Retül 3-D Motion Capture Technology
Using 3D motion capture technology, the Retül system accurately measures every degree of movement and millimeter of distance, providing you and the fitter with data to support the choices made during the fit for your cycling equipment and personal riding experience.
The Retül software is designed specifically for bike fitting. Fit data is stored in client specific files, which can be accessed at any time to compare previous fittings with new data.
Readings taken throughout the Dynamic 3D motion capture process are immediately processed and a report generated. We then analyze the data from this sample and evaluate the need for position change. Once the changes are made, the process is repeated to verify effectiveness. This new data then becomes part of the final report, in addition to post-fit bike and equipment measurements.
The software can track information for multiple bikes (i.e. via a bike name) for each client so that fits across categories, i.e. road, mountain, cross, etc., are distinct. A historical Position Report can be generated at the push of a button from any of these files for quick comparison or reference.
The system uses infra-red LEDs (light emitting diodes) that get placed on the body in specific skeletal locations. Active systems differ from passive systems in that the tripod mounted LED sensor is tracking the light directly from the source (the LED diodes).
Passive systems use reflection (light returned to its source via a material that repels the light source) to track markers. The problem with reflection is that many shoes, clothes, bikes, and other objects have a lot of reflective points on them, so false images known as artifacts get picked up by the system. In most cases, the user has to go into software, distinguish between the desired markers and manually delete these artifacts. In a shop with windows and shiny bike parts everywhere, this can be highly problematic, as covering all of those sources is a near impossibility, requiring the time consuming removal of artifacts before data collation can begin.
Retül’s active system does not suffer from this problem. The active system flashes each LED discreetly as the infrared light travels from the LEDs on the body points to the sensor on the tripod. The sensor then triangulates the position of the LED in true 3D space. Our system can track these points to within a millimeter of true position. Data collation is immediate and fast.
The system flashes an LED every 2.1 milliseconds. That’s 476 times per second or Hertz. The system takes a full set of body measurements every 34 milliseconds. That’s 29 full sets of body data per second. Our sample sizes, taken dynamically, last anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes….whatever the fitter desires. The software processes all of that data in seconds, synchronizing the eight data points tracking them across longitudinal, vertical and horizontal planes.
Synchronization yields body location intelligence. The receiver knows what LED is flashing and where it is on the body. The software automatically, by skeletal position, identifies the proper LEDs for the measurements of each marker’s position. This is virtually automatic, unlike in passive systems, in which the user must tell the system what reflection images are related to what marking point. There is no post-processing needed with Retul’s software, so reports are accurate, 3D reports are generated immediately for viewing.
