A 3D stereo camera system for precisely positioning animals in space and time
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7241As published
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-015-1890-4Abstract
Here
we
describe
a
portable
stereo
camera
system
that
integrates
a
GPS
receiver,
an
attitude
sensor,
and
3D
stereo
photogrammetry
to
rapidly
estimate
the
position
of
multiple
animals
in
space
and
time.
We
demonstrate
the
performance
of
the
system
during
a
field
test
by
simultaneously
tracking
the
individual
positions
of
6
long-‐
finned
pilot
whales,
Globicephala
melas.
In
shore-‐based
accuracy
trials,
a
system
with
a
50
cm
stereo
baseline
had
an
average
range
estimation
error
of
0.09
m
at
a
5
m
distance
increasing
up
to
3.2
m
at
50
m.
The
system
is
especially
useful
in
field
situations
where
it
is
necessary
to
follow
groups
of
animals
traveling
over
relatively
long
distances
and
time
periods
while
obtaining
individual
positions
with
high
spatial
and
temporal
resolution
(up
to
8Hz).
These
positions
provide
quantitative
estimates
of
a
variety
of
key
parameters
and
indicators
for
behavioural
studies
such
as
inter-‐animal
distances,
group
dispersion,
speed
and
heading.
This
system
can
additionally
be
integrated
with
other
techniques
such
as
archival
tags,
photo-‐
identification
methods
or
acoustic
playback
experiments
to
facilitate
fieldwork
investigating
topics
ranging
from
natural
social
behaviour
to
how
animals
respond
to
anthropogenic
disturbance.
By
grounding
observations
in
quantitative
metrics
the
system
can
characterize
fine-‐scale
behaviour
or
detect
changes
as
a
result
of
disturbance
that
might
otherwise
be
difficult
to
observe.
Description
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 69 (2015): 685-693, doi:10.1007/s00265-015-1890-4.