×
Help
General
Motion Ticker is a HTML5 javascript-application for analysing the motion of objects in videos.
It is primarily intended for use in classrooms to teach students about motion
and mechanics. The name is a tribute to the old-fashioned
ticker tape timers that were used
in the era before computers and smartphones were widespread.
Getting started
Check out the demo video to see a working example of the automatic analysis.
You can analyse the motion of an object in 4 simple steps:
- Upload a new video.
- Calibrate the scale of the video.
You can either set the scale in pixels per meter in the data tab or set the length of
the green ruler in meters in the video tab.
- Start the analysis. You can choose between manual or automatic analysis:
- Manual analysis: Click on the object in each frame.
- Automatic analysis: First place the track window (red box) around the object.
Then the program will try to follow its motion by analysing each frame.
- Export the data to a CSV file such that you can analyse the data at any time in
a spreadsheet application.
Instructions on YouTube
Video formats
Video support depends on the browser and operating system. Almost all browsers support
the common video containers (MP4, MOV, WebM and Ogg). On the other hand, be aware that
support for the HEVC (H.265) codec is
limited
to mostly Safari. For instance, in case you want to analyse videos that have been
recorded by an iPhone 7 or later, either
change the format
on your iPhone or convert the video using any
online
video converter. You can find the actual video format by clicking on the
icon after uploading the video.
Video requirements
The distance between the camera and the moving object should approximately be constant.
This is the case when the moving object is sufficiently far away from the camera.
The camera itself should not move during the video.
Place a scale marker (such as a ruler or another object of known dimensions) in the video.
Setting up the analysis
Upload the video that you would like to analyse.
The frame rate is then automatically obtained from the video meta data
using the MediaInfo tool.
In the event that this calculation stalls, you can set the frame rate manually. In most cases
a frame rate of 30 or 60 frames per second (fps) is appropriate. The next step is to calibrate
the scale of the video in meters per pixel, either using the green ruler in the video tab or
the input field in the data tab.
Optionally, the origin of your coordinate system can be changed in the video tab or
using the input fields in the data tab.
Analysis
During the manual analysis the movement of the object is obtained by clicking on
the object in each frame. For larger objects one can click on a well-defined spot like an edge
or another distinctive feature. After each click the next frame is shown (this can be
modified in the settings).
Automatic analysis
When the automatic box is checked the program will track the object automatically using a
template matching algorithm.
Make sure to place the track window (red box) around the object without selecting
too much background. The location of this track window in the initial frame defines the
template image.
The algorithm will search for this template image in the other video frames.
To make the search faster and more reliable the search region is
narrowed down to a region of interest (ROI). In the default setting the ROI is 4
times larger than track window.
Depending on the speed of the moving object and the frame rate, a setting between 2 and 5 is
usually sufficient. When the object is moving at higher speeds larger values may be required.
Zooming in can improve the accuracy of the analysis, but this also requires
more resources on your computer.
Please refer to the settings to find the optimal settings for your video.
Derived data: velocity and acceleration
The graphs show the position of the object, its velocity and acceleration.
The acceleration graph is turned off by default (can be changed in the settings).
Note that when hiding the velocity and/or acceleration graphs, their data is not exported
to the CSV file either.
The velocity is calculated from two positional data points. Likewise, the acceleration is
calculated from two velocity data points. The corresponding time is the average
of these data points. The time between these two points can be changed in the settings.
This so-called integration time is the minimal number of frames between these points.
The default integration time is set to two frames. Note that the number of frames
between these points will be larger when frames are skipped during the analysis. Choosing a
larger integration time results in a smoother velocity/acceleration graph, but a reduced
sensitivity to (sudden) changes in the velocity or acceleration.
CSV files
After analysis, save your data by exporting it to a CSV file such that you can continue your
analysis at a later stage or use your data in a spreadsheet application. In the settings
you can change the decimal separator and the delimiter in the CSV file to facilitate the
import in your spreadsheet application. Note that the velocity and acceleration fields have
their own time stamps, which may not overlap with the time stamps from the positions.
This may cause empty cells in the CSV file. This behaviour can be (partially) avoided
in the settings.
Security/privacy
No data leaves your computer by using this website. All analysis is done locally on your own
computer. This is a cookie-free website.
Webapp compatibility
Motion Ticker does not work in Internet Explorer. In case you are still using IE, please
consider moving to a modern browser like Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
Embed code
Teachers and others can embed Motion Ticker in their own virtual learning environment (VLE).
The embed code would be for example:
<iframe src="https://jeroenvantilburg.nl/motionticker/" width="100%" height="800"></iframe>
The width and height should be adjusted for your own environment.
Source code
The source code from this website is freely available on
GitHub under the
MIT license. The source code
may be freely copied and hosted on every web server. Please make sure to keep the code
up-to-date since new updates and bug fixes come out regularly.
Feedback and questions
To keep this website as user-friendly as possible I depend on your feedback. Please send your
questions, improvements, bug reports, suggestions, comments and compliments
to
.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to
GitHub and
GitHub Pages for hosting Motion Ticker.
Motion Ticker depends on the following useful javascript libraries:
Other applications
Besides Motion Ticker, there are a number of other, third-party applications that can be used
to analyse videos. Select the application that suits your needs.
- Coach7 (paid) is a software package for STEM
Education. It includes a tool for data video activities.
- Vernier Video Analysis
(paid) brings video analysis to your students in a dedicated and streamlined application.
- Tracker (free) is a video analysis and
modeling tool from Open Source Physics. There is also a
javascript version that runs on most
computers.
- Sony motion shot (free) is an app
for Android and iOS that automatically renders the movement in a video into a single still
image.
Motion Ticker