“Excellence Award”, SilkyEvCam® Event-based Vision Camera Application Idea and Algorithm Contest 2024
"How to conduct experiments that capture the essence of physics in a simple and inexpensive way" Science Support SPINOZA (Kanae Sato, Miyu Matsumura, and Prof. Tetsuji Uchiyama) (Miyagi University of Education)
managerDigest
(1) Outline of the proposal
This proposal is to use an event-based vision camera (hereinafter called “event camera”) not for research but for education.
For example, in student experiments for “conservation of momentum” and/or “gravitational acceleration”, recently high-performance ICT (Information and Communication Technology) equipment and excellent software have made these experiments easy. However, these measurement equipment and software are expensive, even for verification level experiments, and furthermore are limited for the fixed experiments. Therefore, hardware and software for educational student experiments at universities should be more inexpensive and applicable to a variety of experiments.
This proposal aims to overcome the above-mentioned problems in conventional student experiments by taking advantage of the features of an event camera, and by taking “measurement of air resistance force on a free-falling object” and “measurement of ripples and interference fringe caused by water drops on a water surface” as examples. This paper shows that an event camera can be used universally for these two experiments, and that the experiments can be conducted with a simple measurement system without any loss of accuracy compared to experiments using conventional measurement devices. The event camera, which captures only temporal changes, can conduct experiments with little environmental setup and experimental preparation, such as setting up the background, because the environment (e.g., miscellaneous backgrounds) as noise to the experiment does not change over time and therefore does not appear in the event camera as data.
(2) Measurement of “air resistance force on a free-falling object” using an event camera
Figure 1 and Figure 2 show student experiments for “measurement of air resistance force on a free-falling object.
In the experiment using a normal camera (Figure 1), it is necessary to set up the environment and prepare for the experiment by, for example, preparing a uniformly colored curtain as a background of the experiment and letting the object fall while being careful not to touch it, in order to remove the background noise.
Figure 2 can be conducted by simply setting up a tripod in a messy laboratory and dropping an object on it without worrying about the background. No pretreatment is performed (Movie 1).
Fig.1 Drop experiment using a frame rate camera
Fig.2. Drop experiment using an event camera
◎ Measurement of “ ripples and interference fringe caused by water drops on a water surface” using an event camera
Compared to the expensive devices used in previous experiments (e.g., FRT-3000N water wave projector for teacher demonstrations and RT-L water wave projector for student experiments), with the event camera, a presentation styrofoam case filled with water is placed under the event camera fixed on a stand and water drops are simply dropped (Figure 3). No pretreatment is performed (Movie 2).
This proposal is aimed not only at research but also at student education, and is expected to be applicable to various educational fields and experiments in the future. We selected this proposal for the “Excellence Award” because it is expected to have an educational effect of making students think about what kind of fields and experiments they can apply the event camera to, how to use the event camera, and how to evaluate the captured data.
(3) Introduction of the team, Science Support SPINOZA
（Founding Philosophy)
The purpose of this organization is to cultivate practical skills in science education while considering how to convey the “interest in natural science” and “joy of discovery” that science-loving students have. The name of the organization, SPINOZA, is derived from Baruch De Spinoza, a 17th century Dutch philosopher and theologian who advocated the impersonal God concept of “God is Nature”.
Activities include the development of teaching materials centering on physics, which are of interest to children, led by Uchiyama, a professor at Miyagi University of Education, and practical application of these materials through opportunities such as supplementary classes at the Sendai Astronomical Observatory and cooperating schools. The ultimate goal is to help students acquire the ability to think deeply about science.
(4) Comments on the award
Thank you very much for your evaluation of our application in spite of its simple content. It is precisely this ease and simplicity that we aimed to achieve from an educational perspective. How can we extract the essence of simplicity of nature in the science that examines the nature around us? This camera can depict nature from different perspectives with time variation as a parameter. The fact that the data is crude gives us room for thought. We are more than grateful for the award. We are grateful to have found this camera. Thank you very much.
