The Vicon system is an automated motion capture system that tracks the position of infra-red reflective markers in space. For complex movements at least six cameras are needed to accurately track the markers. The high-resolution cameras are equipped with their own infra-red circular strobes mounted on the camera itself. This makes the system fairly compact. The system comes with tracking and reconstruction software that allows you to create user-defined applications. Markers come in different sizes allowing the use of the Vicon system for small animals. The smaller the markers, the smaller the volume that can be accurately captured creating a bit of a trade-off between the size of the study animal and the motions of interest. We have found that semi-spherical markers work best ...and as often the case, the bigger the better.

In our lab the Vicon system is used predominantly to study the ontogeny of locomotion and motor control in humans (e.g. Hallemans et al., 2003; see Ann Hallemans' research pages). We will also be using the Vicon system to study the kinematics of head & neck movements during food transport in lizards (e.g. see Herrel et al., 1996). This project will be conducted in collaboration with K. Metzger (SUNY, Stny Brook; see lab members).

References