Running the automatic tracker

You can use the automatic tracking feature to have MatchMover select the best location of place track points in the image sequence.

NoteYou can bypass this section of the lesson by openningBasic_Calibrated.mmf. This file can be found in the Tutorials/Basic directory. You can then proceed to Checking the tracking results.

To run the automatic tracker

Select 2D Tracking > Automatic Tracking or click the Run the Automatic Tracking icon.
The Automatic Tracking window appears listing the steps in the automatic matchmoving process.
Click Run.
Colored indicators display beside the option name to show you the status of each step.

After MatchMover has computed the camera path, a collection of 3D points are displayed as cross-hairs in the Workspace. The points are also represented by colored icons in the Project window in the Point Track > Auto Tracks folders.

The colors indicate the quality of the tracking, where green indicates good, yellow fair, and red bad tracking. Some grayed tracks have not been reconstructed, which means that MatchMover considered them unfit to calculate.

Checking the tracking results

To check the results of the automatic tracking you can:

View the track quality by looking at the cross-hairs superimposed on the Workspace, or by view the color icons in the Auto Tracks folder. Most of your reconstructed tracks should be green, a few yellow, and none red.
View the reconstructed 3D scene, and check to ensure that it is consistent with the real scene.
Render a video sequence where the 3D objects are superimposed on the image sequence and check to ensure that the integration is seamless.

To check the tracking results in 3D space

Click the 3D space icon that is located in the top left of the workspace view.
MatchMover switches to 3D mode. The tracks are now displayed as 3D cones rather than cross-hairs.
Use the following Navigation tools to examine the tracking:
- Click-hold the Dolly icon to move backward and forward in the space.
- Click-hold the Orbit icon to view the space in 360 degrees.
  When orbiting the camera, the 3D View automatically orbits around the selected 3D object, point cloud, or camera.
When you navigate in the 3D scene, you can recognize the different elements of the scene, such as the lamppost, statue and wall, as well as the camera path.
To center the view on a track, select it, then select View > Look At.
To view the Workspace through the computed camera with the image in the background, select View > Lock on Camera or click the icon.
When viewing the Workspace, you can use of the location of the 3D cones to judge the potential orientation of any elements that you might want to introduce into the scene.
If the 3D cones appear too big or small, you can change their size by selecting the Project tab in the Parameters window. Change the 3D Helper size value from 1 to 0.5.