Performance Assessment and Calibration of the Kinect 2.0 Time-of-Flight Range Camera for Use in Motion Capture Applications

Robust, three-dimensional (3D) geometric information is a powerful analytical tool, and it is of interest to determine the size, shape, and geometric properties of objects in the real world when performing pre-mission surveys, deformation analyses, or motion capture analyses. Traditional photogrammetric reconstruction techniques require multiple sensors and retroreflective markers or targets to be placed on objects of interest during data acquisition. The Microsoft Kinect 2.0 sensor provides an onboard time-of-flight (ToF) ranging sensor based on the Canesta technology. Given the price for the Kinect 2.0 is $200 USD, it shows potential to become a cost-effective, single-sensor solution for capturing full 3D geometric information in place of costly, multi-sensor techniques requiring invasive or otherwise difficult to place markers. This study examines the performance characteristics and calibration of the Kinect 2.0 sensor in order to determine the feasibility of its use in 3D imaging applications; particularly that of human motion capture.