A system for tracking whisker kinematics and whisker shape in three dimensions
Fig 7
Tracking and estimating 3D curvature for a rigid test object (panels A-B), whiskers of a behaving mouse (panel C) and an ex vivo whisker (panels D-F). A) Tracking the edge of a coverslip. The coverslip was mounted, like a lollipop, on a rod; the rod was oriented in the mediolateral direction and rotated around its axis. Red lines indicate tracking results (30 frames, 10 millisecond intervals, 1000 frames/s). B) Top: Azimuth angle for two trials (black and grey traces). Bottom shows measured curvature: horizontal curvatures (dotted lines), κ3D (solid lines) and true curvature (orange). C) Horizontal and 3D curvatures during free whisking (same trial as Fig 6). Solid lines represent κ3D and dotted lines indicate horizontal curvatures for C1-3 (colours coded as in Fig 6). Fluctuations in vertical curvature were similar to those in horizontal curvature (|ρ|>0.49). D) Variation in κ3D for a stationary ex vivo whisker (C3) as a function of roll angle. E) Azimuth angle for ex vivo trials with simulated whisking at different speeds. F) κ3D as a function of whisking phase.