The company’s first camera tracking system provides marker-free camera tracking through multiple sensors
Sony has unveiled its first camera tracking system, the Ocellus (ASR-CT1).
It’s been designed to simplify AR and virtual production applications by providing marker-free camera tracking through multiple sensors.
Ocellus is camera agnostic and can be used with both cinema and broadcast cameras.
Sebastian Leske, head of business development, Cinema Line, said: “The growing market for virtual production and AR demands simpler, more efficient workflows. Metadata like camera position and lens values are crucial for pre- and post-production. Our new camera tracking system delivers valuable, real-time data, enhancing efficiency based on insights from content creators worldwide.”
The system comprises a sensor unit, a processing box, and three lens encoders, and can be used with Sony Cinema Line cameras, system cameras, and non-Sony cameras.
Ocellus sends the camera position and orientation data while the camera is shooting.
With the five image sensors and Sony’s Visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) technology, the system creates a reference map, enabling stable marker-free tracking both indoors and outdoors.
The system supports recording tracking data, camera/lens metadata, timecode and file name, which can be used for the post-production workflow.
Key Features
Compact and lightweight sensor unit with five image sensors:
- Four image sensors out of five on the sensor unit are selected to use, providing stable marker-free tracking and high occlusion resistance, critical for operations
- If at least one image sensor in use captures valid feature points, tracking data can be extracted
- IR LEDs on both sides of each image sensor help tracking in low-light environments
- Visible Light Cut Unit included for stable tracking in environments with frequent lighting changes
- Sensor unit dimensions: approx. 86 mm × 60 mm × 43 mm (W × H × D) (3.39” × 2.36” × 1.69”), weight: approx. 250 g[5]
- Easy installation and position adjustment using the NATO rail mounting parts (included)
- Connection to the processing box via a single USB Type-C® cable with a lock mechanism, powered by the processing box via same USB Type-C® cable
Processing Box:
- Real-time transmission of tracking data and camera2/lens3 metadata to CG rendering software like Unreal Engine via Ethernet cable[6] in free-d format
- Equipped with Genlock input, Timecode input, SDI input/output terminals, and lens encoder connection terminals
- Supports recording tracking data and camera/lens metadata as FBX files on SDXC memory cards (UHS-II/UHS-I) synchronized with video files of main camera
- OLED display for checking IP address, tracking information, lens data, and more
Lens Encoder:
- Detects precise rotation angles and positions of lens focus, zoom, and iris values
- Transmits detected data to the processing box via LEMO 7-pin cable
- Enables metadata acquisition for lenses and cameras not supporting lens data embedding on SDI output
- Includes five different types of gears for various lenses
The camera tracking system will be showcased at NAB2025.
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