Abstract
A multi-surface height model lets stage tracking and automated or remote-controlled follow spot systems place targets at the correct height on platforms, risers, ramps, stairs and moving scenery, instead of on a single flat floor plane. For a camera-based tracking system that provides position data, for example to a followspot system, the stage is described in stage coordinates by several surfaces (flat platforms, inclined ramps, stairs, height grids and imported meshes), each with a footprint, an elevation function and an identity. Image points such as mouse clicks and detection or zone foot points are corrected for lens distortion, cast as rays from the calibrated camera and resolved onto the first surface hit, so positions are correct in X, Y and Z. A height query at a stage position returns the surface below by a configurable rule (highest, priority, or nearest below a reference height for bridges). Where two surfaces overlap in X/Y but are separated in the camera image, persons on both levels are tracked at the same time; a configurable rule handles ambiguous image regions. Optionally a target’s height follows the surface under it plus a general-purpose offset, with smoothing at steps, hysteresis at edges, hold on drops and a per-target lock. Zones can be bound to surfaces, and the surface identity is published with positions and drawn in the camera overlay. Surfaces are created in a top-view editor, by clicking a platform’s corners in the camera image at an entered height, or by import; points on surfaces of known height can improve the camera calibration. Moving surfaces translate in X, Y and Z and rotate about X, Y and Z (U, V, W): a riser on wheels, a lift podium, a revolve, or a deck that tilts like a seesaw about a defined axis that need not pass through its centre. Their pose comes from show control protocols such as PSN, OSC or OTP, from stored scenes, from sensors or from vision-based detection. On a tilted surface the actor and the offset stay vertical.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hermann, Paul and Honold, Michel, "Multi-Surface Height Model for Stage Tracking and Automated or Remote-Controlled Follow Spot Systems: Correct Target Height on Platforms, Ramps, Stairs and Moving Scenery", Technical Disclosure Commons, (October 13, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/12163