What is it about?

This paper describes a simple technique that can be used to film and reconstruct bird flight in three dimensions, using a single video camera and a knowledge (or an estimate) of the bird’s wingspan. It provides information on the bird’s altitude, and the speed and direction of flight at all points of the reconstructed trajectory.

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Why is it important?

The technique is simple and inexpensive, and it does not require multiple cameras. The calibration of the camera is straightforward and needs to be carried out only once through the course of its lifetime. It can be applied to study and document bird flight in the laboratory as well as outdoors, including flight in flocks. It can also be applied to film and reconstruct the flight trajectories of aircraft.

Perspectives

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to study bird flight in a team comprising biologists and engineers originating from all over the world including Viet Nam, Germany, France, Sweden, Bangla Desh, India and Australia.

Mandyam Srinivasan
University of Queensland

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: 3D reconstruction of bird flight trajectories using a single video camera, PLoS ONE, August 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271618.
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