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Different lighting

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:00 pm
by His Drummer
Just wandering how the search for a different light source is going.
I would like to use my set live but find the light distracting to the audience.
In the past there was talk of infrared light. Is that still in the works?
Thanks
Chris

Re: Different lighting

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:43 pm
by Richard
Yes, it's still in the works but nothing to announce yet.

Re: Different lighting

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:27 pm
by Alon Cohen
Hi there,

Today I tried to play an open mic gig and couldn't because the lighting was too intense (lots of daylight, windows etc.

Wondering how the infrared thing is coming along? And if it was ready would that allow me to play in a bright environment?

If I wanted to perform in a bright environment how would you recommend I go about it? Massive black backdrop? Any other ideas?

Thanks guys,

Re: Different lighting

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:00 pm
by Richard
We are working on a new version that will solve this problem to a large extent. It will allow you to play in very bright environments but it will still not work outdoors in sunlight. Natural light is many orders of magnitude brighter than artificial light and this makes it difficult to design a motion tracking solution that is robust to all lighting conditions. Most optical motion tracking systems available today don't work outdoors.

As for advice, if there are any objects visible to the camera that are too bright then these will cause a problem. The reflective markers on your sticks and feet need to be the brightest objects that the camera sees so you should think about what placement is best for your camera/seat, e.g. you'll probably want to have your back against a wall and make sure that windows and lights are not in direct sight of the camera.

If there are very bright lights shining on you then it is also possible that your skin, for example, will pass that brightness threshold and cause a problem. To fix this you need to reduce the amount of light that is reflected from the surfaces visible to the camera. You'll need to take note of which surfaces are causing a problem from the Aerodrums 'Check lighting conditions' screen which will highlight the problematic areas in red. Tip: the sticker markers will also highlight in red so waving them around in front of the camera and seeing where they are on the screen will help you figure out what surfaces in the real world correspond to those highlighted in red.

If the red spots are behind you then using a black backdrop as you suggest would help. At some tradeshows we have used a makeshift canopy made from black muslin to reduce the light coming the very powerful overhead lights. Of course, the ideal solution in your case would be block some of the light coming from the windows but this may not be feasible.

The next Aerodrums update that we are about to release will have a light masking feature that will allow you to play even when there are overbright regions visible to the camera. You will not be able to drum in these regions but Aerodrums will otherwise function as expected. This feature can help a lot in situations like yours because it lets you worry about fixing the problems in the drumming area only and not having to worry about fixing red spots in the peripheral regions.

Re: Different lighting

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 4:50 pm
by Alon Cohen
Richard wrote:We are working on a new version that will solve this problem to a large extent. It will allow you to play in very bright environments but it will still not work outdoors in sunlight. Natural light is many orders of magnitude brighter than artificial light and this makes it difficult to design a motion tracking solution that is robust to all lighting conditions. Most optical motion tracking systems available today don't work outdoors.

As for advice, if there are any objects visible to the camera that are too bright then these will cause a problem. The reflective markers on your sticks and feet need to be the brightest objects that the camera sees so you should think about what placement is best for your camera/seat, e.g. you'll probably want to have your back against a wall and make sure that windows and lights are not in direct sight of the camera.

If there are very bright lights shining on you then it is also possible that your skin, for example, will pass that brightness threshold and cause a problem. To fix this you need to reduce the amount of light that is reflected from the surfaces visible to the camera. You'll need to take note of which surfaces are causing a problem from the Aerodrums 'Check lighting conditions' screen which will highlight the problematic areas in red. Tip: the sticker markers will also highlight in red so waving them around in front of the camera and seeing where they are on the screen will help you figure out what surfaces in the real world correspond to those highlighted in red.

If the red spots are behind you then using a black backdrop as you suggest would help. At some tradeshows we have used a makeshift canopy made from black muslin to reduce the light coming the very powerful overhead lights. Of course, the ideal solution in your case would be block some of the light coming from the windows but this may not be feasible.

The next Aerodrums update that we are about to release will have a light masking feature that will allow you to play even when there are overbright regions visible to the camera. You will not be able to drum in these regions but Aerodrums will otherwise function as expected. This feature can help a lot in situations like yours because it lets you worry about fixing the problems in the drumming area only and not having to worry about fixing red spots in the peripheral regions.
Thanks for the informative reply Richard! Please tell me when we can expect this update and how we will know when it's out? I suspect it will indeed be very helpful!