connected NI-DAQ channel when Motive is recording.
6. [Motive: Devices pane] Select the NI-DAQ device in the Devices pane and the corresponding properties will be displayed in the Properties pane.
7. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Within the NI-DAQ device property, set the Recording Trigger to Device.
8. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Within the NI-DAQ device property, set the Reference Clock Sync to False.
9. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Within the NI-DAQ device property, set a value for the Multiple section. This will set the NI-DAQ to sample at a rate multiple of the master system rate, which was configured in step 4. Since NI-DAQ will be free running after the initial trigger sync, it is important that it samples at a whole multiple of the master rate.
10. [Motive: Properties pane (NI-DAQ)] Under the NI-DAQ device properties, designate the Trigger Terminal to the analog input terminal connected in Step 1.
11. [Motive: Control Deck] Click the record button to initiate the recording, and both the camera system and NI-DAQ will start recording simultaneously using the trigger signal.
The following steps describe a general workflow on collecting signals from connected NI-DAQ channels in Motive. Make sure the camera system is calibrated before recording if you wish to collect tracking data along with the analog signals.
Notes on the analog samples at the end of the recording:
Please note that the integration is not stop-aligned. At the end of the recording, there may be a few more NI-DAQ samples recorded beyond the recorded mocap frames because NI-DAQ reports samples in a batch and records at a much higher acquisition rate.
Captured analog signals are recorded within the Take file and they can be played back in Motive. When in Edit mode, the integrated NI-DAQ device will be shown under the Assets pane, and its Analog measurements can be plotted on the Graph View pane. You will need to create a custom graph layout and enable plotting of analog channels:
Graph Layout with Analog Plots
Right-click on the graph view and set the desired layout dimensions.
On one of the graphs, right-click and under the Devices section, select the analog channels you wish to plot.
Recorded NI-DAQ analog channel data can be exported into C3D and CSV files along with the mocap tracking data. You can just follow the normal the tracking data export steps, and if the analog data exists in the TAK, they will also be exported.
C3D Export: Both mocap data and the analog data will be exported onto a same C3D file. Please note that all of the analog data within the exported C3D files will be logged at the same sampling frequency. If any of the devices are captured at different rates, Motive will automatically resample all of the analog devices to match the sampling rate of the fastest device. More on C3D files: https://www.c3d.org/
CSV Export: When exporting tracking data into CSV, additional CSV files will be exported for each of the NI-DAQ devices in a Take. Each of the exported CSV files will contain basic properties and settings at its header, including device information and sample counts. The voltage amplitude of each analog channel will be listed. Also, mocap frame rate to device sampling ratio is included since analog data is usually sampled at higher sampling rates.
Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
Starting from Motive version 3.0 and above, the digital integration of Delsys Trigno Avanti systems is supported. Through this integration, electromyography (EMG) measurements from the Trigno Avanti EMG sensors can be recorded in Motive along with the tracking data. This page provides instructions on how to set up the Delsys Trigno Avanti platform along with the OptiTrack motion capture system.
Required Components
Prime series Ethernet camera system
eSync synchronization hub
Motive 3.0 or above
Delsys Trigno Avanti Platform with EMG sensors
Delsys Trigger Module for synchronization
Trigno EMGworks OR Delsys SDK server package version 3.5.8 or above.
Firmware on both the Trigno base station and the sensors must be updated. If the firmware is installed, use the Software Update Tool to install the latest firmware. For more information, please refer to the manufacturer documentation.
Notes
Supported Sensors: Integration is supported for Delsys Trigno EMG systems with Trigno Avanti sensors only.
Supported Data Channels: Data channels for EMG measurements will be reported in Motive. Data channels for the inertial measurement unit (IMU) and accelerometer are not supported.
Supported Device/Channel Count: Integration supports one Trigno base station with up to 16 EMG data channels. Additional devices and/or data channels above this limit cannot be integrated due to a restriction of the Delsys SDK.
Synchronization: Synchronization with the motion capture system requires the Delsys Trigger Module and the eSync synchronization hub. Supports triggered sync only.
Delsys Trigno Control Utility software must be running prior to launching Motive.
Below are two diagrams depicting two types of Delsys hardware setups. One without a NI-DAQ device, and one with a NI-DAQ device. When setting up a configuration without a NI-DAQ device, you'll use a Delsys Trigger Module. This will only allow the option for Trigger Synchronization. If you use a NI-DAQ configuration, however, you have the option to use either Trigger and Reference Clock Synchronization. For more information about synchronization, please scroll down to the Synchronization section of this page.
Please make sure the firmwares on both the Trigno Base Station and the EMG sensors have been updated. You can check the firmware version using the Software Update Tool provided by Delsys. For more information, please refer to the user manual.
Before proceeding with integrating the EMG system into Motive, please make sure the required software for the Delsys Trigno Avanti sensor system is all set up on the host computer. This includes Trigno Control Utility software which will get along with the Trigno EMGworks or Delsys SDK Server package version 3.5.8. For the sensor to work in Motive they must first be configured and paired in the Delsys Trigno Control Utility (TCU) software.
In order to integrate Delsys EMG systems with Motive, you will need to setup the required drivers and plugins. Motive installer is packaged with the Peripheral Device module which can be added. During the Motive installation, a list of program features will be shown in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripheral Device module, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive Files.
Note : Even if you are not using NI-DAQ, it is still necessary to install NI-DAQmx drivers that come up next in the installer.
Step 1. Launch Delsys Trigno Control Utility software
Make sure to launch the Delsys TCU software first. Make sure all of the sensors have been powered and paired in the TCU software. If the sensors are not detected here, they will not be detected in Motive.
Step 2. Start Motive
Once the sensors are detected and running in the Delsys TCU software, launch Motive. If the peripheral module is installed, Motive will attempt to connect to the Delsys system.
Step 3. Confirm connection
In TCU: If the TCU software is connected to Motive, it will indicate that it has connected to a remote client. As shown in the image below.
Step 4. Enable data channels
Data Channels:
Channel 1-16: These are the channels used for reporting raw EMG signals.
Channel 17-32: These are the channels used for reporting RMS envelope for the corresponding EMG signal. For example, channel 17 reports RMS envelope of the EMG signals coming through channel 1, and channel 18 reports RMS envelope for channel 2.
Terminal Name
The terminal name in Motive correlates to the physical sensor ID given to a Trigno Avanti sensor in Delsys TCU.
Step 5. Enable device
Once you have enabled all of the desired data channels, enable the Trigno device from the Devices pane.
Step 8. Confirm incoming data in Graph pane
As a last step, use the Graph pane to check the EMG data coming through the enabled channels.
Graph Layout:
Setting up triggered sync
If not already, connect the Delsys trigger module into the Trigno base station.
Using a BNC cable, connect one of the output ports on the eSync into the Start Input of the triggered sync box.
[Motive] Set the Type of the connected output port to Recording Gate.
[Motive] Select Trigno device to access its properties.
[Motive] Set the Triggered Sync setting to Device. Note that once Trigno is configured to the Triggered sync mode, EMG data will not be reporting until a recording is started to trigger the Delsys system.
Under Trigno device properties, you can set the following properties to perform data operations to the reported data.
Rectify Values
When enabled, all of the Raw EMG signal coming through channel 1~16 will be rectified and the absolute values of the measurements will be reported.
RMS Envelope Window
RMS is a common way to interpret EMG data. Motive performs RMS envelope calculation when reporting the data just for visualization purposes. For a complete EMG analysis, including additional data filtering for example, the Raw EMG signal should be processed through a separate data analysis software.Size of the RMS envelope can be changed by configuring the RMS Envelope Window property under Trigno device properties. This will set the number of samples used to calculate the RMS reported in Motive. Higher sample size will result in a smoother window and it needs to be adjusted based on the Trigno sampling frequency.
Noise Sample Size
Noise removal can be controlled by the Noise Sample Size property. Set this to 0 to completely disable noise removal.
Once Trigno system is detected in Motive and its channels are enabled, the reported EMG channel data will get recorded along with the motion tracking data. With the triggered sync setup explained above, motion capture system and the EMG system will be synchronized at the start of the recording and they will be running at their own sampling rates after the trigger point. Due to limitation of the triggered synchronization, it is recommended to keep the recordings relatively short.
The Delsys Trigno EMG device samples at a rate of 2000Hz natively, so oftentimes we are down sampling in Motive, and in rare cases, up sampling. We have found that sampling in Motive at a motion capture rate of 100Hz or 200Hz with a multiplier of 10 for the Delsys Trigno EMG device (making its sample rate at 1000Hz or 2000Hz respectively), has shown the best results. When running Motive at 120Hz, however, it has shown to have intermittent frame drops.
For consecutive recordings, please wait at least 5 seconds between each recording to allow the EMG system to get ready for the next recording trigger for proper sync. If not, the data may not get successfully recorded.
Graph Layout with Device Data Plots
Right-click on the graph view and set the desired layout dimensions.
On one of the graphs, right-click and under the Devices section, select the analog channels you wish to plot.
CSV Export: When exporting tracking data into CSV, additional CSV files will be exported separately for each Trigno device in a Take. Each of the exported CSV files will contain basic properties and settings at its header, including device information and sample counts. The voltage amplitude of each analog channel will be listed. Also, mocap frame rate to device sampling ratio is included since analog data is usually sampled at higher sampling rates.
Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
In a Motive Body license, there are a number of Skeleton Marker Set templates for biomechanics tracking applications. When attaching the markers, reference the Skeleton avatar from the Builder pane for relative locations. Then refer to the corresponding Marker Set pages, or related reference materials, for additional descriptions on where each marker must be placed on the subject.
Biomechanics Marker Sets**:**
Helen Hayes Lower Body
Rizzoli Lower Feet (44)
Conventional Full Body (39)
Conventional Upper Body (27)
Conventional Lower Body (16)
Biomechnical Analysis
Biomechanical analysis requires advanced computations in order to obtain most accurate biomechanical data. However, joint angles generated and exported from Motive are intended for basic visualization purposes only and should not be used for any type of biomechanical or clinical analysis. To use captured tracking data for such applications, the 3D markers data must be pipelined down to a biomechanical analysis software (STT InSight, Visual3D or The MotionMonitor) for further analysis.
Asymmetry
Asymmetry is the key to avoiding the congruency for tracking multiple Marker Sets. When there are more than one similar marker arrangements in the volume, marker labels may be confused. Thus, it is beneficial to place segment makers — joint markers must always be placed on anatomical landmarks — in asymmetrical positions for similar rigid bodies and skeletal segments. This provides a clear distinction between two similar arrangements. Furthermore, avoid placing markers in a symmetrical shape within the segment as well. For example, a perfect square marker arrangement will have ambiguous orientation and frequent mislabels may occur throughout the capture. Instead, follow the rule of thumb of placing the less critical markers in asymmetrical arrangements.
Head Markers
Torso Markers
Waist Markers
Note that the waist markers are the key markers in modeling the pelvis bone, which is the major segment governing the other subsequent Skeleton segments.
Upper Extremity Markers
Hand Markers
For best results, place the three hand markers so the created shape is asymmetrical (avoid isosceles shape) and unique from the marker arrangements on the other hand. Since the wrist markers have defined placement — along the wrist axis — introduce small amount of positional offset to the LHM2 and RHM2 markers.
Lower Extremity Markers
The joint center of the knee and the ankle is modeled at the midpoint of the lateral and medial joint markers (FLE/FME and FAL/TAM). Assuming that center of the femoral head aligns with the center of the acetabulum, its virtual location is modeled using markers on the pelvis segment (posterior and anterior iliac spine markers). The lower extremity segments are modeled along these three virtual locations.
Foot Markers
Leardini, A., Biagi, F., Merlo, A., Belvedere, C., Benedetti, M.G., 2011. Multi-segment trunk kinematics during locomotion and elementary exercises. Clin. Biomech. 26, 562-571.
Leardini, A., Sawacha, Z., Paolini, G., Ingrosso, S., Nativo, R., Benedetti, M.G., 2007. A new anatomically based protocol for gait analysis in children. Gait Posture 26. 560-571.
Example force plate properties for triggered sync.This page provides instructions on integrating an AMTI Force plate system with an OptiTrack motion capture system.
When a motion capture system is used in conjunction with force plates, they work together as an efficient tool for various research applications including biomechanical analysis, clinical gait analysis, physiology research, sports performance research, and many more. An OptiTrack motion capture system can synchronize with force plates to obtain both kinematic and kinetic measurements. Note that force plate integration is supported only with a Prime camera system using the eSync 2 synchronization hub. This page provides quick guidelines for setting up and configuring force plates — with digital outputs — along with the OptiTrack motion capture system.
For detailed information on specifications and configurations on the force plates, refer to the documentation provided by the force plate manufacturer.
Analog Platforms
Analog force plate devices can only be implemented via DAQ devices. Incoming voltage signals can be detected through the data acquisition channels, but force plate related software features (vectors, position calibration, etc.) will not be supported in Motive for the analog platforms. Refer to the page for detailed instructions on integrating analog devices.
Motive 3.0 Update
Starting from Motive 3.0, reference clock synchronization while in Live mode is supported.
Supported Amplifier Models: AMTI Gen 5, AMTI Optima.
Force platforms that are compatible with the above amplifier models.
Prime series Ethernet camera system with the eSync synchronization hub.
Motive 1.9 or above.
AMTI Force Plate System Setup
Connect each force plate into the host PC. For force plate systems with external amplifiers, the platform must be connected to the amplifier which uplinks to the host computer. For detailed instructions on setting up the Force Plate system with a host PC, refer to the AMTI documentation.
Camera System Setup
Wiring the eSync with the Gen 5 Amplifier
Multiple Devices Sync
Hot Plugging
Hot plugging is not supported with the integration. When a new device is connected to the system, you must re-start Motive to instantiate it.
Before setting up the force plates in Motive, make sure software components required by the force plate system is installed on the computer. AMTI's software (e.g. AMTINetForce) must be able to detect and initialize the connected devices in order for the force plates to be properly initialized and used in Motive. Once this has been confirmed working, start setting up Motive. Please refer to manufacturer documentation for more information.
In order to integrate force plate systems with Motive, you will need to setup the required drivers and plugins. Motive installer is packaged with the Peripheral Device module which can be added. During the Motive installation, a list of program features will be shown in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripheral Device module, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive Files.
Note : Even if you are not using NI-DAQ, it is still necessary to install NI-DAQmx drivers that come up next in the installer.
1. Start Motive
2. Calibrate Cameras
3. Setup CS-400
4. Place CS-400 on force plate
Place the calibration wand on the force plate so that vertex of the wand is located at the right-hand corner of the side where the cable input is located (as shown in the image below). A correct placement of the calibration square is important because it determines the orientation of the force plate and its local coordinate axis within the global system. The coordinate systems for force plates are independent of the system used Motive.
AMTI Force Plates
AMTI force plates use the right-hand system. The long arm of CS-400 will define the Y axis, and the short arm will define the X axis of the force plate. Accordingly, Z axis is directed downwards for measuring the vertical force.
5. Set force plate position in Motive.
After placing the calibration square on the force plate, select the CS-400 markers in Motive. Right click on the force plate you want to locate, and click Set Position. When there are multiple force plates in a volume, you may need to step on the force plate to find which platform the calibration square is on. In Motive, uncalibrated force plates will light up in green and a force vector will appear when you step on the plate. Repeat step 4 and 5 for other force plates as necessary.
Referencing to the markers on the calibration square, Motive defines the location of the force plate coordinate system within the global coordinate system.
Motive uses manufacturer defined X, Y, and Z mechanical-to-electrical center offset when calculating the force vector and the center of pressure. For digital based plates, this information is available from the SDK and also stored in the plate's on-board calibration data.
6. Zero force plates.
After you have calibrated each of your force plates, remove the CS-400 from the volume. Right click one of your force plates in Motive and click Zero (all). This will tare the scale and set the current force on the plate data to 0. This will account for a small constant amount of measurement offset from the force plate. Remember that it zeros all of the force plates at once. So make sure there are no objects on any of the force plates.
7. Set sampling rate
Sampling rate of force plates is configured through the synchronization setup which will be covered in the following section. You can sync the force plates either through the reference clock sync or through the triggered sync. Please note that only specific sampling rates may be supported depending on the amplifier models.
Supported force plate sampling rates:
For AMTI force plates support the following sampling rates depending on the amplifier used. For the most up-to-date information, consult their documentation. The supported sampling rates (Hz) are the following:
AMTI Gen 5 Amplifier: 2000, 1800, 1500, 1200, 1000, 900, 800, 600, 500, 450, 400, 360, 300, etc...
AMTI Optima Amplifier: 1000, 600, 500, 300, 250, 200, 150, 125, 120, 100, 60, 50, 30, 25, 15, 10.
There are two synchronization approaches you could take: Synchronization through clock signal or through recording trigger signal.
Synchronization via clock signal utilizes the internal clock signal of the eSync to synchronize the sampling of the force plates on per-frame basis. However, when there is another device (e.g. NI-DAQ) being synchronized to the clock signal frequency, the sampling rate cannot be set for each individual device. In that case, triggered sync must be used for synchronizing the initial recording trigger. Synchronization via trigger signal utilizes the recording trigger in Motive to align the initial samples from both systems. After the initial sync, both systems run freely at their own sampling rate. If the force plates are running at whole multiples of the camera system, the collected samples will be aligned. However, since the sampling clocks are not perfectly accurate, alignment of the samples may slowly drift over time. Thus, when synchronizing via recording trigger, it is better to keep the record times short.
When synchronizing through the eSync, use the following steps to configure the sync settings in Motive. This will allow both systems to be triggered simultaneously with reference to the parent synchronization device, the eSync.
Reference Clock Sync Setup Steps
Next, to the Clock Frequency section, input the sampling rate that you wish the run the force plates in. This clock signal will be eventually outputted to the force plate system to control the sampling rate. For this guide, let's set this to 1200 Hz.
Once the clock frequency is set, apply the Input Divider/Multiplier to the clock frequency to set the framerate of the camera system. For example, if you set the Input Divider to 10 and the Input Multiplier to 2 with internal clock frequency running at 1200 Hz, the camera system will be running at 240 FPS. The resulting frame rate of the camera system will be displayed in the Camera Rate section.
Next step is to configure the output signal so that the clock signal can be sent to the force plate system. Under the Outputs section, enable the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Record Trigger → False
Reference Clock Sync → True
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
eSync 2 Settings Tip:
Live Data
Starting from Motive 3.0, clock synchronization in Live mode is supported, and the force vector visualization will be available both in Live and Edit modes.
Triggered Sync Setup Steps
Set up the output signal so that the recording trigger signal can be sent to the force plate system. In the Outputs section, enable and configure the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Record Trigger → Device
Reference Clock Sync → False
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
ReSynch
When two systems are synchronized by recording trigger signals (Recording Gate or Recording Pulse), both systems are in Free Run Mode. This means that the recording of both the mocap system and the force plate system are triggered simultaneously at the same time and each system runs at its own rate.
Two systems, however, are synchronized at the recording trigger but not by per frame basis. For this reason, alignment of the mocap data and the force plate data may gradually drift from each other for longer captures. But this is not a problem since the sync chain will always be re-synchronized each time recording in Motive is triggered. Furthermore, Takes in general do not last too long for this drift to take effect on the data.
Before you start recording, you may want to validate that the camera and force plate data are in sync. There are some tests you can do to examine this.
The first method is to record dropping a retroreflective ball/marker onto the platform few times. The bouncing ball produces a sharp transition when it hits the surface of the platform, and it makes the data more obvious for validating the synchronization. Alternately, you can attach a marker on a tip of the foot and step on and off the force plate. Make sure that your toe — closest to the marker — strikes the platform first, otherwise the data will seem off even when it is not. You can then monitor the precise timing of the ball or the foot impacting the force plate and compare them between the mocap data and the force plate data.
The following is an example of validating good synchronization outcomes:
All of the configured device settings, including the calibration, get saved on Device Profile XML files. When you exit out of Motive, updated device profiles will be saved under the program data directory (C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\DeviceProfiles), and this file gets loaded again when you restart Motive. You can have this file backed up to persist configured eSync and device settings. Also, if you wish to reset the device settings, you can remove XML files other than the default one from the folder, and Motive will load from the default settings.
Notes
The force and moment data reflects the coordinate system defined by the force plate manufacturer, which is typically the Z-down right-handed coordinate system. Note: This convention is independent of the global coordinate system used in Motive. Thus, the Fz components represent the vertical force. For more in-depth information, refer to the force plate specifications.
We recommend the following programs for analyzing exported data in biomechanics applications:
C3D Axes
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
Force plate data and the tracking data can be exported into CSV files as well. When a Take file is exported into a CSV file. Separate CSV files will be saved for each force plate and it will contain the force, moment, and center of pressure data. Exported CSV file can be imported for analysis.
Number of Force Plates
First, make sure the NI-DAQ device and its operating analog input channels are enabled under the Devices pane. Then, open the Graph pane and create a custom layout for monitoring live-analog data; create a new layout, right-click on the graphs, and select the device channel you wish to plot. Then, open the graph editor () and make sure View Style is set to Live under the Visuals tab. Configured analog channels will be plotted on the graphs.
Properties of individual channels can be configured directly from the Devices pane. As shown in the image, you can click on the icon to bring up the settings and make changes.
In Motive: If the sensor is connected, it will be reported under the panel and the Trigno device will be listed in the .
Open the in Motive and connected Trigno device will be listed. If you click on the on the device, and all of the available data channels will be shown in the pop-up. Click on the data channels and enable the ones that will be used.
The graph layout may need to be configured for plotting the EMG channel data. To create a new layout, click on the button in and select Create New Layout from the context menu. Once new layout is created, click on the icon to expand the sidebar, and click on the graph which you wish to plot the graphs onto, and check mark the EMG channels in the sidebar to start plotting the channel data onto the selected graph. Make sure Trigno device is selected under the Devices pane.
Synchronization of the Delsys Trigno EMG system with the motion capture system is accomplished through triggered sync. Triggered sync, in this situation, refers to the relationship between the Delsys Trigno EMG system and the motion capture system. Meaning, the motion capture system triggers the start of data sampling of the Delsys Trigno EMG system. Once triggered, both the motion capture system and the Delsys Trigno EMG system are truly aligned only during the first frame of recording then each move forward at their own individual sampling rates in an approximation of synchronization. Reference clock synchronization is more precise, however, it is not supported by Delsys systems. This is due to a limitation of the DelsysSDK. For more information regarding Deylsys SDK, please visit their SDK page .
Triggered sync can be set up by connecting one of the eSync outputs to the Delsys Trigger Module. For triggered synchronization, one of the outputs from the eSync will need to be configured to output a signal, and it will need to be connected into the Start Input on the trigger module. The connect input port on the trigger module will also need to be set to detecting a rising edge using the toggle switch on the module.
Refer to the Delsys documentation for more information on setting up the triggered sync using the trigger module:
[Motive] In Motive, select the eSync to access its properties from the .
Captured analog signals are recorded within the Take file and they can be played back in Motive. When in Edit mode, the integrated EMG device will be shown under the , and its Analog measurements can be plotted on the . You will need to configure the graph layout and enable plotting of analog channels:
Create a custom layout on the Graph View pane. → Create Layout.
Recorded EMG channel data can be exported into C3D and CSV files along with the mocap tracking data. You can just follow the normal the steps, and if the analog data exists in the TAK, they will also be exported.
C3D Export: Both mocap data and the analog data will be exported onto a same C3D file. Please note that all of the analog data within the exported C3D files will be logged at the same sampling frequency. If any of the devices are captured at different rates, Motive will automatically resample all of the analog devices to match the sampling rate of the fastest device. More on C3D files:
Please for any issues or questions that are not covered in this wiki page.
Setup the OptiTrack camera system and place the force plate(s) at the desired location(s); ideally, near the center of the volume. See or page for details.
For accurate synchronizations, the must be used. The eSync 2 has signal output ports that are used to send out synchronization signals to child devices. Connect the BNC output ports of the eSync to sync input ports (Genlock/Trigger Input) of force plate amplifiers.If force plate systems have RCA sync ports, use RCA cables along with the 50 Ohm BNC Male to 75 Ohm RCA Jack Adapters included with the eSync 2 to connect the amplifiers. The above wiring diagram shows how force plate systems need to be connected to an Ethernet camera system through the eSync 2.
There are total four output ports on the eSync 2, and multiple force plates and external devices can be integrated if needed. Consult our for multiple force plate synchronizations.
If the hardware and software for the force plates are configured and successfully recognized, Motive will list out the detected force plates with number labels (1, 2, etc..). Motive will notify you of incorrect or nonexistent force plate calibration files. When the devices are successfully instantiated in Motive, the will indicate that the device has been created and loaded.
Calibrate the capture volume as normal to get the orientation of the cameras (see the or page for more information). The position of the force plate is about the center of the volume, and when you recalibrate or reset the ground plane, you will need to also realign the position of your force plates for best results.
On the , pull the force plate alignment tabs out and put the force plate leveling jigs at the bottom. The leveling jigs align the calibration square to the surface of your force plate. The alignment tabs allow you to put the CS-400 flush against the sides of your force plate giving the most accurate alignment.
Open the and the .
In the , select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the properties pane for the selected eSync.
In the , under Sync Input Settings section, set the Source to Internal Clock.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to .
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the force plate properties in Motive. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the . Here, set the following properties:
Once this is set, the force plate system will start sampling at the frequency of the clock signal configured on the eSync, and this rate will be displayed on the as well.
In Motive 3.0 and above, you can quickly configure eSync into biomech sync settings by right-clicking on the eSync from the and select one of the presets from the context menu. This will enable and set all of the eSync outputs to the Internal Clock and set the clock frequency.
Open the and the .
The final frame rate of the camera system will be displayed at the very top of the .
In the , select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the Properties pane for the selected eSync.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to .
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the properties of the force plates. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the . Here, set the following properties:
Once this is done, the force plate system will synchronize to the recording trigger signal when Motive starts collecting data, and the force plates will free-run after the initial sync trigger. You can configure the sampling rate of the force plates by modifying the Multiplier values in to sample at a whole multiple of the camera system frame rate.
For free run sync setups, sampling rates of force plates can be set from the , but the sampling rate of force plates must be configured to a whole multiple of the camera system's framerate. By adjusting the Rate Multiplier values in the , sampling rates of the force plates can be modified. First, pick a frame rate of the camera system and then adjust the rate multiplier values to set force plates to the desired sampling rate.
However, this could be an issue when live-streaming the data since recording is never initiated and two systems will be synchronized only when Motive first launches. To zero out the drift, the ReSynch feature can be used. Right-click on force plates from either the or the , and select Resynch from the context menu to realign the sampling timing of both systems.
Force plate data can be monitored from the . You will need to either use a provided Force Plate Forces layout or configure a custom graph layouts to show force plate data. To view the force plate data, make sure the corresponding force plates are selected, or selection-locked, in Motive.
If you are configuring your own force plate graph layout, make sure the desired force plate data channels (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, or Mz) are selected to be plotted. Then, when you select a force plate in Motive, and the data from the corresponding channels will be plotted on the graphs. When both reconstructed markers and force plate channels are selected, the force plot will be sub-sampled in order to be plotted along with trajectory data. For more information about how to configure graph layouts, read through the page.
Motive exports tracking data and force plate data into C3D files. Exported C3D files can then be imported into a biomechanics analysis and visualization software for further processing. See the or page for more information about C3D export in Motive. Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
To stream tracking data along with the force plate data, open the Data Streaming Pane and check the Broadcast Frame Data, and make sure that you are not streaming over the camera network. Read more about streaming from the workflow page.
Motive can stream the tracking data and the force plate data into various applications — including Matlab — using protocol. Find more about from the User's Guide included in the download.
At the time of writing, there is a hard limit on the maximum number of force plate data that can be streamed out from Motive. Please note that only up to 8 force plate data can be streamed out from Motive and received by a application.
SJN (IJ[1])
Thorax
Sternum Jugular Notch
Top most section of the sternum. Place the marker on the center of the two clavicle bones.
SXS (PX[1])
Thorax
Sternum Xiphoid Process
Lowest section of the sternum. Place the marker 1-2 cm above where bottom of the two rib cages conjoin.
CV7 (C7[1])
Thorax
Cervical Spine Vertebra 7
The 7th cervical spine vertebra is the largest vertebra located at the most inferior region of the neck. This section usually protrudes to the posterior side and can be palpated.
TV2 (T2[1])
Thorax
Thoracic Spine Vertebra 2
The second thoracic spine vertebra is located three spine levels below the C7 vertebra. Which is located approximately at same height with shoulder joint markers.
TV7 (T7[1])
Thorax
Thoracic Spine Vertebra 7
Usually located at the center of the thoracic spinal column.
LHGT RHGT
Upper Arm / Shoulder
Left Glenohumeral Joint Right Glenohumeral Joint
Place the marker on the posterior side of the shoulder axis. Ask the subject to posture in T-pose while placing the markers.
Pelvis
Left Iliac Anterior Spine Right Iliac Anterior Spine
Place the marker on the protruding bones located on the left and right side of the pelvis front.
Pelvis
Left Iliac Posterior Spine Right Iliac Posterior Spine
Place each marker on the two dimples which can be palpated near the spine right above the hips.
Thorax
Left Clavicle-Acromion Joint Right Clavicle-Acromion Joint
Ask the subject to stretch both arms towards the side (T-pose), then palpate top of each shoulder for the protruding bone. The prominence is usually located at the end of the corresponding clavicle bone just before where the upper arm starts.
LHLE RHLE
Upper Arm
Left Humerus Lateral Epicondyle Right Humerus Lateral Epicondyle
Placed the markers on the lateral side of the elbow axis. Flex and extend the arm few times to find where elbow axis is located.
LHME* RHME*
Upper Arm
Left Humerus Medial Epicondyle Right Humerus Medial Epicondyle
Place on the medial side of the elbow axis. Ask the subject to flex and extend the arm while placing the markers.
LUA RUA
Upper Arm
Left Upper Arm Right Upper Arm
Ask the subject to stand in T-pose while placing the marker. Palpate to find the groove between the triceps muscles where skin movements are relatively minimal.
LHM2 RHM2
Hand
Left Hand Second metatarsal Right Hand Second metatarsal
Place the marker slight below the knuckle of the index finger.
LUSP RUSP
Hand
Left Ulna Styloid Process Right Ulna Styloid Process
Place the marker on the lateral side of the wrist axis.
LRSP RRSP
Hand
Left Radius Styloid Process Right Radius Styloid Process
Place the marker on the medial side of the wrist axis.
Pelvis
Left Femoral greater Trochanter Right Femoral greater Trochanter
Place the markers on left and right side of the hip, where you can palpate the hip joint or the most lateral prominence of the greater trochanter.
Upper Leg
Left Femur Lateral Epicondyle Right Femur Lateral Epicondyle
Place the marker on the lateral prominence of the knee joint axis. More specifically, the marker should be placed on the femur epicondyle. You may need to ask the subject to flex and extend the knee few times to locate the axis.
Upper Leg
Left Femur Medial Epicondyle Right Femur Medial Epicondyle
Place the marker on the Medial prominence of the knee joint axis. Ask the subject to flex and extend the knee few times to locate the knee axis.
LTH RTH
Upper Leg
Left Thigh Right Thigh
Place the markers at the front center of the thigh near the midline. This marker is placed for distinguishing left and right side of the Skeleton. For best results, slightly offset the height of right and left marker to introduce an asymmetry.
LSK RSK
Upper Leg
Left Superior Knee Right Superior Knee
Place the markers on the shin bone near the midline of the lower leg. This marker is placed for distinguishing left and right side of the Skeleton. For best results, slightly offset the height of right and left marker to introduce an asymmetry.
Lower Leg
Left Tibial Tubercle Right Tibial Tubercle
Place the marker about 2-3 cm below the knee cap bone. This marker should be placed on the most anterior point of the tibial tuberosity.
Lower Leg
Left Fibula Apex Right Fibula Apex
While standing, place the markers approximately 5 cm below the LFLE and RFLE markers. This marker should be placed on the lateral prominence of proximal end of the fibula.
LFAL(LM[2]) RFAL
Lower Leg/Foot
Left Fibula Ankle Lateral Right Fibula Ankle Lateral
Place the maker on the lateral side of the ankle axis; on the lateral prominence of the lateral malleolus bone.
Lower Leg/Foot
Left Talus Ankle Medial Right Talus Ankle Medial
Place the maker on the medial side of the ankle axis; on the medial prominence of the medial malleolus bone
LFM5(VM[2]) RFM5
Foot
Left Foot Fifth Metatarsal Right Foot Fifth Metatarsal
Place the marker on the dorsal aspect of the fifth metatarsal bone.
LFM2* (SM[2]) RFM2*
Foot
Left Foot Second Metatarsal Right Foot Second Metatarsal
Place the marker on the dorsal aspect of the second metatarsal bone.
LFM1 (FM[2]) RFM1
Foot
Left Foot First Metatarsal Right Foot First Metatarsal
Place the marker on the dorsal aspect of the first metatarsal bone.
LFCC (CA[2]) RFCC
Foot
Left Foot Calcaneus Right Foot Calcaneus
Place the marker on center of the heel, where the Achilles tendon attaches to the calcneous bone.
LDP1 RDP1
Toes
Left First Distal Phalanx Right First Distal Phalanx
Place the marker near the end of the big toe. More specifically, the marker should be placed at the distal end of the first phalanges.
Different types of lenses can be equipped on a Prime Color camera as long as the lens mount is compatible, however, for Prime Color cameras, we suggest using C-mount lenses to fully utilize the imager. Prime Color cameras with C-mount can be equipped with either the 12mm F#1.8 lenses or the 6.8mm F#1.6 lenses. The 12mm lens is zoomed in more and is more suitable for capturing at long ranges. On the other hand, the 6.8mm lens has a larger field of view and is more suitable for capturing a wide area. Both lenses have adjustable f-stop and focus settings, which can be optimized for different capture environments and applications.
F-Stop: Set the f-stop to a low value to make the aperture size bigger. This will allow in more light onto the imager, improving the image quality. However, this may also decrease the camera's depth of field, requiring the lens to be focused specifically on the target capture area.
Focus: For best image quality, make sure the lenses are focused on the target tracking area.
6.5mm F#1.6 lens: When capturing 1080p images with 6.5mm F#1.6 lens, you may see vignetting in each corner of the captured frames due to imager size limitations. For larger FOV, please use the 6.8mm F#1.6 lens to avoid this vignetting issue.
Before going into details of setting up a system with Prime Color cameras, it is important to go over the data bandwidth availability within the camera network. At its maximum bit-rate setting for capturing the best quality image, one Prime Color camera can transmit data at a rate of up to ~100 Megabytes-per-second (MBps), or ~800 Megabits-per-second (Mbps). For a comparison, a tracking camera in Object Mode outputs data at a rate less than 1MBps, which is several magnitudes smaller than the output from a Prime Color camera. A standard network switch (1 Gb switch) and network card only support network traffic of up to 1000 Mbps (or 1 Gbps). When Prime Color camera(s) are used, they can take up a large portion, or all, of the available bandwidth, and for this reason, extra attention to bandwidth use will be needed when first setting up the system.
When there is not enough available bandwidth, captured 2D frames may drop out due to the data bottleneck. Thus, it is important to take the bandwidth consumption into account and make sure an appropriate set of network switches (PoE and Uplink), Ethernet cables, and a network card is used. If a 1-Gb network/uplink switch is used, then only 1-2 Prime Color camera can be used at its maximum bit-rate setting. If three or more Prime Color cameras need to be used, then either a 10-Gb network setup will be required OR the bit-rate setting will need to be turned down. A lower bit-rate will further compress the image with a tradeoff on the image quality, which may or may not be acceptable depending on the capture application.
Upgraded PC specifications and settings can aid with stability in increased bit rates, please see our Quick Start Guide: Prime Color Camera Setup page for more information.
Detecting Dropped 2D Frames
Every 2D frame drops are logged under the Log Pane, and it can also be identified in the Devices pane. It will be indicated with a warning sign next to the corresponding camera. You may see a few frame drops when booting up the system or when switching between Live and Edit modes; however, this should only occur just momentarily.
If the system continues to drop 2D frames, that indicates there is a problem with receiving the camera data. If this is happening with Prime Color cameras, try lowering down the bit-rate, and if the system stops dropping frames, that means there wasn’t enough bandwidth availability. To use the cameras in a higher bit-rate setting, you will need to properly balance out the load within the available network bandwidth or upgrade your PC specifications and settings.
Note: Due to the current architecture of our bug reporting in Motive, a single color camera will not display dropped frame messages. If you need these messages you will need to either connect another camera or an eSync 2 into the system.
Each Prime Color camera must be uplinked and powered through a standard PoE connection that can provide at least 15.4 watts to each port simultaneously.
Please note that if your aggregation switch is PoE, you can plug your Prime Color Cameras directly into the aggregation switch. PoE injectors are optional and will only be required if your aggregation switch is not PoE.
Prime Color cameras connect to the camera system just like other Prime series camera models. Simply plug the camera onto a PoE switch that has enough available bandwidth and it will be powered and synchronized along with other tracking cameras. When you have two color cameras, they will need to be distributed evenly onto different PoE switches so that the data load is balanced out.
For 1-2 Prime Color Cameras it is recommended to use 1Gbps network switch with 1Gbps uplink port and a 1Gpbs NIC or higher. For 3+ Prime Color Cameras it is required to use network switches with a 10Gbps uplink port in conjunction with a 10Gbps designated NIC and their appropriate drivers.
NIC drivers may need to be installed via disc or downloaded from the manufacture's support website. If you're unsure of where to find these drivers or how to install them, please reach out to our Support team.
When using multiple Prime Color cameras, we recommend connecting the color cameras directly into the 10-gigabit aggregation (uplink) switch, because such setup is best for preventing bandwidth bottleneck. A PoE injector will be required if the uplink switch does not provide PoE. This allows the data to travel directly onto the uplink switch and to the host computer through the 10-gigabit network interface. This will also separate the color cameras from the tracking cameras.
The eStrobe synchronizes with Prime Color cameras through RCA cable connection. It receives exposure signals from the cameras and synchronizes its illuminations correspondingly. Depending on the frame rate of the camera system, the eStrobe will vary its illumination frequency, and it will also vary the percent duty cycle depending on the exposure length. Multiple eStrobes can be daisy-chained in series by relaying the sync signal from the output port to the input port of another as shown in the diagram.
Illumination:
The eStrobe emits only white light and does not interfere with tracking within the IR spectrum. In other words, its powerful illumination will not introduce noise to the IR tracking data.
Power Requirement:
The amount of power drawn by each eStrobe will vary depending on the system frame rate as well as the length of camera exposures, because the eStrobe is designed to vary its illumination rate and percent duty cycle depending on those settings.At maximum, one eStrobe can draw up to 240 Watts of power. A typical 110V wall outlet outputs 110V @ 15A; which totals up to 1650W of power. Also, there may be other factors such as restrictions from the surge protector or extension cords that are used. Therefore, in general, we recommend connecting no more than five eStrobes onto a single power source.
Warning:
Please be aware of the hot surface. The eStrobe will get very hot as it runs.
Avoid looking directly at the eStrobe, it could damage your eyes.
Make sure the power strips or extension cords are able to handle the power. Using light-duty components could damage the cords or even the device if they cannot sufficiently handle the amount of the power drawn by the eStrobes.
The eStrobe is not typically needed for outdoor use. Sunlight should provide enough lighting for the capture.
When capturing without eStrobes, the camera entirely relies on the ambient lighting to capture the image, and the brightness of the captured frames may vary depending on which type of light source is used. In general, when capturing without an eStrobe, we recommend setting the camera at a lower framerate (30~120 FPS) and increasing the camera exposure to allow for longer exposure time so that the imager can take in more light.
Indoor
When capturing indoors without the eStrobe, you will be relying on the room lighting for brightening up the volume. Here, it is important to note that every type of artificial light source illuminates, or flickers, at a certain frequency (e.g. fluorescent light bulbs typically flicker at 120Hz). This is usually fast enough so that the flickering is not noticeable to human eyes, however, with high-speed cameras, the flickering may become apparent.
When Prime Color captures at a frame rate higher than the ambient illumination frequency, you will start noticing brightness changes between consecutive frames. This happens because, with mismatching frequencies, the cameras are exposing at different points of the illumination phase. For example, if you capture at 240FPS with 120Hz light bulbs lighting up the volume, brightness of captured images may be different in even and odd numbered frames throughout the capture. Please take this into consideration and provide appropriate lighting as needed.
Info: Frequencies of typical light bulbs
Fluorescent: Fluorescent light bulbs typically illuminate at 120 Hz with 60 Hz AC input.
Incandescent: Incandescent light bulbs typically illuminate at 120 Hz with 60 Hz AC input.
LED light bulbs: Variable depending on the manufacturer.
eStrobe: LEDs on the eStrobe will be synchronized to the exposure signal from the cameras and illuminate at the same frequency.
Outdoor
When capturing outdoors using Prime Color cameras, sunlight will typically provide enough ambient lighting. Unlike light bulbs, sunlight is emitted continuously, so there is no need to worry about the illumination frequency. Furthermore, the sun is bright enough and you should be able to capture high-quality images by adjusting only the f-stop (aperture size) and the exposure values.
Now that you have set up a camera system with Prime Color, all of the connected cameras should be listed under the Devices pane. At this point, you would want to launch Motive and check the following items to make sure your system is operating properly.
2D Frame Delivery: There should be no dropped 2D frames. You can monitor this under the Log pane or from the Devices pane. If frame drops are reported continuously, you can lower down the bit-rate setting or revisit the network configuration and make sure the data loads are balanced out. For more information, Data Bandwidth section of this page.
CPU Usage: Open the windows task manager and check the CPU processing load. If only one of the CPU core is fully occupied, the CPU is not fast enough to process data from the color camera. In this case, you will want to use a faster CPU or lower down the bit-rate setting.
RAM Usage: Open the windows task manager and check the memory usage. If the RAM usage slowly creeps up to the maximum memory while recording a take, it means the disk driver is not fast enough to write out the color video from RAM. You will have to reduce the bit-rate setting or use a faster disk drive (e.g. M.2 SSD).
Hard Drive Space: Make sure there is enough memory capacity available on the computer. Take files (TAK) with color camera data can be quite large, and it could quickly fill up the memory, especially, when recording lightly-compress video from multiple color cameras.
This page demonstrates a sample system setup involving multiple external devices. Specifically, one National Instruments Data Acquisition (NI-DAQ) device, two force plates, and a recording trigger will be integrated. Only basic step-by-step instructions will be covered in this guide. For detailed explanation of each device integrations, visit the following pages:
Motive
Motive: the Peripheral Device module and the NI-DAQmx plugin (15.1.1 or later).
Ethernet camera system with the eSync synchronization hub.
USB NI-DAQ: Supported Devices with external sample clock support.
Force Plate System: Bertec or AMTI
Record Trigger device (external device)
For general instructions on setting up the mocap system, refer to the Hardware Setup pages. This guide assumesthe camera system and the eSync 2 have been already installed.
Step 1. [Hardware Setup]
First of all, connect the external devices to the appropriate input or output ports of the eSync 2.
NI-DAQ (child): Connect one of the Output ports of the eSync 2 to an input terminal of the USB NI-DAQ device. The input terminal must support external sample clock signals in order to sync with the clock signal from the eSync 2. When integrating bare wire DAQ devices, respective ground signals must be separated from the BNC port. Sync Signal: Internal Clock
Force Plates (child): Connect the Output ports of the eSync 2 to a sync input port on the force plate amplifier. Sync Signal: Recording Pulse (AMTI) / Recording Gate (Bertec) for triggered sync. External clock sync cannot be used in this setup, because the clock signal will be used mainly for synchronizing the NI-DAQ device which usually runs at a faster sampling rate.
Recording Trigger (trigger): Using sync cables, connect the trigger device into one of the Input ports of the eSync 2.
Bertec AM6800: For Bertec systems using the AM6800 amplifier, the eSync's output port connects to the ANALOG OUTPUT port of the amplifier. The female 15-pin D-Sub connector included with the Bertec system must be used to separate the ZERO and SYNC cables. The ZERO cable connects to the eSync's output port, and the SYNC cable connects between force plate amplifiers. See: Bertec Hardware Setup
Connect the USB cables from the force plates and the NI-DAQ device to the host PC.
For integrating force plates and NI-DAQ devices, the Peripheral Device module and the NI-DAQmx driver must be installed along with Motive; both of which can be installed during the Motive installation process.
If the devices are properly recognized, they will be listed under the Devices pane in Motive.
Place the calibration wand on the force plate so that vertex of the wand is located at the right-hand corner of the side where the cable input is located (as shown in the image below). A correct placement of the calibration square is important because it determines the orientation of the force plate and its local coordinate axis within the global system. The coordinate systems for force plates are independent of the system used Motive.
Right-click on the NI-DAQ device or the force plates either on the Devices pane or on the Perspective View and click Zero. This will tare the devices and set the currently detected voltage/force to zero.
Now, let's configure the synchronization setup. This is done through configuring the properties of the eSync. Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane. Select the eSync under the list of devices and its properties will be listed out in the Properties pane. Here, you can adjust the properties to change the sync source, sync input/output behaviors.
First of all, you need to select and configure the sync input source. In this setup, the Internal Clock signal of the eSync will be used to synchronize the camera system. Set the Sync Input: Source to Internal Clock.
Once the Internal Clock is selected as the sync source, configure the clock signal:
Clock Freq (Hz): This sets the frequency of the clock signal. In this setup, the clock signal will be used to sync the camera system frame rate and also the acquisition rate of the NI-DAQ devices. Since the NI-DAQ devices usually sample at a higher frame rate, first set the clock frequency to the desired NI-DAQ sampling rate and apply input divider and multiplier for the camera system.
Input Trigger/Divider/Multiplier: Adjust the input divider and multiplier to derive the camera system frame rate from the configured internal clock signal. The final frame rate will be displayed at the bottom of the Sync Input section. Only the supported camera frame rate can be applied.
Step 10. [Motive → Properties: eSync 2] Configure the Sync Outputs.
Now, configure the output signal into the child devices. Configure the corresponding output port that each device is connected.
NI-DAQ: Set the output type of the connected output port to Gated Internal Clock signal. This will set the eSync 2 so that the internal clock is sent out when Motive starts recording.
Force Plates: Set the output type of the connected output port to Recording Gate (Bertec) or Recording Pulse (AMTI). The force plate systems will synchronize with the recording trigger from the eSync 2.
AMTI Force plates can also be synchronized through Gater Internal Clock signal. See AMTI Force Plate Setup page for more information.
Step 11. [Motive: → Properties: eSync]] Configure the Remote Trigger device.
Now let's configure the Record Trigger device. Under the Record Triggering section, set the trigger source to the input port that the device is connected to, and select appropriate trigger edge depending on the morphology of the trigger signal.
Step 12. [Motive: → Properties: eSync]] Apply the configuration.
Now that the eSync properties have been configured, the sync chain of the connected devices should be set up. Next step is to configure the properties of the external devices.
Step 13. [Motive → Properties: NI-DAQ] Configure NI-DAQ properties in Motive
Click on the NI-DAQ device under the Devices pane and open the Properties pane to configure its sync properties. The following configuration sets the NI-DAQ devices to synchronize its data acquisition with the clock signal from the eSync.
Use External Clock: True.
NIDAQExternalClockTerminal: Designate input channel of the NI-DAQ.
SyncMode: Free Run.
Step 14. [Motive → Properties: Force Plate]
Click on the Force Plate device under the Devices pane and open the Properties pane to configure its sync properties. The following configuration sets the force plates to trigger sync to the recording signal from the eSync 2:
Record Trigger: Device
Use External Clock: False
Sync Mode: Free Run
Now the systems are synchronized. When you start recording in Motive, precisely aligned data will be collected.
To utilize the external recording trigger device, press the record button in Motive and set it to a standby mode. Then use the device to send the recording trigger to the eSync 2, which will either initiate or stop recording each time a trigger is received.
LAH RAH
Head
Left Anterior Head Right Anterior Head
Place the markers on the left and right side of the fore head. The respective location is shown in the Skeleton figure.
LPH RPH
Head
Left Posterior head Right Posterior head
Place the markers on the left and right side of the head about 2 cm behind the ear. The respective location is shown in the Skeleton figure.
This page contains useful information for users who are outputting motion capture data from Motive into Visual3D.
For more information on Visual3D: C-Motion wiki
Tracking data can be exported into the C3D file format. C3D (Coordinate 3D) is a binary file format that is widely used especially in biomechanics and motion study applications. Recorded data from external devices, such as force plates and NI-DAQ devices, will be recorded within exported C3D files. Note that common biomechanics applications use a Z-up right-hand coordinate system, whereas Motive uses a Y-up right-hand coordinate system. More details on coordinate systems are described in the later section. Find more about C3D files from https://www.c3d.org.
General Export Options
Frame Rate
Number of samples included per every second of exported data.
Start Frame
End Frame
Scale
Apply scaling to the exported tracking data.
Units
Sets the length units to use for exported data.
Axis Convention
Sets the axis convention on exported data. This can be set to a custom convention, or preset convetions for exporting to Motion Builder or Visual3D/Motion Monitor.
X Axis Y Axis Z Axis
Allows customization of the axis convention in the exported file by determining which positional data to be included in the corresponding data set.
C3D Specific Export Options
Use Zero Based Frame Index
C3D specification defines first frame as index 1. Some applications import C3D files with first frame starting at index 0. Setting this option to true will add a start frame parameter with value zero in the data header.
Export Unlabeled Markers
Includes unlabeled marker data in the exported C3D file. When set to False, the file will contain data for only labeled markers.
Export Finger Tip Markers
Includes virtual reconstructions at the finger tips. Available only with Skeletons that support finger tracking (e.g. Baseline + 11 Additional Markers + Fingers (54))
Use Timecode
Includes timecode.
Rename Unlabeled As _000X
Unlabeled markers will have incrementing labels with numbers _000#.
Marker Name Syntax
Choose whether the marker naming syntax uses ":" or "_" as the name separator. The name separator will be used to separate the asset name and the corresponding marker name in the exported data (e.g. AssetName:MarkerLabel or AssetName_MarkerLabel or MarkerLabel).
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
MotionBuilder Compatible Axis Convention
This is a preset convention for exporting C3D files for use in Autodesk MotionBuilder. Even though Motive and MotionBuilder both use the same coordinate system, MotionBuilder assumes biomechanics standards when importing C3D files (negative X axis to positive X axis; positive Z to positive Y; positive Z to positive Y). Accordingly, when exporting C3D files for MotionBuilder use, set the Axis setting to MotionBuilder Compatible, and the axes will be exported using the following convention:
Motive: X axis → Set to negative X → Mobu: X axis
Motive: Y axis → Set to positive Z → Mobu: Y axis
Motive: Z axis → Set to positive Y → Mobu: Z axis
There is an known behavior where importing C3D data with timecode doesn't accurately show up in MotionBuilder. This happens because MotionBuilder sets the subframe counts in the timecode using the playback rate inside MotionBuilder instead of using the rate of the timecode. When this happens you can set the playback rate in MotionBuilder to be the same as the rate of the timecode generator (e.g. 30 Hz) to get correct timecode. This happens only with C3D import in MotionBuilder, FBX import will work fine without the change to the playback rate.
Streaming tracking data into the Visual3D requires 2-step pipelines. Motive streams tracking data first into the Visual3D Server, and then from this application the data is streamed into Visual3D.
On Motive
When streaming into Visual3D Server, set the stream Visual3D Compatible to true in the Data Streaming Pane. This will modify the axis of the streamed data. This setting is configured as the advanced setting by default. Click Show Advanced to bring up this setting.
Advanced Settings
The For Visual3D Users contains advanced settings that are hidden by default. Access these settings by going to the menu on the top-right corner of the pane and clicking Show Advanced and all of the settings, including the advanced settings, will be listed under the pane.
The list of advanced settings can also be customized to show only the settings that are needed specifically for your capture application. To do so, go the pane menu and click Edit Advanced, and uncheck the settings that you wish to be listed in the pane by default. One all desired settings are unchecked, click Done Editing to apply the customized configurations.
On Visual3D Server/Visual3D
Please refer to Visua3D docmentation for more information about the receiving streamed data in visual 3D. For more info: Visual3D Server to Visual3D.
The following pipeline commands can be used in Visual3D to accommodate systematic synchronization offset frames between recorded mocap tracking data and another data. Save and import these commands into the Visual3D pipeline dialogue to execute the commands. For more information on Visual3D pipeline commands, refer to the c-motion wiki (https://www.c-motion.com/v3dwiki/index.php/Visual3D_Pipeline).
For a Single C3D
For Multiple C3D Trials
This page provides instructions on how to integrate a Kistler force plate system with an OptiTrack motion capture system.
When a motion capture system is used in conjunction with force plates, they work together as an efficient tool for various research applications including biomechanical analysis, clinical gait analysis, physiology research, sports performance research, and many more. An OptiTrack motion capture system can synchronize with force plates to obtain both kinematic and kinetic measurements. Note that force plate integration is supported only with a Prime camera system using the eSync 2 synchronization hub. This page provides quick guidelines for setting up and configuring force plates — with digital outputs — along with the OptiTrack motion capture system.
For detailed information on specifications and configurations on the force plates, refer to the documentation provided by the force plate manufacturer.
Analog Platforms
Analog force plate devices can only be implemented via DAQ devices. Incoming voltage signals can be detected through the data acquisition channels, but force plate related software features (vectors, position calibration, etc.) will not be supported in Motive for the analog platforms. Refer to the NI-DAQ Setup page for detailed instructions on integrating analog devices.
Starting from Motive 3.0, reference clock synchronization while in Live mode is supported.
Kistler Data Acquisition System
Kistler Force Plate
Control I/O, Sync breakout box
Prime series Ethernet camera system with the eSync 2 synchronization hub.
Motive 2.1 or above.
Connect each force plate to the Data Acquisition device, and connect the USB uplink cable from the acquisition device to the host PC. For detailed instructions on setting up the Force Plate system with a host PC, refer to the Kistler documentation.
Setup the OptiTrack camera system and place the force plate(s) at the desired location(s); ideally, near the center of the volume. See Quick Start Guide or Hardware Setup page for details.
For accurate synchronizations, the eSync 2 synchronization hub must be used. The eSync 2 has signal output ports that are used to send out synchronization signals to child devices. Connect the BNC output ports of the eSync to sync input ports (Genlock/Trigger Input) of force plate amplifiers.Kistler force plates have a sync I/O breakout (Control I/O) accessory that connects to the amplifier. The eSync will connect to one of the inputs of this sync I/O box. For triggered sync, connect the output port of the eSync to the Trigger Input. For external clock sync, connect the output to the Sync Input of the sync I/O box.
Hot plugging is not supported with the integration. When a new device is connected to the system, you must re-start Motive to instantiate it.
Before integrating Kistler force plates into Motive, make sure all of the components required by Kistler system are set up on the computer. This includes BioWare software, the device driver (InstaCal), and other required software components. The force plate system must be recognized by Kistler's software before it can be used in Motive.
Once they are all installed, launch the BioWare software and register each force plate. During this process, you will input device information such as model number, serial number, and platform specs to configure the device setting. For more information, please refer to manufacturer documentation.
In order to integrate force plate systems with Motive, you will need to setup the required drivers and plugins. Motive installer is packaged with the Peripheral Device module which can be added. During the Motive installation, a list of program features will be shown in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripheral Device module, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive Files.
Note : Even if you are not using NI-DAQ, it is still necessary to install NI-DAQmx drivers that come up next in the installer.
For Kistler Customers
Kistler system also requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable - x64 to be installed on the computer. If it is not already on the computer, you will get prompted to set this up during Motive installation process. Please make sure to have this installed as well.
After registering the force plate in BioWare, next step is to export out the device configuration XML file. In BioWare, go to the Setup → Save DataServer Configuration File to export out the configuration XML file. To add the Kistler force plates in Motive, this XML file containing the force plate information must be added to the Motive directory. Copy-and-paste the Configuration.xml file into the C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\DeviceProfiles directory, and then rename the file to Kistler.xml. Once this is done, Motive should initialize the force plates that are detected by computer and that are registered within the XML file.
1. Start Motive
If the hardware and software for the force plates are configured and successfully recognized, Motive will list out the detected force plates with number labels (1, 2, etc..). Motive will notify you of incorrect or nonexistent force plate calibration files. When the devices are successfully instantiated in Motive, the Log pane will indicate that the device has been created and loaded.
2. Calibrate Cameras
Calibrate the capture volume as normal to get the orientation of the cameras (see the Quick Start Guide or Calibration page for more information). The position of the force plate is about the center of the volume, and when you recalibrate or reset the ground plane, you will need to also realign the position of your force plates for best results.
3. Setup CS-400
On the CS-400 calibration square, pull the force plate alignment tabs out and put the force plate leveling jigs at the bottom. The leveling jigs align the calibration square to the surface of your force plate. The alignment tabs allow you to put the CS-400 flush against the sides of your force plate giving the most accurate alignment.
4. Place CS-400 on force plate
Place the calibration wand on the force plate so that vertex of the wand is located at the right-hand corner of the side where the cable input is located (as shown in the image below). A correct placement of the calibration square is important because it determines the orientation of the force plate and its local coordinate axis within the global system. The coordinate systems for force plates are independent of the system used Motive.
AMTI Force Plates
AMTI force plates use the right-hand system. The long arm of CS-400 will define the Y axis, and the short arm will define the X axis of the force plate. Accordingly, Z axis is directed downwards for measuring the vertical force.
5. Set force plate position in Motive.
After placing the calibration square on the force plate, select the CS-400 markers in Motive. Right click on the force plate you want to locate, and click Set Position. When there are multiple force plates in a volume, you may need to step on the force plate to find which platform the calibration square is on. In Motive, uncalibrated force plates will light up in green and a force vector will appear when you step on the plate. Repeat step 4 and 5 for other force plates as necessary.
Referencing to the markers on the calibration square, Motive defines the location of the force plate coordinate system within the global coordinate system.
Motive uses manufacturer defined X, Y, and Z mechanical-to-electrical center offset when calculating the force vector and the center of pressure. For digital based plates, this information is available from the SDK and also stored in the plate's on-board calibration data.
6. Zero force plates.
After you have calibrated each of your force plates, remove the CS-400 from the volume. Right click one of your force plates in Motive and click Zero (all). This will tare the scale and set the current force on the plate data to 0. This will account for a small constant amount of measurement offset from the force plate. Remember that it zeros all of the force plates at once. So make sure there are no objects on any of the force plates.
7. Set sampling rate
Sampling rate of force plates is configured through the synchronization setup which will be covered in the following section.
Supported force plate sampling rates: Kistler plates support rates sampling rates between 10~2000 Hz. Make sure the synchronization is configured that the force plates sample at the supported speed.
There are two synchronization approaches you could take: Synchronization through clock signal or through recording trigger signal.
Synchronization via clock signal utilizes the internal clock signal of the eSync to synchronize the sampling of the force plates on per-frame basis. However, when there is another device (e.g. NI-DAQ) being synchronized to the clock signal frequency, the sampling rate cannot be set for each individual device. In that case, triggered sync must be used for synchronizing the initial recording trigger. Synchronization via trigger signal utilizes the recording trigger in Motive to align the initial samples from both systems. After the initial sync, both systems run freely at their own sampling rate. If the force plates are running at whole multiples of the camera system, the collected samples will be aligned. However, since the sampling clocks are not perfectly accurate, alignment of the samples may slowly drift over time. Thus, when synchronizing via recording trigger, it is better to keep the record times short.
When synchronizing through the eSync, use the following steps to configure the sync settings in Motive. This will allow both systems to be triggered simultaneously with reference to the parent synchronization device, the eSync.
Reference Clock Sync Setup Steps
Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
In the Devices pane, select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the properties pane for the selected eSync.
In the Properties pane, under Sync Input Settings section, set the Source to Internal Clock.
Next, to the Clock Frequency section, input the sampling rate that you wish the run the force plates in. This clock signal will be eventually outputted to the force plate system to control the sampling rate. For this guide, let's set this to 1200 Hz.
Once the clock frequency is set, apply the Input Divider/Multiplier to the clock frequency to set the framerate of the camera system. For example, if you set the Input Divider to 10 and the Input Multiplier to 2 with internal clock frequency running at 1200 Hz, the camera system will be running at 240 FPS. The resulting frame rate of the camera system will be displayed in the Camera Rate section.
Next step is to configure the output signal so that the clock signal can be sent to the force plate system. Under the Outputs section, enable the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to Internal Clock.
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the force plate properties in Motive. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the force plate properties. Here, set the following properties:
Record Trigger → False
Reference Clock Sync → True
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
Once this is set, the force plate system will start sampling at the frequency of the clock signal configured on the eSync, and this rate will be displayed on the Devices pane as well.
eSync 2 Settings Tip:
In Motive 3.0 and above, you can quickly configure eSync into biomech sync settings by right-clicking on the eSync from the Devices pane and select one of the presets from the context menu. This will enable and set all of the eSync outputs to the Internal Clock and set the clock frequency.
Live Data
Starting from Motive 3.0, clock synchronization in Live mode is supported, and the force vector visualization will be available both in Live and Edit modes.
Triggered Sync Setup Steps
Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
The final frame rate of the camera system will be displayed at the very top of the Devices pane.
In the Devices pane, select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the Properties pane for the selected eSync.
Set up the output signal so that the recording trigger signal can be sent to the force plate system. In the Outputs section, enable and configure the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to Recording Gate.
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the properties of the force plates. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the force plate properties. Here, set the following properties:
Record Trigger → Device
Reference Clock Sync → False
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
Once this is done, the force plate system will synchronize to the recording trigger signal when Motive starts collecting data, and the force plates will free-run after the initial sync trigger. You can configure the sampling rate of the force plates by modifying the Multiplier values in Devices pane to sample at a whole multiple of the camera system frame rate.
For free run sync setups, sampling rates of force plates can be set from the Devices pane, but the sampling rate of force plates must be configured to a whole multiple of the camera system's framerate. By adjusting the Rate Multiplier values in the Devices pane, sampling rates of the force plates can be modified. First, pick a frame rate of the camera system and then adjust the rate multiplier values to set force plates to the desired sampling rate.
ReSynch
When two systems are synchronized by recording trigger signals (Recording Gate or Recording Pulse), both systems are in Free Run Mode. This means that the recording of both the mocap system and the force plate system are triggered simultaneously at the same time and each system runs at its own rate.
Two systems, however, are synchronized at the recording trigger but not by per frame basis. For this reason, alignment of the mocap data and the force plate data may gradually drift from each other for longer captures. But this is not a problem since the sync chain will always be re-synchronized each time recording in Motive is triggered. Furthermore, Takes in general do not last too long for this drift to take effect on the data.
However, this could be an issue when live-streaming the data since recording is never initiated and two systems will be synchronized only when Motive first launches. To zero out the drift, the ReSynch feature can be used. Right-click on force plates from either the Devices pane or the perspective view, and select Resynch from the context menu to realign the sampling timing of both systems.
Before you start recording, you may want to validate that the camera and force plate data are in sync. There are some tests you can do to examine this.
The first method is to record dropping a retroreflective ball/marker onto the platform few times. The bouncing ball produces a sharp transition when it hits the surface of the platform, and it makes the data more obvious for validating the synchronization. Alternately, you can attach a marker on a tip of the foot and step on and off the force plate. Make sure that your toe — closest to the marker — strikes the platform first, otherwise the data will seem off even when it is not. You can then monitor the precise timing of the ball or the foot impacting the force plate and compare them between the mocap data and the force plate data.
The following is an example of validating good synchronization outcomes:
All of the configured device settings, including the calibration, get saved on Device Profile XML files. When you exit out of Motive, updated device profiles will be saved under the program data directory (C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\DeviceProfiles), and this file gets loaded again when you restart Motive. You can have this file backed up to persist configured eSync 2 and device settings. Also, if you wish to reset the device settings, you can remove XML files other than the default one from the folder, and Motive will load from the default settings.
Force plate data can be monitored from the Graph View pane. You will need to either use a provided Force Plate Forces layout or configure a custom graph layouts to show force plate data. To view the force plate data, make sure the corresponding force plates are selected, or selection-locked, in Motive.
If you are configuring your own force plate graph layout, make sure the desired force plate data channels (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, or Mz) are selected to be plotted. Then, when you select a force plate in Motive, and the data from the corresponding channels will be plotted on the graphs. When both reconstructed markers and force plate channels are selected, the force plot will be sub-sampled in order to be plotted along with trajectory data. For more information about how to configure graph layouts, read through the Graph View pane page.
Notes
The force and moment data reflects the coordinate system defined by the force plate manufacturer, which is typically the Z-down right-handed coordinate system. Note: This convention is independent of the global coordinate system used in Motive. Thus, the Fz components represent the vertical force. For more in-depth information, refer to the force plate specifications.
We recommend the following programs for analyzing exported data in biomechanics applications:
Motive exports tracking data and force plate data into C3D files. Exported C3D files can then be imported into a biomechanics analysis and visualization software for further processing. See the Data Export or Data Export: C3D page for more information about C3D export in Motive. Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
C3D Axes
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
Force plate data and the tracking data can be exported into CSV files as well. When a Take file is exported into a CSV file. Separate CSV files will be saved for each force plate and it will contain the force, moment, and center of pressure data. Exported CSV file can be imported for analysis.
To stream tracking data along with the force plate data, open the Data Streaming Pane and check the Broadcast Frame Data, and make sure that you are not streaming over the camera network. Read more about streaming from the Data Streaming workflow page.
Motive can stream the tracking data and the force plate data into various applications — including Matlab — using NatNet Streaming protocol. Find more about NatNet streaming from the User's Guide included in the download.
Number of Force Plates
At the time of writing, there is a hard limit on the maximum number of force plate data that can be streamed out from Motive. Please note that only up to 8 force plate data can be streamed out from Motive and received by a NatNet SDK 4.0 application.
This page is intended for a general overview of setting up Motive with force plates. Please visit the following pages for specific force plate setup from the different manufacturers:
In order to integrate force plate systems with Motive, you will need to setup the required drivers and plugins. Motive installer is packaged with the Peripheral Device module which can be added. During the Motive installation, a list of program features will be shown in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripheral Device module, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive Files.
Note : Even if you are not using NI-DAQ, it is still necessary to install NI-DAQmx drivers that come up next in the installer.
1. Start Motive
If the hardware and software for the force plates are configured and successfully recognized, Motive will list out the detected force plates with number labels (1, 2, etc..). Motive will notify you of incorrect or nonexistent force plate calibration files. When the devices are successfully instantiated in Motive, the Log pane will indicate that the device has been created and loaded.
2. Calibrate Cameras
Calibrate the capture volume as normal to get the orientation of the cameras (see the Quick Start Guide or Calibration page for more information). The position of the force plate is about the center of the volume, and when you recalibrate or reset the ground plane, you will need to also realign the position of your force plates for best results.
3. Setup CS-400
On the CS-400 calibration square, pull the force plate alignment tabs out and put the force plate leveling jigs at the bottom. The leveling jigs align the calibration square to the surface of your force plate. The alignment tabs allow you to put the CS-400 flush against the sides of your force plate giving the most accurate alignment.
4. Place CS-400 on force plate
Place the calibration wand on the force plate so that vertex of the wand is located at the right-hand corner of the side where the cable input is located (as shown in the image below). A correct placement of the calibration square is important because it determines the orientation of the force plate and its local coordinate axis within the global system. The coordinate systems for force plates are independent of the system used Motive.
5. Set force plate position in Motive.
After placing the calibration square on the force plate, select the CS-400 markers in Motive. Right click on the force plate you want to locate, and click Set Position. When there are multiple force plates in a volume, you may need to step on the force plate to find which platform the calibration square is on. In Motive, uncalibrated force plates will light up in green and a force vector will appear when you step on the plate. Repeat step 4 and 5 for other force plates as necessary.
Referencing to the markers on the calibration square, Motive defines the location of the force plate coordinate system within the global coordinate system.
Motive uses manufacturer defined X, Y, and Z mechanical-to-electrical center offset when calculating the force vector and the center of pressure. For digital based plates, this information is available from the SDK and also stored in the plate's on-board calibration data.
6. Zero force plates.
After you have calibrated each of your force plates, remove the CS-400 from the volume. Right click one of your force plates in Motive and click Zero (all). This will tare the scale and set the current force on the plate data to 0. This will account for a small constant amount of measurement offset from the force plate. Remember that it zeros all of the force plates at once. So make sure there are no objects on any of the force plates.
7. Set sampling rate
Sampling rate of force plates is configured through the synchronization setup which will be covered in the following section. You can sync the force plates either through the reference clock sync or through the triggered sync. Please note that only specific sampling rates may be supported depending on the amplifier models.
There are two synchronization approaches you could take: Synchronization through clock signal or through recording trigger signal.
Synchronization via clock signal utilizes the internal clock signal of the eSync to synchronize the sampling of the force plates on per-frame basis. However, when there is another device (e.g. NI-DAQ) being synchronized to the clock signal frequency, the sampling rate cannot be set for each individual device. In that case, triggered sync must be used for synchronizing the initial recording trigger. Synchronization via trigger signal utilizes the recording trigger in Motive to align the initial samples from both systems. After the initial sync, both systems run freely at their own sampling rate. If the force plates are running at whole multiples of the camera system, the collected samples will be aligned. However, since the sampling clocks are not perfectly accurate, alignment of the samples may slowly drift over time. Thus, when synchronizing via recording trigger, it is better to keep the record times short.
When synchronizing through the eSync, use the following steps to configure the sync settings in Motive. This will allow both systems to be triggered simultaneously with reference to the parent synchronization device, the eSync.
Reference Clock Sync Setup Steps
Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
In the Devices pane, select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the properties pane for the selected eSync.
In the Properties pane, under Sync Input Settings section, set the Source to Internal Clock.
Next, to the Clock Frequency section, input the sampling rate that you wish the run the force plates in. This clock signal will be eventually outputted to the force plate system to control the sampling rate. For this guide, let's set this to 1200 Hz.
Once the clock frequency is set, apply the Input Divider/Multiplier to the clock frequency to set the framerate of the camera system. For example, if you set the Input Divider to 10 and the Input Multiplier to 2 with internal clock frequency running at 1200 Hz, the camera system will be running at 240 FPS. The resulting frame rate of the camera system will be displayed in the Camera Rate section.
Next step is to configure the output signal so that the clock signal can be sent to the force plate system. Under the Outputs section, enable the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to Internal Clock.
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the force plate properties in Motive. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the force plate properties. Here, set the following properties:
Record Trigger → False
Reference Clock Sync → True
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
Once this is set, the force plate system will start sampling at the frequency of the clock signal configured on the eSync, and this rate will be displayed on the Devices pane as well.
eSync 2 Settings Tip:
In Motive 3.0 and above, you can quickly configure eSync into biomech sync settings by right-clicking on the eSync from the Devices pane and select one of the presets from the context menu. This will enable and set all of the eSync outputs to the Internal Clock and set the clock frequency.
Live Data
Starting from Motive 3.0, clock synchronization in Live mode is supported, and the force vector visualization will be available both in Live and Edit modes.
Triggered Sync Setup Steps
Open the Devices pane and the Properties pane.
The final frame rate of the camera system will be displayed at the very top of the Devices pane.
In the Devices pane, select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the Properties pane for the selected eSync.
Set up the output signal so that the recording trigger signal can be sent to the force plate system. In the Outputs section, enable and configure the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to Recording Gate.
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the properties of the force plates. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the force plate properties. Here, set the following properties:
Record Trigger → Device
Reference Clock Sync → False
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
Once this is done, the force plate system will synchronize to the recording trigger signal when Motive starts collecting data, and the force plates will free-run after the initial sync trigger. You can configure the sampling rate of the force plates by modifying the Multiplier values in Devices pane to sample at a whole multiple of the camera system frame rate.
For free run sync setups, sampling rates of force plates can be set from the Devices pane, but the sampling rate of force plates must be configured to a whole multiple of the camera system's framerate. By adjusting the Rate Multiplier values in the Devices pane, sampling rates of the force plates can be modified. First, pick a frame rate of the camera system and then adjust the rate multiplier values to set force plates to the desired sampling rate.
ReSynch
When two systems are synchronized by recording trigger signals (Recording Gate or Recording Pulse), both systems are in Free Run Mode. This means that the recording of both the mocap system and the force plate system are triggered simultaneously at the same time and each system runs at its own rate.
Two systems, however, are synchronized at the recording trigger but not by per frame basis. For this reason, alignment of the mocap data and the force plate data may gradually drift from each other for longer captures. But this is not a problem since the sync chain will always be re-synchronized each time recording in Motive is triggered. Furthermore, Takes in general do not last too long for this drift to take effect on the data.
However, this could be an issue when live-streaming the data since recording is never initiated and two systems will be synchronized only when Motive first launches. To zero out the drift, the ReSynch feature can be used. Right-click on force plates from either the Devices pane or the perspective view, and select Resynch from the context menu to realign the sampling timing of both systems.
Before you start recording, you may want to validate that the camera and force plate data are in sync. There are some tests you can do to examine this.
The first method is to record dropping a retroreflective ball/marker onto the platform few times. The bouncing ball produces a sharp transition when it hits the surface of the platform, and it makes the data more obvious for validating the synchronization. Alternately, you can attach a marker on a tip of the foot and step on and off the force plate. Make sure that your toe — closest to the marker — strikes the platform first, otherwise the data will seem off even when it is not. You can then monitor the precise timing of the ball or the foot impacting the force plate and compare them between the mocap data and the force plate data.
The following is an example of validating good synchronization outcomes:
All of the configured device settings, including the calibration, get saved on Device Profile XML files. When you exit out of Motive, updated device profiles will be saved under the program data directory (C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\DeviceProfiles), and this file gets loaded again when you restart Motive. You can have this file backed up to persist configured eSync and device settings. Also, if you wish to reset the device settings, you can remove XML files other than the default one from the folder, and Motive will load from the default settings.
Force plate data can be monitored from the Graph View pane. You will need to either use a provided Force Plate Forces layout or configure a custom graph layouts to show force plate data. To view the force plate data, make sure the corresponding force plates are selected, or selection-locked, in Motive.
If you are configuring your own force plate graph layout, make sure the desired force plate data channels (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, or Mz) are selected to be plotted. Then, when you select a force plate in Motive, and the data from the corresponding channels will be plotted on the graphs. When both reconstructed markers and force plate channels are selected, the force plot will be sub-sampled in order to be plotted along with trajectory data. For more information about how to configure graph layouts, read through the Graph View pane page.
Notes
The force and moment data reflects the coordinate system defined by the force plate manufacturer, which is typically the Z-down right-handed coordinate system. Note: This convention is independent of the global coordinate system used in Motive. Thus, the Fz components represent the vertical force. For more in-depth information, refer to the force plate specifications.
We recommend the following programs for analyzing exported data in biomechanics applications:
Motive exports tracking data and force plate data into C3D files. Exported C3D files can then be imported into a biomechanics analysis and visualization software for further processing. See the Data Export or Data Export: C3D page for more information about C3D export in Motive. Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
C3D Axes
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
Force plate data and the tracking data can be exported into CSV files as well. When a Take file is exported into a CSV file. Separate CSV files will be saved for each force plate and it will contain the force, moment, and center of pressure data. Exported CSV file can be imported for analysis.
To stream tracking data along with the force plate data, open the Data Streaming Pane and check the Broadcast Frame Data, and make sure that you are not streaming over the camera network. Read more about streaming from the Data Streaming workflow page.
Motive can stream the tracking data and the force plate data into various applications — including Matlab — using NatNet Streaming protocol. Find more about NatNet streaming from the User's Guide included in the download.
Number of Force Plates
At the time of writing, there is a hard limit on the maximum number of force plate data that can be streamed out from Motive. Please note that only up to 8 force plate data can be streamed out from Motive and received by a NatNet SDK 4.0 application.
From the Devices pane, Motive reports the state of the force plate. Below is the icon associated with each state.
Force plate is either not enabled, or the position has not been set.
The position has been set, but the force plate is not yet streaming data.
Once you have set up the system and configured the cameras correctly, Motive is now ready to capture Takes. Recorded TAK files will contain color video along with the tracking data, and you can play them back in Motive. Also, the color reference video can be exported out from the TAK.
Once the camera is set up, you can start recording from Motive. Captured frames will be stored within the TAK file and you can access them again in Edit mode. Please note that capture files with Prime Color video images will be much larger in file size.
When this is set to Drop Frame, Motive will remove any dropped frames in the color video upon export. This will only occur on cameras that have dropped frames, thus resulting in varying video lengths for each camera.
With this option, any dropped frames will be completely removed. The exact frames in the exported file may not match the frames in the corresponding Motive recording.
If required, you can set this export option to Black Frame to insert black, or blank, frames in place of the dropped frames in the exported video. This will allow for each recording to be the same length.
This export setting allows for a dropped frame to use a previous frame to fill in the dropped frame. This will allow for each recording to be the same length. Last Frame is recommended over Black Frame especially for markerless applications.
In order to calibrate the color camera into the 3D capture volume, the Prime Color camera must be equipped with an IR filter switcher. Prime Color cameras without IR filter switcher cannot be calibrated, and can only be used as a reference camera to monitor the reference views in the or in the .
When loaded into Motive, Prime Color cameras without IR filter switcher will be hidden in the . Only Prime Color FS cameras with the filter switcher will be shown in the 3D space.
The Prime Color FS is equipped with a filter switcher that allows the cameras to detect in IR spectrum. The Prime Color FS can be calibrated into the 3D capture volume using an active calibration wand with the IR LEDs. Once calibrated, the color camera will be placed within the 3D viewport along with other tracking cameras, and 3D assets (markers, Rigid Bodies, Skeletons, cameras) can be overlaid as shown in the image.
To calibrate the camera, switch the Prime Color FS to the in the pane. This will switch the Color camera to detect in the IR spectrum, and then use the active wand to follow the standard process. Once the calibration is finished, you can switch the camera back to the Color Video Mode.
Active Wand:
When you launch Motive, connected Prime Color cameras will be shown in Motive, and you will be able to configure the settings as you would do for other tracking cameras. Open up the and the , and select a Prime Color camera(s). On the Properties pane, key properties that are specific to the selected color cameras will be listed.
Optimizing these settings are important in order to obtain best quality images without overflooding the network bandwidth. The key settings for the color cameras are image resolution, gamma correction, as well as compression mode and bit-rate settings, which will be covered in the following sections.
Default: 1920, 1080
This property sets the resolution of the images that are captured by selected cameras. Since the amount of data increases with higher resolution, depending on which resolution is selected, the maximum allowable frame rate will vary. Below is the maximum allowed frame rates for each respective resolution setting.
Default: Constant Bit Rate.
This property determines how much the captured images will be compressed. The Constant Bit-Rate mode is used by default and recommended because it is easier to control the data transfer rate and efficiently utilize the available network bandwidth.
Constant Bit-Rate
In the Constant Bit-Rate mode, Prime Color cameras vary the degree of image compression to match the data transmission rate given under the Bit Rate settings. At a higher bit-rate setting, the captured image will be compressed less. At a lower bit-rate setting, the captured image will be compressed more to meet the given data transfer rate, but compression artifacts may be introduced if it is set too low.
Variable Bit-Rate
Variable Bit-Rate setting is also available for keeping the amount of the compression constant and allowing the data transfer rate to vary. This mode can be beneficial when capturing images with objects that have detailed textures because it keeps the amount of compression same on all frames. However, this may introduce dropped frames whenever the camera tries to compress highly detailed images because it will increase the data transfer rate; which may overflow the network bandwidth as a result. For this reason, we recommend using the Constant Bit-Rate setting in most applications.
Default: 50
Available only while using Constant Bit-rate Mode
Bit-rate setting determines the transmission rate outputted from the selected color camera. The value given under this setting is measured in percentage (100%) of the maximum data transmission speed, and each color camera can output up to ~100 MBps. In other words, the configured value will indirectly represent the transmission rate in Megabytes per second (MBps). At bit-rate setting of 100, the camera will capture the best quality image, however, it could overload the network if there is not enough bandwidth to handle the transmitted data.
Since the bit-rate controls the amount of data outputted from each color camera, this is one of the most important settings when properly configuring the system. If your system is experiencing 2D frame drops, it means one of the system requirements is not met; either network bandwidth, CPU processing, or RAM/disk memory. In such cases, you could decrease the bit-rate setting and reduce the amount of data output from the color cameras.
Image Quality
The image quality will increase at a higher bit-rate setting because it records a larger amount of data, but this will result in large file sizes and possible frame drops due to data bandwidth bottleneck. Often, the desired result is different depending on the capture application and what it is used for. The below graph illustrates how the image quality varies depending on the camera framerate and bit-rate settings.
Tip: Monitoring data output from each camera
Default : 24
Gamma correction is a non-linear amplification of the output image. The gamma setting will adjust the brightness of dark pixels, midtone pixels, and bright pixels differently, affecting both brightness and contrast of the image. Depending on the capture environment, especially with a dark background, you may need to adjust the gamma setting to get best quality images.
Default: On
These settings are applicable to all camera networks, but for most camera setups, are not required. For Prime Color Cameras, however, these are effective tools to help with dropped frames and other similar network issues.
You'll want to turn off your Windows firewalls on your camera network.
Leaving firewalls enabled can cause connection issues and frame drops.
If your machine is running multiple networks, you can leave those firewalls enabled. i.e. The network associated with an Internet connection can remain enabled.
To turn off your Windows firewall please follow the steps below:
Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall
Find where the camera network is located in the network groups. Typically your camera network will be labeled 'Unidentified Network' and located under the Guest or public networks.
Once verified as to which network group your camera network is on, select Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off in the sidebar.
From this window select Turn off Windows Defender Firewall for the network group that your camera network is on. Typically your camera network will be on Guest or Public Networks.
Click OK
After you click OK, the window will revert back to the main firewall page. You can verify that this change has been made if the network group you selected has a red 'x' shield icon next to it.
You can close this window and continue setting up your camera network.
Rizzoli Marker Sets protocols are available in Motive for human motion tracking. The Rizzoli protocols are developed and researched from the Movement Analysis Laboratory in the Rizzoli Orthopedics Institute, Italy.
In biomechanics tracking applications, proper marker placements are critical to the human motion tracking and the respective biomechanical analysis; and for this reason, precise identification of the anatomical landmarks and marker placements have to be performed. With a Motive Body license, marker locations are indicated over the avatar displayed in the . This page provides additional details on the anatomical locations of the marker placements for the Rizzoli protocols.
The Rizzoli Lower Body template integrates a novel marker placement for lower body tracking. This Marker Sets is designed to provide a complete description of 3D segment and joint motion for analyzing the pelvis and lower extremity kinematics. The following chart includes anatomical landmark descriptions of where the markers need to be placed for accurate and reliable analysis of the lower body movement.
Includes total six calibration markers for creating the Skeleton asset during static trials (RME/LME, RMM/LMM, RSM/LSM). They are highlighted in red.
Two thigh markers (RTH and LTH) and two shank markers (RSK and LSK) have been added to the protocol to better distinguish the left and right of the Skeleton.
For more information on the segment and joint definitions, please refer to the referenced research papers.
Rizzoli Lower Body Protocol Markers
*These markers need to be removed after the Skeleton has been created in Motive.
An extra RBAK marker was added to the protocol for improved identification of left and right side of the tracked Skeleton.
For more information on the Rizzoli Trunk Marker Set, please refer to the referenced research papers.
Rizzoli Trunk Markers
The Rizzoli Body template combines the Rizzoli Lower Body Protocol and the Rizzoli Trunk Protocol to provide tracking of the full-body kinematics.
Rizzoli Full Body Markers
*These markers need to be removed after the Skeleton has been created in Motive.
There are two calibration markers in each foot protocol. They are located at the apex of the medial malleolus (RMM/LMM) and the lowest point of the heel center (RCAp/LCAp). These markers are only for creating the asset for static trials, and they need to be removed for dynamic trials.
Refer to the referenced papers for specific information on the joint and segment definitions.
Rizzoli Foot Markers
*These markers need to be removed after the Skeleton has been created in Motive.
Leardini, A., Sawacha, Z., Paolini, G., Ingrosso, S., Nativo, R., Benedetti, M.G., 2007. A new anatomically based protocol for gait analysis in children. Gait Posture 26. 560-571.
Leardini, A., Biagi, F., Merlo, A., Belvedere, C., Benedetti, M.G., 2011. Multi-segment trunk kinematics during locomotion and elementary exercises. Clin. Biomech. 26, 562-571.
Leardini, A., Benedetti, M.G., Berti, L., Bettinelli, D., Nativo, R., Giannini, S., 2007. Rear-foot, mid-foot and fore-foot motion during the stance phase of gait. Gait Posture 25. 453-462.
Portinaro, N., Leardini, A., Panou, A., Monzani, V., Caravaggi, P., 2014. Modifying the Rizzoli foot model to improve the diagnosis of pes-planus: application to kinematics of feet in teenagers. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 7, 57.
The following pages offer in-depth information regarding Prime Color Camera setup. If you are looking for a quick setup, please see out page.
This page is a list of hardware used in a Prime Color Camera setup.
For the latest PC Specifications please see our page.
Prime Color
The Prime Color is a full-color video camera that is capable of recording synchronized high-speed and videos. It can also be hooked up to a mocap system and used as a reference camera. The camera enables recording of high frame rate videos (up to 500 FPS at 480p) with resolutions up to 1080p (at 250 FPS) by performing onboard compression (H.264) of captured frames. It connects to the camera network and receives power by a standard PoE connection.
eStrobe
When capturing high-speed videos, the time-length of camera exposures are very short, and thus, providing sufficient lighting becomes critical for obtaining clear images. The eStrobe is designed to optimally brighten the image taken by Prime Color camera by precisely synchronizing the illuminations of the eStrobe LEDs to each camera exposure. This allows the LEDs to illuminate at a right timing, producing the most efficient and powerful lighting for the high-speed video capture. Also, the eStrobe emits white light only, and it will not interfere with the tracking within the IR spectrum.
The eStrobe is intended for indoor use only. For capturing outdoors, the sunlight will provide sufficient lighting for the high-speed capture.
Since Prime Color cameras can output a large amount of data to the RAM memory quickly, it is also important that the write-out speed to the storage is also fast enough. If the write-out speed to secondary drive isn't fast enough, the occupied memory in RAM storage may gradually increase to its maximum. For recording with just a one or two Prime Color cameras, standard SSD drive will do its job. However, when using multiple Prime Color cameras, it is recommended to use a fast storage drive (e.g. M.2 SSD) that can quickly write out the recorded capture that from the RAM.
Configuring force plate sampling rate from .This page provides instructions on how to integrate a Bertec force plate system with an OptiTrack motion capture system.
When a motion capture system is used in conjunction with force plates, they work together as an efficient tool for various research applications including biomechanical analysis, clinical gait analysis, physiology research, sports performance research, and many more. An OptiTrack motion capture system can synchronize with force plates to obtain both kinematic and kinetic measurements. Note that force plate integration is supported only with a Prime camera system using the eSync synchronization hub. This page provides quick guidelines for setting up and configuring force plates — with digital outputs — along with the OptiTrack motion capture system.
For detailed information on specifications and configurations on the force plates, refer to the documentation provided by the force plate manufacturer.
Analog Platforms
Analog force plate devices can only be implemented via DAQ devices. Incoming voltage signals can be detected through the data acquisition channels, but force plate related software features (vectors, position calibration, etc.) will not be supported in Motive for the analog platforms. Refer to the page for detailed instructions on integrating analog devices.
Motive 3.0 Update
Starting from Motive 3.0, reference clock synchronization while in Live mode is supported.
Supported Amplifier Models: AM6800
Firmware Version: For synchronization support, the Bertec amplifiers must be installed with firmware version 46A. The current firmware version gets displayed on the amplifier display when first powering up the amplifier. Please check this and make sure the firmware is updated to the supported versions.
Prime series Ethernet camera system with the eSync synchronization hub.
Motive 3.0 or above.
Motive 2.2 or 2.3 users should use firmware version 4.5.2.
Bertec amplifiers currently only support a fixed sampling rate of 1000 Hz
Refer to the respective Bertec system user documentation for detailed information on setting up the force plate system and connecting to the host PC.
Wiring the eSync with the Amplifier
Hot plugging is not supported with the integration. When a new device is connected to the system, you must re-start Motive to instantiate it.
Reference Clock Sync
The SYNC cable from the amplifier needs to be connected to the output port of the eSync for synchronization with the camera system.
Triggered Sync Cabling
Bertec AM 6800 amplifiers: Use the provided female 15-pin D-Sub connector to get the ZERO signal and the SYNC signal from the ANALOG OUTPUT port of the amplifier.
The ZERO cable from the amplifier needs to be connected to the output port of the eSync for synchronization with the camera system.
The SYNC cable from the amplifier needs to be interconnected between the force plate amplifiers for their internal sync. When using more than one plates, a BNC connector or a BNC splitter will need to be used to interconnect the SYNC cables between multiple amplifiers.
In order to integrate force plate systems with Motive, you will need to setup the required drivers and plugins. Motive installer is packaged with the Peripheral Device module which can be added. During the Motive installation, a list of program features will be shown in the Custom Setup section. Here, change the setting for the Peripheral Device module, as shown in the below image, so that the module is installed along with Motive Files.
Note : Even if you are not using NI-DAQ, it is still necessary to install NI-DAQmx drivers that come up next in the installer.
In addition to the Peripheral Device module, you may also want to install the Digital Acquire™ from Bertec to verify that the force plates are properly working. Visit the below webpage to download the software, and follow the respective instructions to install. This software installs remaining resources for connecting the Bertec force plates.
Place the calibration wand on the force plate so that vertex of the wand is located at the right-hand corner of the side where the cable input is located (as shown in the image below). A correct placement of the calibration square is important because it determines the orientation of the force plate and its local coordinate axis within the global system. The coordinate systems for force plates are independent of the system used Motive.
After placing the calibration square on the force plate, select the CS-400 markers in Motive. Right click on the force plate you want to locate, and click Set Position. When there are multiple force plates in a volume, you may need to step on the force plate to find which platform the calibration square is on. In Motive, uncalibrated force plates will light up in green and a force vector will appear when you step on the plate. Repeat step 4 and 5 for other force plates as necessary.
Referencing to the markers on the calibration square, Motive defines the location of the force plate coordinate system within the global coordinate system.
Motive uses manufacturer defined X, Y, and Z mechanical-to-electrical center offset when calculating the force vector and the center of pressure. For digital based plates, this information is available from the SDK and also stored in the plate's on-board calibration data.
Tip: To double check that the dimensions are modified properly, you can place extra retroreflective markers on each corner of the platform and monitor the coincidence of the markers position with the force plate assets from the perspective view.
After you have calibrated each of your force plates, remove the CS-400 from the volume. Right click one of your force plates in Motive and click Zero (all). This will tare the scale and set the current force on the plate data to 0. This will account for a small constant amount of measurement offset from the force plate. Remember that it zeros all of the force plates at once. So make sure there are no objects on any of the force plates.
8. Set sampling rate
Sampling rate of force plates is configured through the synchronization setup which will be covered in the following section. You can sync the force plates either through the reference clock sync or through the triggered sync. Please note that only specific sampling rates may be supported depending on the amplifier models.
Supported Force Plate Sampling Rates
Reference Clock Signal Sync: When using the reference clock signal from the eSync to synchronize the force plates, the force plate will basically run at the same rate as the received clock signal. You can also apply either the multiplier or the divider to the outputted clock signal to make additional adjustments.
There are two synchronization approaches you could take: Synchronization through clock signal or through recording trigger signal.
Synchronization via clock signal utilizes the internal clock signal of the eSync 2 to synchronize the sampling of the force plates on per-frame basis. However, when there is another device (e.g. NI-DAQ) being synchronized to the clock signal frequency, the sampling rate cannot be set for each individual device. In that case, triggered sync must be used for synchronizing the initial recording trigger. Synchronization via trigger signal utilizes the recording trigger in Motive to align the initial samples from both systems. After the initial sync, both systems run freely at their own sampling rate. If the force plates are running at whole multiples of the camera system, the collected samples will be aligned. However, since the sampling clocks are not perfectly accurate, alignment of the samples may slowly drift over time. Thus, when synchronizing via recording trigger, it is better to keep the record times short.
When synchronizing through the eSync 2, use the following steps to configure the sync settings in Motive. This will allow both systems to be triggered simultaneously with reference to the parent synchronization device, the eSync 2.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For this synchronization setup to work properly, the Bertec amplifier firmware must be updated to firmware version 46A or above. Currently installed firmware version gets displayed on the 7-segment display when first powering up the amplifier. Please check this and make sure the firmware is updated to the supported versions. If an older version is installed, please contact Bertec for instructions on updating the firmware.
Reference Clock Sync Setup Steps
Next, to the Clock Frequency section, input the sampling rate that you wish the run the force plates in. This clock signal will be eventually outputted to the force plate system to control the sampling rate. For this guide, let's set this to 1000 Hz.
Once the clock frequency is set, apply the Input Divider/Multiplier to the clock frequency to set the framerate of the camera system. For example, if you input 10 to the Input Divider section with internal clock frequency running at 1000 Hz, the camera system will be running at 100FPS. The resulting frame rate of the camera system will be displayed in the Camera Rate section.
Next step is to configure the output signal so that the clock signal can be sent to the force plate system. Under the Outputs section, enable the corresponding output port of the eSync 2 which the force plate system is connected to.
Triggered Sync → None
Reference Clock Sync → True
eSync 2 Output Channel → output port used on the eSync 2.
eSync Settings Tip:
Live Data
Starting from Motive 3.0, clock synchronization in Live mode is supported, and the force vector visualization will be available both in Live and Edit modes.
Triggered Sync Setup Steps
Set up the output signal so that the recording trigger signal can be sent to the force plate system. In the Outputs section, enable and configure the corresponding output port of the eSync which the force plate system is connected to.
Record Trigger → Device
Reference Clock Sync → False
eSync Output Channel → output port used on the eSync.
Sampling Rate
Supported Frame Rate: When synchronizing two systems via recording trigger, the force plates will be running at their own free-run frame rate. In this case, only 1000 Hz sampling rate is supported for Bertec force plates. If you wish to sample at a different rate, please use the reference clock sync approach.
ReSynch
When two systems are synchronized by recording trigger signals (Recording Gate or Recording Pulse), both systems are in Free Run Mode. This means that the recording of both the mocap system and the force plate system are triggered simultaneously at the same time and each system runs at its own rate.
Two systems, however, are synchronized at the recording trigger but not by per frame basis. For this reason, alignment of the mocap data and the force plate data may gradually drift from each other for longer captures. But this is not a problem since the sync chain will always be re-synchronized each time recording in Motive is triggered. Furthermore, Takes in general do not last too long for this drift to take effect on the data.
Before you start recording, you may want to validate that the camera and force plate data are in sync. There are some tests you can do to examine this.
The first method is to record dropping a retroreflective ball/marker onto the platform few times. The bouncing ball produces a sharp transition when it hits the surface of the platform, and it makes the data more obvious for validating the synchronization. Alternately, you can attach a marker on a tip of the foot and step on and off the force plate. Make sure that your toe — closest to the marker — strikes the platform first, otherwise the data will seem off even when it is not. You can then monitor the precise timing of the ball or the foot impacting the force plate and compare them between the mocap data and the force plate data.
The following is an example of validating good synchronization outcomes:
All of the configured device settings, including the calibration, get saved on Device Profile XML files. When you exit out of Motive, updated device profiles will be saved under the program data directory (C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\DeviceProfiles), and this file gets loaded again when you restart Motive. You can have this file backed up to persist configured eSync and device settings. Also, if you wish to reset the device settings, you can remove XML files other than the default one from the folder, and Motive will load from the default settings.
Notes
The force and moment data reflects the coordinate system defined by the force plate manufacturer, which is typically the Z-down right-handed coordinate system. Note: This convention is independent of the global coordinate system used in Motive. Thus, the Fz components represent the vertical force. For more in-depth information, refer to the force plate specifications.
We recommend the following programs for analyzing exported data in biomechanics applications:
C3D Axes
Common Conventions
Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.
X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X
Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z
Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.
This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).
Force plate data and the tracking data can be exported into CSV files as well. When a Take file is exported into a CSV file. Separate CSV files will be saved for each force plate and it will contain the force, moment, and center of pressure data. Exported CSV file can be imported for analysis.
Number of Force Plates
At the time of writing, there is a hard limit of 4 Bertec force plates that can be used in Motive due to Bertec SDK limitations.
Start frame of the exported data. You can either set it to the recorded first frame of the exported Take or to the start of the working range, or scope range, as configured under the or in the .
End frame of the exported data. You can either set it to the recorded end frame of the exported Take or to the end of the working range, or scope range, as configured under the of in the .
The force plate is now streaming data into Motive. *Note this doesn't guarantee that the force plate data and Motive are synchronized. Please see above for more information.
Low PC Specifications or improper settings: If you're seeing a significant amount of frame drops your PC specifications or settings may need to be upgraded and fine tuned. For the latest PC specifications and settings, please see our page.
Network Bandwidth: Insufficient network bandwidth will cause frame drops. You will have to make sure the network setup, including the network switches, Ethernet cables, and the network adapter on the host PC, is capable of transmitting and receiving data fast enough. See:
Audio playing in background (MMCSS): When playing audio using applications (e.g. Chrome, VLC) that registers to Multimedia Class Scheduler Service (MMCSS), it will interfere with how the CPU resource is used in Motive. This service will prioritize time-sensitive multimedia applications to utilize the CPU resources as much as possible, which may cause increased latency which may lead to dropped frames. We recommend exiting out from such applications if there are any latency and frame drop issues. It is best to to limit the competition of resources for Motive.
Once the color videos have been saved onto TAK files, the captured reference videos can be exported into AVI files using either H.264 or MJPEG compression format. The H.264 format will allow faster export of the recorded videos and is recommended. Video for the current TAK can be exported by clicking File tab -> Export Video option in Motive, or you can also export directly from the by right-clicking on the Take(s) and clicking Export Video from the context menu. The following export dialogue window will open and you will be able to configure the export settings before outputting the files:
If there are multiple TAK files containing reference video recordings, you can export the videos all at once in the or through the . When exporting directly from the Data pane, simply CTRL-select multiple TAK files together, right-click to bring up the context menu, and click Export Video. When using the batch processor (NMotive), the VideoExporter class can be used to export videos from loaded TAK files.
The size of the exported video file can be re-encoded and compressed down further by additional subsampling. This can be achieved using a third-party video processing software, and doing so can hugely reduce the size of the exported file; almost in orders of two magnitudes. This is supported by most of the high-end video editing software, but Handbrake () is a freely available open-source software that is also capable of doing this. Since the exported video file can be large in size, we suggest using one of the third-party software to re-encode the exported video file.
Currently, we only take custom orders for the active wands, but in the future, this will be available for sale. For additional questions about active wands, please .
Data output from the entire camera system can be monitored through the Status Panel. Output from individual cameras can be monitored from the 2D Camera Preview pane when the Camera Info is enabled under the visual aids () option.
If you are using the to light up the capture volume, the LED setting must be enabled on the Prime Color cameras which the eStrobes connect to. When this setting is enabled, the Prime Color camera will start outputting the signals from its RCA sync output port, allowing the eStrobes to receive this signal and illuminate the LEDs.
It is recommended to only change Advanced Firewall settings under the guidance of a Support Engineer or your organization's IT department. Some settings can cause breaches in security if not done correctly. Please contact our if you are having connectivity issues.
Please see our page for more information regarding Ethernet Settings within Windows.
This Marker Set is designed for tracking multi-segment trunk kinematics. Total 10 markers are place on the torso and 4 markers are placed around pelvis, and an extra back marker (RBAK) was added on the right scapula solely for improved tracking.
Total four markers were placed around the waist for tracking the pelvis segment, and the orientation of the pelvis segment (Pel) is defined by these markers.
Total four markers are used for tracking the thorax segment, where two acromion markers (RA and LA) make the shoulder line segment for tracking the segment rotation and translations.
For the spine motion tracking, a 5-link segment model is created from the six spine markers.
The Rizzoli Left/Right Foot template provides precise tracking of the foot kinematics by modeling three-foot segments – rear-foot, mid-foot, and fore-foot – from the markers that are placed on carefully identified anatomical landmarks of the foot . The following diagrams and the chart detail on where each marker needs to be placed on the right foot protocol. The placements for the left foot will be anatomically equivalent but reflected.
For the latest PC Specifications please see our page.
Since each color camera can upload a large amount of data over the network, the size of the recorded Take (TAK) can get pretty large even with a short recording. For example, if a 10-second take was recorded with a total data throughput of 1-GBps, the resulting TAK file will be 10-GB, and it can quickly fill up the storage device. Please make sure there is enough capacity available on the disk drive. If you are exporting out the recorded data onto video files after they are captured, re-encoding the videos will help with reducing the files magnitudes smaller. See:
Prime Color Camera setups with 1-2 cameras can be supported by a 1Gbps NIC and 1Gbps uplink port. When running two or more Prime Color cameras, the computer must have a 10Gbps network adapter with a 10Gbps uplink port in order to successfully receive all of the data outputted from the camera system. Please see section for more information.
It is important to update your NIC to the latest drivers, failing to do so can result in underutilization of the NIC. For the that we recommend for Prime Color Camera setups, please install the latest . You can verify which driver is installed via the Devices Manger on Windows.
Set up an OptiTrack system. Connect the camera system to the same host PC. For more information, refer to the page or the pages.
Link:
If the hardware and software for the force plates are configured and successfully recognized, Motive will list out the detected force plates with number labels (1, 2, etc..). Motive will notify you of incorrect or nonexistent force plate calibration files. When the devices are successfully instantiated in Motive, the will indicate that the device has been created and loaded.
Calibrate the capture volume as normal to get the orientation of the cameras (see the or page for more information). The position of the force plate is about the center of the volume, and when you recalibrate or reset the ground plane, you will need to also realign the position of your force plates for best results.
On the , pull the force plate alignment tabs out and put the force plate leveling jigs at the bottom. The leveling jigs align the calibration square to the surface of your force plate. The alignment tabs allow you to put the CS-400 flush against the sides of your force plate giving the most accurate alignment.
If the force plate dimensions are not automatically configured, you need to enter the dimensions of the force plate in the force plate properties after calibrating its positions. Go to the and select the force plate, and its properties will get listed under the . Enter the length and width (in inches) values for the corresponding plates as reported in the specifications.
Note: Zeroed scales of Bertec force plates are saved within their software driver, and each time the driver restarts, these settings are refreshed. This means that the force plate zero setting will be refreshed each time you start Motive, or each time the device is disabled and enabled back again in Motive. Please be aware of this behavior and zero your plates when necessary. In Motive, there is a Zero On Enable property setting for Bertec force plates under the , and enabling this setting will automatically zero your plate each time the device is enabled or when Motive restarts. The Zero On Enable setting is enabled by default.
Recording Trigger Sync: When using the recording signal from the eSync to trigger-sync the force plates, the force plates will be running at their own free run sampling rate. In this case, only 1000 Hz sampling rate is supported, and you will need to adjust the camera frame rate in the and apply framerate-multipliers to set the 1000 Hz sampling rate on the force plates.
Open the and the .
In the , select the eSync 2 among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the properties pane for the selected eSync 2.
In the , under Sync Input Settings section, set the Source to Internal Clock.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to .
Now that the eSync 2 has been configured, you need to configure the force plate properties in Motive. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the . Here, set the following properties:
Once this is set, the force plate system will start sampling at the frequency of the clock signal configured on the eSync 2, and this rate will be displayed on the as well.
In Motive 3.0 and above, you can quickly configure eSync into biomech sync settings by right-clicking on the eSync from the and select one of the presets from the context menu. This will enable and set all of the eSync outputs to the Internal Clock and set the clock frequency.
Open the and the .
The final frame rate of the camera system will be displayed at the very top of the .
In the , select the eSync among the listed devices. This will list out the synchronization settings in the Properties pane for the selected eSync.
Set the Output 1-4 → Type to .
Now that the eSync has been configured, you need to configure the properties of the force plates. While the force plate(s) is selected in Motive, access the Properties pane to view the . Here, set the following properties:
Once this is done, the force plate system will synchronize to the recording trigger signal when Motive starts collecting data, and the force plates will free-run after the initial sync trigger. You can configure the sampling rate of the force plates by modifying the Multiplier values in to sample at a whole multiple of the camera system frame rate.
Setting Framerate Multiplier: For free run sync setups, sampling rates of force plates can be set from the , but the sampling rate of force plates must be configured to a whole multiple of the camera system's framerate. By adjusting the Rate Multiplier values in the , sampling rates of the force plates can be modified. First, pick a frame rate of the camera system and then adjust the rate multiplier values to set force plates to the desired sampling rate.
However, this could be an issue when live-streaming the data since recording is never initiated and two systems will be synchronized only when Motive first launches. To zero out the drift, the ReSynch feature can be used. Right-click on force plates from either the or the , and select Resynch from the context menu to realign the sampling timing of both systems.
Force plate data can be monitored from the . You will need to either use a provided Force Plate Forces layout or configure a custom graph layouts to show force plate data. To view the force plate data, make sure the corresponding force plates are selected, or selection-locked, in Motive.
If you are configuring your own force plate graph layout, make sure the desired force plate data channels (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, or Mz) are selected to be plotted. Then, when you select a force plate in Motive, and the data from the corresponding channels will be plotted on the graphs. When both reconstructed markers and force plate channels are selected, the force plot will be sub-sampled in order to be plotted along with trajectory data. For more information about how to configure graph layouts, read through the page.
Motive exports tracking data and force plate data into C3D files. Exported C3D files can then be imported into a biomechanics analysis and visualization software for further processing. See the or page for more information about C3D export in Motive. Note that the coordinate system used in Motive (y-up right-handed) may be different from the convention used in the biomechanics analysis software.
To stream tracking data along with the force plate data, open the Data Streaming Pane and check the Broadcast Frame Data, and make sure that you are not streaming over the camera network. Read more about streaming from the workflow page.
Motive can stream the tracking data and the force plate data into various applications — including Matlab — using protocol. Find more about from the User's Guide included in the download.
960 x 540 (540p)
500 FPS
1280 x 720 (720p)
360 FPS
1920 x 1080 (1080p)
250 FPS
Pelvis
Anterior superior iliac spine.
Pelvis
Posterior superior iliac spine.
Upper Leg
Most lateral prominence of the greater trochanter external surface.
RTH LTH
Upper Leg
Place near the midline of the thigh. Used only for a tracking purpose of distinguishing left and right side. For best result, offset the height of the marker between left and right side.
Upper Leg
Most lateral prominence of the lateral femoral epicondyle. Together with LM markers, it determines the location of knee joint axis.
Lower Leg
Head, proximal end, of the fibula.
Lower Leg
Most anterior border of the tibial tuberosity.
RSK LSK
Upper Leg
Place near the midline of the shin. Used only for a tracking purpose of distinguishing left and right side. For best result, offset the height of the marker between left and right side.
Lower Leg
Distal apex of the lateral malleolus.
Foot
Upper ridge of the calcaneus posterior surface. The aspect of the Achilles tendon insertion on the calcaneus[1].
Foot
Dorsal aspect of fifth metatarsal head.
Foot
Dorsal aspect of first metatarsal head.
RDP1 LDP1
Foot
These markers are added on the distal phalanx only for the toe segment tracking purpose, and they are not included in the biomechanical analysis. Place the marker near the end of the big toe. More specifically, the marker should be placed at the distal end of the first phalanges.
Upper Leg
Medial prominence of the medial femoral epicondyle.
Lower Leg
Distal apex of the medial malleolus.
Foot
Dorsal aspect of second metatarsal head.
Torso
Acromio-clavicular joint
RBAK
Torso
Placed near the right scapula apex: Used only to Identify left and right of the Skeleton.
C7[2]
Torso
Seventh cervical vertebrae.
T2[2]
Torso
Second thoracic vertebrae
MAI[2]
Torso
Midpoint between left and right scapular apex, near the T10 vertebrae.
IJ[2]
Torso
Jugular Notch. Most superior region of the sternum, where it meets the clavicle bones.
PX[2]
Torso
Xiphoid process of the sternum. Most inferior region of the sternum.
L1[2]
Torso
First lumbar vertebrae.
L3[2]
Torso
Third lumbar vertebrae.
L5[2]
Torso
First lumbar vertebrae.
Pelvis
Anterior superior iliac spine.
Pelvis
Posterior superior iliac spine.
Torso
Acromio-clavicular joint
RBAK
Torso
Placed near the right scapula apex: Used only for identifying left and right of the Skeleton.
C7[2]
Torso
Seventh cervical vertebrae.
T2[2]
Torso
Second thoracic vertebrae
MAI[2]
Torso
Midpoint between left and right scapular apex, near the T10 vertebrae.
IJ[2]
Torso
Jugular Notch. Most superior region of the sternum, where it meets the clavicle bones.
PX[2]
Torso
Xiphoid process of the sternum. Most inferior region of the sternum.
L1[2]
Torso
First lumbar vertebrae.
L3[2]
Torso
Third lumbar vertebrae.
L5[2]
Torso
First lumbar vertebrae.
Pelvis
Anterior superior iliac spine.
Pelvis
Posterior superior iliac spine.
Upper Leg
Most lateral prominence of the greater trochanter external surface.
RTH LTH
Upper Leg
Place near the midline of the thigh. Used only for a tracking purpose of distinguishing left and right side. For best result, offset the height of the marker between left and right side.
Upper Leg
Most lateral prominence of the lateral femoral epicondyle. Together with LM markers, it determines the location of knee joint axis.
Lower Leg
Head, proximal end, of the fibula.
Lower Leg
Most anterior border of the tibial tuberosity.
RSK LSK
Upper Leg
Place near the midline of the shin. Used only for a tracking purpose of distinguishing left and right side For best result, offset the height of the marker between left and right side.
Lower Leg
Distal apex of the lateral malleolus.
Foot
Upper ridge of the calcaneus posterior surface. The aspect of the Achilles tendon insertion on the calcaneus[1].
Foot
Dorsal aspect of fifth metatarsal head.
Foot
Dorsal aspect of first metatarsal head.
Foot
These markers are added on the distal phalanx only for the toe segment tracking purpose, and they are not included in the biomechanical analysis. Place the marker near the end of the big toe. More specifically, the marker should be placed at the distal end of the first phalanges.
Upper Leg
Medial prominence of the medial femoral epicondyle.
Lower Leg
Distal apex of the medial malleolus.
Foot
Dorsal aspect of second metatarsal head.
RMM/LMM*[1]
Distal apex of the medial malleolus.
RHL/LHL* (RCAp/LCAp[4])
Projection of the CA marker on the ground[4]. Vertically aligned with the CA marker and placed near the ground level. This is a calibration marker that needs to be removed for dynamic trials.
