Cameras for special environments

Qualisys provides cameras that are adapted for special environments.

Weather protected cameras

Qualisys provides weather protected cameras that are specially adapted for outdoor use or use in industrial environments. The housing, including connectors and cabling, is IP67/NEMA 6 classified, making the whole system water- and dust resistant.

For the currently available models, see the Qualisys website: https://www.qualisys.com/weatherproof-motion-capture/

Additional features for improving outdoor measurements are:

  • The sun filter, a narrow band pass filter that effectively filters out the sun light while maximizing the visibility of the IR reflections of the markers. The sun filter is included with all Arqus protected cameras.
  • Active filtering, the possibility to subtract background illumination from the reflected light of the markers.
  • An extended operating temperature range of -15° to 45°C for Arqus protected cameras.
  • The possibility to use long-range active markers.

Underwater systems

Qualisys provides the possibility to measure under water, (e.g. in indoor ocean basins used for ship scale model testing or ordinary basins, used for water sports) by using specially modified cameras. The camera housing is IP68 classified and pressure tested to 5 bar (40 m depth) and corrosion-protected for use in salt water tanks or chlorinated swimming pools. Weight and volume is balanced to give the camera neutral buoyancy for easy handling in water.

Qualisys underwater cameras are equipped with a special strobe with high power cyan LEDs. These LEDs are not limited to a flash time of 10% of period time as the regular strobe. Therefore the exposure time can be set to almost the period time. The long exposure times are needed to get enough light in the water. Because the water absorbs more light than air it also means that the measurement distance are more dependent on the exposure time.

The cameras are connected with underwater cables to a connector unit on land. One connector unit can be used to connect up to three cameras. For more than three cameras the respective connector boxes can be chained together or connected via an Ethernet switch.

For the currently available models, see the Qualisys website: https://www.qualisys.com/cameras/underwater/.

The FOV is changed by refraction index of water (1.33). For example, a lens with 40º FOV is reduced to 31º FOV when used underwater.

When using an underwater camera above water the strobe unit can easily overheat. Do not have the camera connected for more than an couple of minutes when testing the camera out of water. Do not have the camera in preview or capture longer than 30 seconds and do not use exposure times longer than 1000 ms.

MRI compatible cameras

Qualisys provides cameras, including cabling and accessories adapted for use inside MRI rooms. A minimal camera system of only three cameras can be sufficient to track hand and finger movements outside the scanner bore. A larger six camera system can provide the possibility to look into the bore, for example for monitoring the movements of the head during a scan.

The housing is made of die-casted aluminium, steel fasteners are replaced by brass screws and the calibration L-frame and wand is made from glass fiber. The camera and cables are completely shielded to keep electro magnetic emissions to a minimum and enabling cameras to operate just a meter away from the scanner without causing artifacts in the MRI image. The camera system is connected with the computer in the control room via optical Ethernet communication. The power supply is outside the room and connected via a filter through the MRI room panel.

For the currently available models, see the Qualisys website: https://www.qualisys.com/cameras/arqus-mri/