Pose estimation of small-articulated animals using multiple view images

Abstract

The study of robots that mimic the behavior of small animals such as lizards and arthropods has been actively
\ncarried out. However, systematic analysis of the gait behavior of small animals is not prevalent in the literature.
\nMotion analysis of most living creatures is conducted using the optical motion capture system. However, it is
\ninapplicable to small animals owing to the difficulty of attaching optical markers. To solve this problem,
\nmarkerless motion capture is being researched; however, many of these studies were performed on human
\nsubjects. Therefore, to apply a markerless motion capture system for insects that have many legs and a high
\ndegree of freedom, additional research is required. The objective of this study is to develop a system to estimate
\nthe continuous pose of small-articulated animals using a three-dimensional skeleton model of the animal from a
\nmulti-view video sequence. It includes the extraction of the extremity and root of each leg and the calculation of
\njoint kinematics using the forward and backward reaching inverse kinematics (FABRIK) algorithm that uses the
\nextracted extremity and root. The method developed in this study will contribute to better understand the gait
\nbehavior of small-articulated animals.