""motion capture

Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to" describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation .of computer vision and robotics In filmmaking it refers to recording actions of human actors, and using that information to animate digital character models in 2D or 3D computer animation. When it includes face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, it is often referred to as performance (capture." (1 Motion capture is defined as "The creation of a 3D representation" of a live performance." in the book Understanding Motion Capture for Computer Animation and Video Games by Alberto Menache. This is in contrast to animation that is created 'by hand' through a .process known as key framing Motion capture (AKA Mocap) used to be considered a fairly controversial tool for creating animation. In the early days, the effort required to 'clean up' motion capture data often took as long as if the animation was created by an animator, from scratch. Thanks to hard work by the manufacturers of motion capture systems as well as numerous software developers, motion capture (has become a feasible tool for the generation of animation."(2

David Noonan, Peter Mountney, Daniel Elson, Ara Darzi and Guang-Zhong-1 Yang. A Stereoscopic Fibroscope for Camera Motion and 3D Depth Recovery .During Minimally Invasive Surgery. In proc ICRA 2009 , pp. 4463-4468 http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture/motion-capture.htm-2 1

Software tools for working with motion-captured data, such" as( Motion Builder ) have evolved to the point where animators now have the means to edit and blend takes from multiple capture sessions and mix and match them with keyframed animation techniques; allowing great control of style and quality of final output, for anything ranging from realistic to 'cartoony' (motion."(1 If anyone asks us Do you think motion capture will replace key-" . frame animation? we will Say No Motion capture (mocap) is a very fast and accurate way to bring human motion into a 3D computer animation, but it is not always the best way. Mocap technology exhibits its remarkable strengths for some projects while other methods, such as keyframing, work much better for some other projects. We all need to make sure that whichever the method we decide to use, thats the .most effective method for the project Motion capture (mocap) is sampling and recording motion of humans, animals, and inanimate objects as 3D data The data can be used to study motion or to give an illusion of life to 3D computer models. Since most mocap applications today require special equipment there are still a limited number of companies, schools, and organizations that are utilizing mocap technology. Outside the film industry, army, and medicine , there are not too many people who know what mocap is. However, most people, even small children, have seen the films, games, and TV commercials for which mocap technology is used. In that sense mocap is in our (everyday life."(2

http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture/motion-capture.htm -1 Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and -2 (Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008

"Motion capture is the process of capturing the live motion of a person in order to animate a virtual character. Until now the approach providing the best results was marker recognition from multiple camera views (in the infrared range). However, it still requires significant human intervention in the post-processing phase due to weaknesses in the marker tracking. In the framework of the MOCA project we propose a motion capture methodology based on a 3D anatomic human model. This model encompasses a precise description of the skeleton mobility associated with an approximated envelope. Its first objective is to ensure the best matching between the real performer and the articulated structure supporting the animation description. The second objective is to allow the prediction of the 3D location and the visibility of markers."(1) "The recent film "Titanic" has demonstrated the maturity of the virtual actor technology. In the film, the ship was carrying hundreds of digital passengers with a degree of verisimilitude that made them indistinguishable from real actors. Among the many challenges taken over by the production team, the most critical element in the creation of digital humans was the replication of human motion: "no other aspect was as apt to make or break the illusion" as reported in. Optical motion capture has been used to recover the fidelity of the motion of strolling adults, playing .children and other lifelike activities However, though impressive in its ability to replicate movement, the motion capture process is far from perfect. Even with a highly professional system there are many instances where crucial markers are obscured from camera view or when the algorithm (confuses the trajectory of one marker with that of another."(2

http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture/motion-capture.htm -1 Cinefex 72, Titanic special reprint, 98 pp, P.O. Box 20027, Riverside, CA -2 92516, USA, December 97

"This requires much work on the part of the animator before the virtual characters are ready for their screen debuts. Paradoxically, the price to pay for getting phenomenally subtle human movement is that it becomes very difficult and very time consuming to alter what has been captured."(1) The issues are only slightly different for game-oriented motion" capture. Capturing subtleties is less important because games focus more on big and broad movements. On the other hand, the end user character may considerably differ in shape and proportion from the performer artist (Figure 1a,d). This brings in the additional issue of movement distortion. In the framework of the MOCA project we propose a motion capture methodology based (on an anatomic human model (Figure1) . "(2

Cinefex 72, Titanic special reprint, 98 pp, P.O. Box 20027, Riverside, CA -1 92516, USA, December 97 R. Maiocchi 3D Character Animation Using Motion Capture, in -2 "Interactive Computer Animation", Thalmann&Magnenat-Thalmann (eds.), 1996 ISBN 0-13-518309-X, Prentice-Hall Europe 4

This model encompasses a precise description of the skeleton" mobility associated with an approximated envelope. It has a double objective: by ensuring a high precision mechanical model for the performer, we can predict accurately the 3D location and the visibility of markers, thus reducing significantly the human .intervention during the conversion process The proposed methodology concentrates on body motion capture; (face motion capture requires specific devices and approaches."(1 " Motion capture technology is a process by which movement is digitally recorded. The technique was originally used for military tracking purposes and in sports as a tool for biomechanic research which focused on the mechanical functioning of the body, like how the heart and muscles work and move. In the last twenty-five years, motion capture has become an essential tool in the entertainment business, giving computer animators the ability to make nonhuman characters more life-like. It's a techonolgy used in animated films and television as well as video games. Historically, motion capture in animated movies was created using an extension of the rotoscoping technique. In this technique, an actor is filmed making certain movements or gestures while wearing markers on specific points of his or her body. Each marker in each frame of film is then manually encoded into the computer. As animation software improved, it became possible to apply an algorithm to the markers that attach them to a 3D object, (creating what is now called motion capture."(2

R. Maiocchi 3D Character Animation Using Motion Capture, in -1 "Interactive Computer Animation", Thalmann&Magnenat-Thalmann (eds.), 1996 ISBN 0-13-518309-X, Prentice-Hall Europe http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-motion-capture-technology.htm -2 5

"motion capture"
The use of motion capture for computer" character animation is relatively new, having begun in the late 1970's, and only now beginning .to become widespread Motion capture is the recording of human body movement (or other movement) for immediate or delayed analysis and playback. The information captured can be as general as the simple position of the body in space or as complex as the deformations of the face and muscle masses. Motion capture for computer character animation involves the mapping of human motion onto the motion of a computer character. The mapping can be direct, such as human arm motion controlling a characters arm motion, or indirect, such as human hand and finger patterns controlling a .characters skin color or emotional state The idea of copying human motion for animated characters is, of course, not new. To get convincing motion for the human characters in Snow White, Disney studios traced animation over film footage of live actors playing out the scenes. This method, called rotoscoping, has been successfully used for human characters ever since. In the late 1970's, when it began to be feasible to animate characters by computer, animators adapted .traditional techniques, including rotoscoping The Motion Capture began in late 1800s when Etienne Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge performed motion studies on (various animals and humans."(1

-1 http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/charact er_animation/motion_capture/history1.htm

:History of Mocap

The development of modern day mocap technology has been led" by the medical science, army, and computer generated imagery (CGI) field where it is used for a wide variety of purposes. It seems that mocap technology could not exist without the computer. However, there were early successful attempts to capture motion long before the computer technology became available. The purpose of this section is to shed light on some of the pioneers in mocap in the 19th and 20th centuries: this is not our attempt to list all the achievements on which todays mocap technology is built .upon 1- Early attempts: Eadweard Muybridge (1830 1904) was born in England and became a popular landscape photographer in San Francisco. It is said that in 1872 Leland Stanford (California governor, president of the Central Pacific Railroad, and founder of Stanford University) hired Muybridge to settle a$25,000 bet on whether all four feet of a horse leave the ground simultaneously or not. Six years later Muybridge proved that in fact all four feet of a trotting horse simultaneously get off the ground. He did so by capturing a horses movement in a sequence of photographs taken with a set of one dozen cameras triggered by the horses feet. Muybridge invented the zoopraxiscope, which projects sequential images on disks in rapid succession, in 1879. The zoopraxiscope is considered to be one of the earliest motion picture devices. Muybridge perfected his technology for sequential photographs and published his photographs of athletes, children, himself, and animals. His books, Animals in Motion (1899) and The Human Figures in Motion (1901), are still used by many artists, such as animators, cartoonists, illustrators, and painters, as valuable references. Muybridge, who had a colorful career and bitter personal life, is certainly a pioneer of mocap and motion pictures (Figure 1.1). "(1)
8

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Born in France, in the same year as Muybridge, was Etienne- " Jules Marey. Marey was a physiologist and the inventor of a portable sphygmograph, an instrument that records the pulse and blood pressure graphically. Modified versions of his instrument are .still used today In 1882 Marey met Muybridge in Paris and in the following year, inspired by Muybridges work, he invented the chronophotographic gun to record animal locomotion but quickly .abandoned it In the same year he invented a chronophotographic fixed-plate camera with a timed shutter that allowed him to expose multiple (images (sequential images of a movement) on a plate."(1

Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and-1 (Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008

The camera initially captured images on glass plates but later he replaced glass plates with paper film, introducing the use of film strips into motion picture. The photographs of Mareys subject wearing his mocap suit show a striking resemblance to skeletal .(mocap data (Figures 1.2 and 1.3

10

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Mareys research subjects included cardiology, experimental physiology, instruments in physiology, and locomotion of humans, animals, birds, and insects. To capture motion, Marey used one camera while Muybridge used multiple cameras. Both men died in .1904, leaving their legacies in arts and sciences In the year after Muybridge and Marey passed away Harold Edgerton was born in Nebraska. Edgerton developed his photographic skills in the early 1920s while he was a student at University of Nebraska. In 1926 while working on his masters
11

degree in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he realized that he could observe the rotating part of a motor as if The motor were turned off by matching the frequency of the strobes flashes to the speed of the motors rotation. In 1931 Edgerton developed the stroboscope to freeze fast moving objects and capture them on film. Edgerton became a pioneer in high-speed photography (Figures 1.4 and 1.5). Edgerton designed the first successful underwater camera in 1937 and made many trips aboard the research vessel Calypso with French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. He designed and built deep sea electronic flash equipment in 1954. Edgerton ended his long career as an educator and researcher at MIT when he passed away in 1990.

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

2- Rotoscoping: Max Fleischer, born in Vienna in 1883, moved to the U.S. with his family in 1887. When he was an art editor for Popular Science Monthly, he came up with an idea for producing animation by tracing live action film frame by frame. In 1915 Fleischer filmed his brother, David, in a clown costume and they spent almost a year making their first animation using rotoscope. Fleischer obtained a patent for rotoscope in 1917. World War I ended in 1918 and in the following year he produced the first animation in the Out of the Inkwell series and he also established Out of the Inkwell, Inc., which was later renamed as Fleischer Studio. In the Out of the Inkwell series, animation and live action were cleverly mixed and Fleischer himself interacted with the animation characters, Koko the Clown and Fitz the dog . In 1924, 4 years before Disneys Steamboat Willie, Fleischer produced the first animation with a synchronized soundtrack. Fleischer Studio animated characters from the comics, such as Popeye the

12

Sailor and Superman. Betty Boop first appeared in Fleischers animation and later became a comic strip character. Fleischers early 30s animations were filled with sexual humor, ethnic jokes, and gags. When the Hays Production Code (censorship) laws became effective in 1934 it affected Fleischer Studio more than other studios. As the result, Betty Boop lost her garters and sex .appeal In 1937, after almost 4 years of production, Walt Disney (1901 1966) presented the first feature length animation, Snow White and Seven Dwarfs. Snow White was enormously successful. Paramount, the distributor of Fleischers animations, pressured Max and David Fleischer to produce feature length animations. They borrowed money from Paramount and produced two features, Gullivers Travels (1939) and Mr. Bug Goes to Town .((1941

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Neither film did well at the box office. After the failure of Mr. Bug, Paramount fired the Fleischer brothers and changed the studios name to Famous Studios. In the 1950s Max Fleischer sued Paramount over the distribution of his animations. Before his death in 1972, he signed a Betty Boop merchandising deal for King .Features, a unit of the Hearst Corporation Rotoscoping was used in Disney animations, starting with Snow White. Later Disney animations characters were highly stylized and rotoscoping became a method for studying human and animal motions. Disneys classic animations on DVDs, such as Snow White and Bambi, contain live action film footages from the Disney archive. Comparison between film footages and the corresponding scenes in the animations reveals skillful and selective use of rotoscoping by Disney animators. They went above and beyond rotoscoping. The success of Snow White can be attributed to Walt Disneys detailed attention to the plot, character development, and artistry. There are some beautiful scenes in the
13

Fleischers feature length animations. However, they do not have plots that can sustain the audiences interests until the end of the movie nor characters that make the audience care about them. Both Max Fleischer and Walt Disney were highly innovative individuals; however, it is sadly true that Disneys memory belongs to the public; Maxs to those who remember him by choice .(Heraldson, 1975) 3- Beginning of digital mocap : Research and development of digital mocap technology started in pursuit of medical and military applications in the 1970s. The CGI industry discovered the technologys potentials in the 1980s. Since some of this books readers werent born in the 1980s, lets recall the 1980s.

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

In the 1980s there were floppy disks that were actually floppy and most computers were equipped with monochrome monitors; some with calligraphic displays. To view color images, for example rendered animation frames, images had to be sent to a frame buffer, which was often shared by multiple users due to its cost. Large computers were housed in ice cold server rooms. The noise of dot matrix printers filled offices. Ray-tracing and radiocity algorithms were published in the 1980s. Renderers based on these algorithms required a supercomputer or workstations to render animation frames in a reasonable amount of time. Personal computers werent powerful enough. (Ray-tracing and radiocity didnt become widely available until the computing power improved). CPUs, memories, storage devices, and applications were more expensive than today. Wavefront Technologies developed and marketed the first commercial off-theshelf 3D computer animation software in 1985. Only a handful of computer animation production companies existed. Most of the animations that they
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produced were flying logos for TV commercials or TV programmes opening sequences. These were often 15 to 30 seconds long per piece. The readers who saw Brilliance (also called Sexy Robot) in the 1980s probably still remember the astonishment of seeing a computer generated character, a shiny female robot, moving like a real human being. Brilliance was produced by Robert Abel and Associates for the National Canned Food Information Council and was aired during the 1985 Super Bowl. They invented their own method for capturing motion for the project. They painted black dots on 18 joints of a female model and photographed her action on a swivel stool from multiple angles.

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

The images were imported into Silicon Graphics workstations and a number of applications were employed to extract the information necessary to animate the CGI robot. They didnt have enough computing power to render frames for the 30 second piece in house. So, in the final 2 weeks before the project deadline they borrowed VAX 11/750 computers around the country to render. The final product was a ground breaking piece and is regarded as a milestone in the history of CGI. While Brilliance was the first successful application of mocap technology in CGI, Total Recall was the first failed attempt to use mocap in a feature film. Metrolight Studios was one of the production companies contracted to produce effects for the 1990 science fiction film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone. Metrolight decided to use mocap to create an animation sequence of moving skeletons for the scene in which Schwarzeneggers character goes through a large airport security X-ray machine, along with other people and a dog. (Still images
15

from the scene popped up in news media after the 9/11 tragedy regarding security vs. privacy issues). An operator of an optical mocap equipment company was sent to a location with a mocap system. A Metrolight team followed the operators instruction while capturing performances by Schwarzenegger and other performers. They went home believing that the capture session had gone well and the mocap company would deliver the captured data after processing and cleaning. However, Metrolight never received .usable data and had to give up using mocap for the scene It is not certain if the operator did not know his companys equipment well and made critical mistakes or the system was .faulty

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

experience is that if you need to rely on an external expert in capture sessions, make sure that you hire a service provider with a good track record and references. Another is to check the data after capturing the range of motion and one or two shots. You dont want your capture subjects to wait for a long time. Dont process all the captured data during capture sessions, but check what kind of data quality you are getting, especially at a location site that you are not familiar with. If you need to recalibrate, recalibrate the system. Recalibrate after lunch or a long break and again before you wrap up sessions. Also be prepared to have a follow-up shoot in case the director, clients, you, or any other decisionmakers make changes after the first shoot, or data from the first shoot has problems. Mocap wasnt used as planned but Total Recall won an Academy Award (Special Achievement Award) for its special effects. Mocap technology had to wait for a few more .years to come into the limelight

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Released in 1995, FX Fighter is the first real-time fighting game with 3D characters in 3D environments. It is also one of the first video games that used mocap technology to give realism to 3D characters movements. Game characters are animated in real time by the user input using a set of motion captured actions, for example, running, walking, and kicking. Pieces of actions are played in such a way that the player does not notice the transition from one action to another giving an impression that the player is fully in control of a game characters movement. The games success encouraged other game companies to use mocap in their .games

1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Since these pioneering efforts in the 1980s and 1990s we have seen remarkable development and achievement in digital mocap. In recent years, in addition to medicine, military, and entertainment, mocap applications have been found in many other fields. Various sports use mocap to analyze and enhance athletes performances and prevent injuries. Designers use mocap to understand users movements, constraints, and interactions with environments and to design better products. Engineers use mocap to analyze human movements and design robots that walk like us. Art historians and educators use mocap to archive and study performances by dancers and actors. For instance, in 1991 an intricate performance by legendary French mime Marcel Marceau (1923 2007) was captured at the Ohio State University to preserve his arts for future generations.

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1-Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Background in Motion Capture

Motion capture technologies can be grouped into two broad classes: On-line motion capture devices, where the output of the system*" can be directly used to pilot in real-time a virtual human body mimicking the performer posture . The main technology is based on magnetic sensors. They are mainly used for Virtual Reality and On-line TV shows with synthetic characters .However this technology is too limited in several respects: range of measurement space, noisy data, cumbersome sensors (although they tend to (become smaller)."(1 Off-line motion capture devices, where two processing stages*" are necessary to retrieve the motion of the performer. The
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technology is based on optical motion capture from multiple camera views (usually in the infrared range). Despite the longer time necessary for visualising the captured motion, it is nevertheless preferred to on-line technology in many cases. It allows to acquire the subtle gestures that are important in highquality production to convey emotion through motion. It also allows the capture of the large and complex movements that are important in real-time production to maintain a salient visual response to user input. This technology is also used in a clinical (context for the assessment of orthopaedic pathologies ."(2

R. Maiocchi 3D Character Animation Using Motion Capture, in "Interactive Computer Animation", Thalmann&Magnenat-Thalmann (eds.), 1996 ISBN 0-13-518309-X, Prentice,Hall Europe WWW Software, Technomatix-ROBCAD, -2 http://www.tecnomatix.com/robc1.htm#6

" The ESPRIT project MOCA focuses on the off-line technology which will prevail for a significant time before new technologies take over in a production context (the industrial partner Actisystem has a long experience in that field. The MOCA project aims at exploiting a mechanical model of the virtual human that is precise enough to improve the second motion capture processing phase (further referred to as post-processing)." (1)

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WWW Motion Capture, ACTISYSTEM, http://www.actisystem.fr -1

Uses of Motion Capture

Who Uses Motion Capture? 1- "Medicine : In clinical circles, motion capture is called 3D biological measuring or 3D analysis. It is used to generate biomechanical data to be used for gait analysis and several orthopedic applications, such as joint mechanics, analysis of the spine, prosthetic design, and sports medicine. There have been a great number of studies of gait performed with patients of all ages and conditions. The fi rst ones were made by Etienne Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge in the late 1800s using photographic equipment."(1) 2-" Sports : Sports analysis is a major application of motion capture. Three-dimensional data are being used extensively to improve the performance of athletes in sports such as golf, tennis,
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gymnastics, and even swimming by studying the performance of professionals and dissecting and classifying the different components of the movement. As motion capture technology improves to the point at which undisturbed data collection are possible, the potential uses will become even greater in this filed. There are a few motion capture studios across the country dedicated exclusively to the analysis of sports, especially golf. For a few hundred dollars, any golfer can have his or her swing analyzed or compared with the swing of a professional golfer. Visualization software allows the studios to study the athletes motions to fi nd (any problem areas."(2

Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) , p100 Rick Parent, Ibid, p102

Video games : Motion capture is used on almost every video "-3 game that involves human motion. The video game industry was the fi rst segment of entertainment to embrace motion capture as a viable tool for character motion. It started doing so at a time when the motion capture hardware and software was still producing lowquality results at a high, but not extreme, cost. Even though the use of motion capture in entertainment started in television and fi lm, those markets still remain resistant to widespread use of the tool, whereas the computer game segment has adopted it as the primary (source of capturing human motion."(1 Game development is the largest market for motion capture. With" games drawing as much revenue as movies, it is easy to see why game development often calls for enormous quantities of motion capture. The immense competition to produce the 'coolest game possible' (thus becoming a top-seller - hopefully) means that greater production capabilities mean higher quality. More time is

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left for aesthetic finishing touches and fine-tuning of game (play."(2 video and TV: The use of performance animation in animated" -4 TV shows is a small market that is growing slowly and has met with several obstacles. The main problem is that motion capture has been used primarily as a cost-cutting tool, resulting in an unexpected quality trade-off. Shows that used performance animation in the past have usually not included a budget for modifying the animation beyond the performance. An example of a show with this problem is The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, in which only a few minutes per show contain any kind of computer (animation."(3

Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion-1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p102 http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture-uses/motion-capture- -2 applications.html Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -3 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p103

Other cartoon shows have been successful in using performance" animation in their entirety. Most of these shows have been produced by the company that is actually collecting the motion, and the motion is captured in real time in most cases, so there are no surprises in what the quality of the fi nal animation will be. Companies that have succeeded in producing these kinds of shows are Medialab, with Donkey Kong Country, and Modern Cartoons, .with Jay-Jay the Jet Plane Commercials are still a very small part of the performance animation market. Because they are short projects, it is diffi cult to establish a pipeline for motion capture data that will only be used for a couple of shots. Specifi c shots that require a particular persons motion are what drives this market, such as the Virtual Andre spot that Digital Domain produced for Nike, which featured a digital version of Andre Agassi.

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Music videos have benefi ted from motion capture since the early 1990s. Homer and Associates produced computer graphics based on performance animation for music videos by Peter Gabriel, Vince Neil, and TLC. More recently, two Bjork music videos have been produced using motion capture, one by Rhythm and Hues and another by Digital Domain."(1)
Performance Animation : Real-time motion is becoming popular for live television broadcasts. Motion capture can be used to place a virtual character within a real scene, or to place live actors within a virtual scene with virtual actors, or virtual characters within a virtual scene. Daily Features: Use of the PhaseSpace optical motion capture system, combined with MotionBuilder is makes it easy to produce daily 3d animated features, allowing TV stations to keep their content fresh and exciting, and giving viewers yet another reason not to 'touch that dial'.

Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p103 http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture-uses/motion-capture- -2 applications.html

Films : Motion capture is being used more and more in films "-5 nowadays. Motion capture based animation is essential for creating characters that move realistically, in situations that would be impractical or too dangerous for real actors (such as characters falling off the ship in Titanic.) Motion capture was also used extensively in Titanic for 'filler' characters (fit in between real actors) or in situations with virtual camera fly-bys over a virtual ship. Many of these shots would have been difficult or impossible to do with real cameras and a real ship, or real models, so virtual models, actors, and cameras were used. Some film characters require the use of motion capture, otherwise their animation seems fake. More and more independent companies are starting to put together desktop studios - The idea of two or three people creating an entire movie is not that far off, if motion capture is used correctly. The Gypsy is ideal for small and large shops. Motion
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capture animation can be done very quickly and inexpensively, without scheduling expensive motion capture sessions in a (studio."(1 law : Motion capture is applied in law to produce "-6 reconstructive videos of events. These videos are used as evidence in trials to aid the jury in understanding a witnesss opinion about a particular order of events. According to a study conducted by the American Bar Association, this kind of evidence is much more (effective with jurors than any other demonstrative evidence."(2

Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p104 2- http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture-uses/motion-capture-

applications.html 7- Web : Motion capture is ideal for the web, whether used to create virtual hosts or greeting cards. As the web becomes more sophisticated and bandwidth increases, motion capture will help bring a 'human element' to the web, in the form of characters that viewers can relate to and interact with.

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8- Live events : Motion capture generated Performance Animation can be thought of as 'Improvisation meets Computer Graphics (CG)'. At trade shows, meetings or press conferences, a good improviser acting through a CG character in real-time can create a very intriguing lasting experience for the viewer. Integration with live actors further helps create a fascinating experience. 9- Scientific research : Motion capture is useful for perceptual research. By presenting test subjects with abstract movements, distilled from motion capture data, repeatable experiments can be developed that provide insights into human perception. 10- Engineering : Motion capture is essential for producing product designs that are ergonomically practical, as well as designs for physical products that are comfortable and appealing. The Gypsy has tremendous advantages over optical or magnetic systems when it comes to working in an enclosed space, such as a car interior or an aircraft cockpit. Optical systems are easily occluded and require a large distance between the subject and the cameras. Magnetic systems have major problems with metal in the capture space. "Education : "how the body moves -11 Motion capture training can make a huge difference in an animators training. While access to motion capture is not a substitute for developing good art skills and good traditional character animation abilities, it can go a long way towards .making someone more employable

http://www.metamotion.com/motion-capture-uses/motion-captureapplications.html

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motion capture advantages and disadvantages

advantages: Motion capture offers several advantages over traditional computer animation of a 3D model: 1- More rapid, even real time results can be obtained. In entertainment applications this can reduce the costs of keyframebased animation(saves time). 2-The amount of work does not vary with the complexity or length of the performance to the same degree as when using traditional techniques. This allows many tests to be done with different styles or deliveries. 3-Complex movement and realistic physical interactions such as secondary motions, weight and exchange of forces can be easily recreated in a physically accurate manner. 4-The amount of animation data that can be produced within a given time is extremely large when compared to traditional animation techniques. This contributes to both cost effectiveness and meeting production deadlines. 5-Potential for free software and third party solutions reducing its costs. Disadvantages: 1-Specific hardware and special programs are required to obtain and process the data. 2-The cost of the software, equipment and personnel required can potentially be prohibitive for small productions. 3-The capture system may have specific requirements for the space it is operated in, depending on camera field of view or magnetic distortion. 4-When problems occur, it is easier to reshoot the scene rather than trying to manipulate the data. Only a few systems allow real time viewing of the data to decide if the take needs to be redone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_capture 26

5-The initial results are limited to what can be performed within the capture volume without extra editing of the data. 6-Movement that does not follow the laws of physics generally cannot be captured. 7-Traditional animation techniques, such as added emphasis on anticipation and follow through, secondary motion or manipulating the shape of the character, as with squash and stretsh animation techniques, must be added later. 8-If the computer model has different proportions from the capture subject, artifacts may occur. For example, if a cartoon character has large, over-sized hands, these may intersect the character's body if the human performer is not careful with their physical motion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_capture 27

motion capture systems

Mocap systems commercially available today can be categorized " into three main groups: optical systems, magnetic systems, and (mechanical systems. Each type has strengths and weaknesses."(1 " Human motion capture systems are classifi ed as outside-in, inside-out, and inside-in systems. These names are indicative of where the capture sources and sensors are placed. An outside-in system uses external sensors to collect data from sources placed on the body. Examples of such systems are camerabased tracking devices, in which the cameras are the sensors and .the refl ective markers are the sources Inside-out systems have sensors placed on the body that collect external sources. Electromagnetic systems, whose sensors move in an externally generated electromagnetic fi eld, are examples of .inside-out systems Inside-in systems have their sources and sensors placed on the body. Examples of these devices are electromechanical suits, in which the sensors are potentiometersor powered goniometers and .the sources are the actual joints inside the body The principal technologies used today that represent these categories are, optical electromagnetic, and electromechanical .human tracking systems 1- Optical Motion Capture Systems: Optical motion capture is a very accurate method of capturing certain motions when using a state-of-the-art system. It is not a real-time process at least not yet; immediate feedback is not possible on the target character, but an almost real-time stick-fi gure visual aid is now possible. Data acquired optically require extensive postprocessing to become usable."(2)
1- Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008) 2- Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p 84 28

A typical optical motion capture system is based on a single computer that controls the input of several digital charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. CCDs are lightsensitive devices that use an array of photoelectric cells (also called pixels ) to capture light, and then measure the intensity of the light for each of the cells, creating a digitalrepresentation of the image. The number of cameras employed is usually no less than four and no more than32, and they capture the position of refl ective markers at speeds anywhere between30 and 1000 samples per second. The cameras are normally fitted with their own light sources that create a directional refl ection from the markers, which are generally spheres covered with a material such as Scotch-Brite tape. Infrared light sources are preferred because they create less visual distortion for the user. The marker spheres can vary from a few millimeters in diameter, for small-area captures, to a couple of inches. The Vicon 8 system, shown in Fig. 3.5 , is an example of a state-ofthe- art optical system that can accommodate up to 24 cameras. Most optical systems are manufactured for medical applications; as such, they lack many features that are important to computer graphics applications. The most time and cost-effective solution is different for every case, depending on the type, speed, and length of the motion, as well as on the volume of capture and the available light. Figure 3.6 shows a .performance being fi lmed on an optical motion capture stage Advantages of Optical Systems: 1-O ptical data are extremely accurate in most cases. 2-A larger number of markers can be used. 3-I t is easy to change marker confi gurations. It is possible to obtain approximations to internal skeletons by-4 .using groups of markers P erformers are not constrained by cables -5
1- Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p84,85,86,89

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6- Optical systems allow for a larger performance area than most other systems. Optical systems have a higher frequency of capture, resulting in -7 .more samples per second Disadvantages of Optical : Systems 1- O ptical data require extensive postprocessing. 2- T he hardware is expensive, costing between $100 000 and $250 000. 3-Optical systems cannot capture motions when markers are occluded for a long period of time. 4- Capture must be carried out in a controlled environment, away from yellow light and refl ective noise. 2-Electromagnetic Trackers "Electromagnetic motion capture systems are part of the six degrees of freedom electromagnetic measurement systems family and consist of an array of receivers That measure their spatial relationship to a nearby transmitter. These receivers or sensors are placed on the body and are connected to an electronic control unit, in most cases by individual cables."(1) "Magnetic (electromagnetic) mocap systems are sometimes called magnetic trackers. The systems were derived from the sensors placed on a military aircraft pilots helmet to track the pilots head position and orientation for the helmet-mounted display. With a magnetic mocap system, 12 to 20 tracking sensors are placed on a capture subject to measure spatial relationship to a magnetic transmitter. The tracking sensors output their translations and orientations. Hence, no post-processing is required to compute rotations. This fact allows magnetic systems to be used for realtime applications."(2)

Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p89

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2- Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Magnetic trackers in the entertainment industry are used mostly for real-time applications such as live television, live performances, and location- based or Internet virtual reality implementations. Many times they are used in combination with other puppeteering devices. A performer can author the body motions of a character with the magnetic tracker while someone else is performing the facial expressions and lip-syncing using a face tracker or a data glove. At the same time, a puppeteer can be animating the .characters eyes using a simple mouse Magnetic trackers are also used on nonreal-time applications in which immediate feedback on a character is required. Nonentertainment-related applications include the already mentioned military applications plus simulations for various industries such as aerospace, medicine, and education. Figure ."3.9" shows a performer wearing an electromagnetic tracker Magnetic systems capture volumes are normally smaller than optical systems. One of the biggest advantages of magnetic systems is their cost; magnetic systems are less expensive than optical systems. Advantages of Magnetic Trackers: 1- R eal-time data output can provide immediate feedback. 2- Position and orientation data are available without postprocessing. Magnetic trackers are less expensive than optical systems, -3 .costing between $5000 and $150 000 .The sensors are never occluded -4 It is possible to capture multiple performers interacting -5 .simultaneously with multiple setups Disadvantages of Magnetic Trackers: .T he trackers sensitivity to metal can result in irregular output -1 .Performers are constrained by cables in most cases -2

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Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p91

Magnetic trackers have a lower sampling rate than some optical -3 .systems .The capture area is smaller than is possible with optical systems -4 .It is difficult to change marker configurations -5

-3 The electromechanical motion capture suit is a group of structures linked by potentiometers or similar angular measurement devices located at the major human joint locations; it is driven by a human .bodys actions Potentiometers are components that have been used for many years in the electronics industry, in applications such as volume controls on old radios. A slider moving along a resistor element in the potentiometer produces a variable voltagepotential reading, depending on what percentage of the total resistance is applied to .the input voltage
:Electromechanical suites

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Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion -1 Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p91,92

The potentiometers used for motion capture suits and armatures are much more complex versions of the old radio volume knob; they are sometimes called analog or digital angular sensors. One big drawback of electromechanical systems based on potentiometers is their inability to measure global translations. In most cases, an electromagnetic sensor is added to the confi guration to solve this problem, but that subjects the setup to the same disadvantages as the electromagnetic systems, such as sensitivity to nearby metals. In addition, the design of most of these devices is based on the assumption that most human bones are connected by simple hinge joints, so they human joints, such as in the shoulder complex or the lower arm. Of course, this can actually be a benefit if the mechanical setup of a particular digital character calls for .such types of constraints A good example of an electromechanical suit is the Gypsy 2.5 . Motion Capture System, by Analogus, shown in Fig. 3.10 :Advantages of Electromechanical Body Suits .The range of capture can be very large-1 Electromechanical suits are less expensive than optical and-2 .magnetic systems .The suit is portable-3 .Real-time data collection is possible-4 .Data are inexpensive to capture-5 .The sensors are never occluded-6 It is possible to capture multiple performers simultaneously with-7 .multiple Setups Disadvantages of Electromechanical Body Suits: .The systems have a low sampling rate -1 .They are obtrusive due to the amount of hardware -2 .The systems apply constraints on human joints -3 .The confi guration of sensors is fi xed -4 Most systems do not calculate global translations without a -5 .magnetic sensor

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1- Rick Parent ,Computer Animation Complete: All-in-One: Learn Motion Capture, Morgan Kaufmann (September 16, 2009) ,p92,93,94

Other Motion Capture Systems: The Waldo - Small Body Part .Trackers If you are choosing a mocap system to purchase, think about " your goals first and then find a system that meets your needs the best. Before investing in an expensive mocap system, it may be wise to try out some service providers. If you like what a service (provider delivers, find out what kind of setup it has."(1

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1- Midori Kitagawa, Brian Windsor, "MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture", Focal Press (April 7, 2008)

Motion capture software

This is many softwares for motion capture : PhaseSpace - Animazoo-5dt Cyberglove Avsoft - UGS jack Autodesk poser - second life . PhaseSpace Software: (1) Master: This is the "Master" program, it acts as the primary client to the IMPULSE system. Clicking a button starts the system then multiple client nodes are able to connect as slaves. Master also acts as the main recording program. Master outputs in our own native .RPD format as well as .C3D. (2) CONFIGURATION MANAGER: This is the main interface to configure and setup the IMPULSE system. Written in PHP, Configuration Manager can be accessed directly through any web browser. Therefore, this allows the motion capture system to configured remotely through a network or even the internet.

http://www.metamotion.com/PhaseSpace/optical-motion-capturesoftware.html
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3-CALIBRATION: The IMPULSE system is unique in its quick and easy calibration. In a two step process that takes less than 5 minutes combined, the system will calibrate in almost any space and any configuration. Like all PhaseSpace software, the calibration software can be run remotely on a client machine.

(4) MOTIONBUILDER PLUG-IN: MotionBuilder is the premier motion capture software in the industry. Using the PhaseSpace plugin, the IMPULSE system is able to stream real-time data into MotionBuilder. Streaming in as optical data, users are able to take advantage of all of the motion

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capture features of MotionBuilder.

http://www.metamotion.com/PhaseSpace/optical-motion-capturesoftware.html

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