Development of a new non-invasive method for kinematic analysis of animal locomotion

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26650170
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Physical anthropology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: HIRASAKI EISHI 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 准教授 (70252567)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: markerless / Structure from Motion / positional behaviour

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Kinematic studies of primate locomotion have suffered from two difficulties: 1) it is almost impossible to attach markers to freely moving animals; 2) it is often difficult to calibrate the space used by the animals. We propose a solution based on SfM 3D photogrammetry. This technique is widely used for still images but we expanded its use to video clips. We filmed animals using 4-8 synchronized cameras. The film streams were converted into sequentially numbered JPEG images. For each frame set we applied the open-source tools Bundler and PMSV to generate a 3D point cloud representing the animal’s body surface. In test sessions, we analyzed various locomotor behaviors of the Japanese macaques and chimpanzees. The results showed that the method works well and generates 3D reconstructed body surface data during locomotion. The accuracy was much better than that of the manual digitization. Our new technique provides a powerful new tool for kinematic analysis outside the laboratory.

Free Research Field

自然人類学