(requires: Object tracking)
Object Definition
Start by opening your Timelapse image and the Tracking control panel (View > Analysis Controls > Tracking
). Now you need to define the objects to be tracked. There are two ways to do so:In the image timeline select the frame from which you would like to track an object. Zoom in the image, press the
Define new ROI... button. The Simple ROI editor appears. Click in the middle of an object you want to track. An auto-detection algorithm will determine the object area according to the pixel intensity values in the image. A color line indicates the computer-estimated object edges. Use the tools in the floating toolbar to edit the ROI. When satisfied with the object selection, confirm object definition with a right mouse click or by hitting Enter. Define as many objects as you would like to, then click the Finish button.Second option is to create a new ROI using commands from the ROI menu or the context menu next to the
Turn ROI On/Off button placed on the right toolbar inside the image view. Such created ROIs are tracked manually.
Note
The higher contrast between the objects and the background, the better results the tracking will bring. If the contrast in your image sequence is not sufficient, you may need to perform some image processing before the tracking (Please see: Tracking Prerequisites).
You can switch display of defined ROIs to a tree view or a list view. If you need to delete a ROI or all defined ROIs, press the corresponding
or 
buttons.Tracking
Automatically
When you finished defining objects, run the automatic tracking procedure:
Select the first frame of the image sequence.
Press the button.
All autodetected ROIs are then automatically tracked.
Manually
Define the objects to be tracked.
Switch to the first frame when the object changes its position and move the ROI by mouse to fit the object again. This way you defined the second point of the object's trajectory.
Continue with the next following frame.
Note
Use the left and right arrow keys to navigate through the Timelapse frame by frame.
Trajectory Points in the Graph
All trajectories created by tracking can be displayed in the Graph area in the Tracking control panel. Select your ROIs in the ROI list on the left to highlight their tracks in the image and display the track speed curves in the graph. The white dashed vertical line in the graph area represents the current point on the trajectory which corresponds to the displayed image frame. Click inside the graph to place the line and thus select a different frame. If you click and hold the primary mouse button with cursor over the line, velocity values will show up. You can delete a single trajectory point, the whole trajectory, or just one part of it. To do so, press the corresponding buttons in the right graph toolbar.
Contextual Menu
When you invoke the contextual menu over an automatically detected ROI, you can use following commands to improve tracking.
Performs the tracking from the last defined point to the end.
Performs the tracking between two points.
Available also for manually tracked objects. This command separates one ROI into two.