Method
This node generates a mesh based on Kinect camera data from a Depth Camera / Kinect Source connected via the “Colour Image Node” input. If no source is connected, this node is ineffective. The mesh is based on a subdivided plane of quads, displaced by the depth values from the Kinect and projected back from the camera. Polygons with depths that fall outside the clip planes set on the Kinect Source node are clipped out. Where neighbouring points in the depth image differ greatly in depth large quads with long edges may be created, which may be undesirable. This can be limited using the Max Edge Length parameter. The resolution of the generated mesh may be reduced using the Mesh Resolution Scale parameter.
The generated mesh may be processed by Kinect Mesh Modifier nodes or Defomer nodes. It may also be used as an input to Particle Mesh Emitters or Field 3D Object Emitters.
The mesh may be rendered as transparent or opaque polygons, lines or points – or all three.
Transform
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Position X | Move its position along the x-axis in local space. |
| Position Y | Move its position along the y-axis in local space. |
| Position Z | Move its position along the z-axis in local space. |
| Rotation Heading | Rotate the object about the x-axis. |
| Rotation Pitch | Rotate the object about the y-axis. |
| Rotation Bank | Rotate the object about the z-axis. |
| Scale X | Scale along the x-axis. |
| Scale Y | Scale along the y-axis. |
| Scale Z | Scale along the z-axis. |
Inherit Transform Channels
Toggle which transform channels should be inherited. By default, all are on.
Attributes
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Point Texture | Choose an image texture to be placed at the position of each tracked point. |
| Visible | Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene. |
| Max Cameras Active | Maximum number of Kinect camera’s active |
| Mesh Resolution Scale | Scales the resolution of the generated mesh – defines the number of pixels in the source image per polygon in the mesh. |
| Pivot Distance | How far the mesh is generated from the pivot. |
| Max Edge Length | Max distance between two neighbouring points in the depth image that will be joined together into a polygon. |
| Vertex Randomisation | How much randomness is added to the positions of each vertex. |
| Line Alpha | Controls the alpha transparency value for rendering the edges of the mesh as lines. If this is set to 0 the lines will not be rendered. |
| Point Alpha | Controls the alpha transparency value for rendering the vertices of the mesh as points. If this is set to 0 the points will not be rendered. |
| Point Size | The size of the rendered points. |
| Use Depth From Luminance (Fake Depth) | Depth values may be taken from an RGB image rather than depth values calculated by the Kinect. |
| Filter Depths | Smooths the Kinect Depths to try to remove noise – generally only suitable for Kinect v1. |
| Flatten Depth | Depth Values are ignored and the mesh is flattened. |
| Smoothing Iterations | Number of passes to apply a smoothing operator over the re-constructed depth vertices |
| Invert Mask Enabled | Inverts the clipping area. |
| Flat Shading | Toggle flat shading on or off. |
| Render To Shadows Only | Only renders shadows, and not the mesh itself. |
| Constant Colour | Replace the colour image with a solid colour. |
| Constant Colour Amount | How much the constant colour is blended over the colour image values. |
| Sort Key | Changes the render order of the Kinect Mesh node against other transparent objects in the scene. |
Material
Most of these Attributes are shared with the Materials topic.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Line Colour | Changes the colour of the mesh edges. |
| Point Colour | Changes the colour of the point texture. |
Inputs
| Name | Description | Typical Node Input |
|---|---|---|
| Colour Image Node | Defines the Kinect source for the mesh. If a Kinect Source is used, both colour and depth data will be taken from the same node. Otherwise only colour data is taken. | Depth Camera / Kinect Source |
| Mask Image Node | Use a mask image to control which regions are used by the mesh, based on the luminance of the image. | Video Loader |
| Depth Image Node | Use an image to override the depth input from the Kinect Source node. If the connected node is a Kinect source the depth channel will be taken; otherwise the luminance of the colour channel is used as depth data. | Video Loader |
| Project Image Nodes | Projects images onto the Kinect mesh to colour it. | Video Loader |
| Material | Override the default material. | Materials |
| Transform Modifier | Links all transform properties to the input node. | Null |
| Target Node | Always faces the x-axis towards the inputs anchor point. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Override the transformation values of the node, relative to its parent. | Null |
Outputs
This node outputs the normal transformation and translation values, but it also outputs geometry which can be Deformed or used as a mesh source by other nodes.
