This page documents the process of making the in-car 4-source recording.
This recording was made with the 64-bit version of Ovo Logger ADC 2.0. Ovo Logger's efficiencies and flexibility enable Full HD (1920 x 1080) 4-source recording from USB devices on an Intel Core i7 laptop. With the USB webcams used in this demo, Ovo Logger gives you pan/tilt/zoom control which allows you to fine-tune each camera's shot.
Equipment Used
Technical Stuff
- Logitech Brio 4K Webcam (x2)
- Logitech C922 Webcam (x1)
- Panavise Model 13101 The Shorty (Camera Mount with Suction Cup) (x1)
- Panavise Model 809 Portable Camera Mount (Camera Mount with Suction Cup) (x1)
- An articulated arm with a clamp (x1)
- HP Spectre running Windows 10 Pro with Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1992 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s), 16 GB RAM, Intel QuickSync
- 150W Power Inverter
Miscellany
- Black paper for sun shades
- Masking tape to stick paper to cameras
- Scissors
- Micro-fiber cloth to clean fingerprints
Not Used but Recommended
- For our recording we simply placed the laptop on the passenger seat. For research, the researcher might want to be seated in the rear seat, so 6-foot USB extenders would be needed to connect cameras to the laptop which would be in the rear seat with the researcher.
- A sun screen for side window next to researcher to keep glare off of the laptop.
- Some sort of removable, adhesive product (think 3M or Scotch brands) for cable control, if you felt you needed them. I got away with tucking cables behind sun visors.
Take-Aways
The purpose of this demo was to demonstrate the rich, multi-view video that Ovo Logger can capture. We thought that real-time video from a car being driven on a road would be a good way to demonstrate that capability. In our opinion, the sample video is compelling.
However, it was apparent that given the cognitive loading of the relatively simple job of loosely narrating a software demo, Ovo would never recommend that a usability test be performed where a participant is driving a car in actual (as opposed to simulated) traffic — there are too many distractions that compete with the primary task of driving.
That being said, if you needed to instrument a buck (i.e., a mock-up of a car) the equipment was compact and easy to set up and knock down. You could fit everything that was used to make this demo in a school backpack. The LLBean 41L Super Deluxe School Backpack would hold everything with room to spare.
The biggest nuisance was cable management, which was surprising given that the only cables were those for the USB cameras and a laptop power supply. Every time the equipment was removed from the car, cameras and their cables were simply placed into a box, one on top of the other. It's amazing how tangled things got. I envisioned separate draw-string bags for each USB camera. Just jam a camera in a bag and pull the draw string tight. At least it won't get tangled with every other device's cable.
Finally, do not place suction cups on the area of the windshield with black dots, i.e., the section adjacent to the rear view mirror. In our car, the black dots were raised and caused the suction to fail.