Real-Time Marker Tracking with Microsoft Kinect

Abstract

In this document, we discuss a work-in-progress which will implement real-time marker tracking with the Microsoft Kinect. The Kinect uses an infrared depth sensor to capture 3D video, and retroreflective surfaces are not visible to this sensor. Thus we can adhere anular markers made of retroreflective material to a surface and identify them in the depth sensor's output. By placing a non-reflective surface at the marker's center and identifying it in the depth image, we can track the marker a surface and map it to a point in a virtual space. We are able to identify potential markers using an optimized and modified version of the flood fill algorithm, and we will filter out noise by validating potential markers against the known topology and dimensions of the markers.Our goal is to demonstrate real-time tracking and virtual representation of the marker using the Unity Game Engine.