How accurately can we estimate spontaneous body kinematics from video recordings? Effect of movement amplitude on OpenPose accuracy
2025

Estimating Body Movements from Video: How Movement Size Affects Accuracy

Sample size: 46 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Atesh Koul, Giacomo Novembre

Primary Institution: Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)

Hypothesis

The accuracy of video-based motion tracking (OpenPose) depends on the amplitude of the movements being recorded.

Conclusion

OpenPose accuracy is moderate overall and improves significantly with larger movement amplitudes.

Supporting Evidence

  • OpenPose accuracy improves with larger movement amplitudes.
  • Accuracy is weak for low-amplitude movements and strong for movements greater than 10 cm.
  • The relationship between accuracy and movement amplitude is non-linear.
  • Camera-body distance has a moderate effect on accuracy, particularly for larger movements.

Takeaway

This study shows that if you move your body a lot, a video can better guess how you're moving, but if you move just a little, it gets confused.

Methodology

The study analyzed body movements of 46 participants using both video-based (OpenPose) and infrared-based (Vicon) motion capture systems to assess accuracy based on movement amplitude.

Limitations

The study focused only on spontaneous movements and did not explore other factors that might affect accuracy.

Participant Demographics

46 participants (26 female; mean age 21.43 years, range 18–30 years)

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.001

Statistical Significance

p<0.001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3758/s13428-024-02546-6

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