The Turbulence Realm-Tracker is a simple but powerful tool for engineering and scientific research designed for the precise analysis specifically focusing on the movement of selected regions, such as bubbles, within a video using Dlib. This tool offers a comprehensive solution for researchers and engineers. It provides an intuitive workflow for loading videos, calibrating measurements, selecting regions of interest, and then tracking their motion to derive quantitative data on velocity and displacement.
Features of the Software
The Turbulence Realm-Tracker is equipped with a range of features to facilitate detailed fluid dynamics analysis:
- Video Loading and Display: Users can easily load various video formats (MP4, AVI, MOV, MPEG) into the application. The video display area provides a clear view of the footage, serving as the primary interactive canvas for analysis.
- Real-time Video Zoom: The application supports dynamic zooming capabilities, allowing users to magnify or reduce the video display for closer inspection of specific areas. This feature is accessible via the “View” menu or keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl++, Ctrl+-, Ctrl+0).
- Spatial Calibration Tool: A critical feature for obtaining accurate metric results, the calibration tool enables users to define a known real-world distance within the video frame. By drawing a line corresponding to this distance, the software calculates a precise scale (meters per pixel), converting pixel-based measurements into real-world units.
- Bubble Selection (Region of Interest): After calibration, users can select multiple rectangular regions of interest (ROIs) around the bubbles or other fluid phenomena they wish to track. Each selected ROI is added to a drop-down for easy management and individual analysis. The initial size of the selected bubble in both pixels and meters is displayed.
- Automated Object Tracking: Utilizing correlation tracker, the software can automatically track the selected bubbles throughout the video. This process provides real-time visual feedback on the tracked objects.
- Real-time Data Visualization: As tracking progresses, the application generates and updates plots for velocity and displacement components for the currently selected bubble. These plots offer immediate insights into the motion characteristics.
- Data Export Capabilities:
- CSV Data Export: All raw tracking data, including per-frame pixel positions, calculated velocities (X and Y components, and total speed in m/s), and displacements (X and Y components, and total magnitude in m), can be exported to CSV files. Each CSV file is timestamped and includes initial bubble size information as a comment.
- Plot Export: The generated velocity and displacement plots can be exported as high-resolution PNG image files for use in reports or presentations.
- Comprehensive Statistics: The “Analyze” feature provides a summary of key statistics for all tracked bubbles, including average and maximum speeds, and final displacement magnitudes, along with the initial bubble size.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Common actions like opening files, saving results, and managing zoom are accessible via convenient keyboard shortcuts.
Advantages of Turbulence Realm-Tracker
The Turbulence Realm-Tracker offers several significant advantages for fluid dynamics analysis:
- Accuracy in Measurement: The robust calibration feature ensures that all velocity and displacement measurements are converted from pixels to real-world metric units (meters and meters per second), providing scientifically accurate data.
- Efficiency in Analysis: Automating the tracking process saves considerable time compared to manual methods. Users can quickly process long video sequences and obtain quantitative results.
- User-Friendly Design: The intuitive graphical interface makes the software accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. The step-by-step workflow (load, calibrate, select, track, analyze, save) is easy to follow.
- Comprehensive Data Output: The ability to export both raw CSV data and high-quality PNG plots provides flexibility for further analysis, reporting, and publication. The inclusion of bubble size in the output files adds valuable context to the tracking data.
- Real-time Feedback: The immediate visualization of tracking progress and real-time updates of velocity and displacement plots allow users to monitor the analysis and make informed decisions.
- Customization and Control: Users have control over the calibration distance, the selection of multiple bubbles, and the ability to stop tracking at any point, offering flexibility in their analysis.