Cameras
From NUI Group
Simple webcams work very well for multitouch setups, but they need to be modified first. Regular webcams and cameras block out infrared light, letting only visible light in. We need just the opposite. Typically, by opening the camera up, you can just pop the filter off, but on expensive cameras this filter is usually applied directly to the lens and cannot be modified.
Make sure the lens on your camera can view the entire table surface area. For example a 4.3mm focal lens on Philips SPC900 views an area of about 24x27 inches when mounted 90cm away.
It is recommended to use a camera with a high frame rate (30fps or higher) and little low light noise.
Security camera shops sell IR lenses, make sure you get one that is compatible with your camera, most webcams use M12x0.5 mount. Most cameras will show some infrared light without modification, but much better performance can be achieved if the filter is replaced.
Try to find a 4.3 MM CCTV lens.
A couple of us bought the IR lens on [1] ebay].
Sidenote: You still need a special IR pass filter to put on this lens to prevent visible light from being detected.
In general cameras with CCD sensors should perform better than those with a CMOS chip.
Firewire cameras have some benefits over normal USB webcams:
- Higher framerate
- Capture size
- Higher Bandwidth
- Less overhead for driver (due to less compression)
[edit] See list for an overview of the different cameras people are using inside this community.
[edit] Possible Cameras
Low End Webcams:
Sweex WC001 Low framerate & resolution, manages but only for playing interactions.
High End Webcams:
Used Philips Vesta Pro (PCVC680K) - 30fps at VGA resolution, extremely easy to remove the IR filter, great results. No official Vista drivers - Windows 2003 included ones work well (here). Linux support - status unknown, drivers available. New linux driver support for philips cams here
Professional/Industrial Cameras: The Imaging Source (untested)
Unibrain Fire-i Industrial Cameras (untested)
DV Cameras:
