Tracking objects automatically

Dartfish offers you a powerful function: the automatic tracking (available in the TeamPro and ProSuite editions). The principle is the same as for the manual tracking (see previous section) except that the computer automatically tracks and optionally draws the trajectory of an object(s). The automatic tracking function can be used with most of the drawing tools:

e.g. with the rectangle, oval, clone rectangle to highlight the evolution of an object/performer throughout the video.

e.g. with the marker tool, to automatically draw the trajectory of a well defined feature.

with the spline tool (see Tracking objects manually) to visualize the evolution of the shape of an object/body over time. In this case, each point of the curve is tracked separately.

with the angle (see Measuring angles) and distance (see Measuring distances) tools to measure the evolution of such data.

with the Data table (see Using data tables) to automatically extract statistics from the image and store them in a spreadsheet.

Tracking is a complex process; for Dartfish to successfully track objects they must remain clear and visible. You can help it by tracking clear features with a high contrast. Try to use markers as illustrated in the pictures above.


To activate the automatic tracking

1.	Position the playhead at the beginning of the performance

2.	Draw a shape on the video

3.	Right-click on the shape and select Tracking in the context menu

4.	Select the object speed from the context submenu (this defines how far from the last position Dartfish will search the video image for similarly colored/shaped objects).

5.	Click the image to deselect the object

Using the automatic tracking

To start tracking, simply play the video. The drawing color changes to green indicating that Dartfish has started to track the object. At any moment, you can pause playing:

If you observe that the tracking is "lost" (e.g. when the object gets occluded). In this case, manually reposition the drawing onto the tracked object and continue playing.

If the object disappears from the field of view. In this case, right-click on the drawing and select Suspend tracking from the context menu. Dartfish stops tracking from this position (the drawing color changes to red).

To show the trajectory

Once you have activated automatic tracking (see above), right-click on the drawing and select Show trajectory from the context menu. The trajectory progressively draws as the video plays.