Point tracks

Overview >

Point tracks

To calculate the camera parameters, MatchMover needs points in different images in your sequence that represent the image location across the time of the same physical 3D point. This collection of points is called a point track. The camera solving process uses several point tracks to represent 3D points that follow one rigid motion.A point track is composed of the following data:

Key points: Key points are Print locations defined in a small subset of the sequence images. These points are seeds that MatchMover uses to build up the whole point trajectory.
Derived 2D points: Derived 2D points created by MatchMover based on information from the key points. They are derived from using an automatic correlation-based template matching process.

The tracked points should be characteristic points, for example, points that can be accurately localized in the image and represent physical points such as markings, corners, or shadows.

Automatic 2D tracking

MatchMover automatic tracking feature automatically locates “good” points in the images, and then tracks them through the sequence. You can guide this automated process by specifying key parameters and elements. However, using automatic 2D tracking provides you with a tracking solution that does not require manual editing.

Supervised tracking

For complicated scenes, it may be necessary to manually control the tracking process by editing or deleting tracks created automatically by MatchMover. You can also create your own tracks. When creating your own track, you specify the key points, and then MatchMover derives the whole point trajectory. You can mix automatic and supervised tracks in the same project.