Simi MotionCapture3D 3D Motion Tracking System

Simi MotionCaptur3D offers high-level optical motion capture. With its help it is possible to capture the movements of objects such as humans, animals and machines in three-dimensional space.

Simi MotionCapture3D is part of the Simi Motion system. The modules have been specifically combined to meet the needs of motion capture.

Application areas

	computer animated sequences for television and cinema
	computer and video games
	cartoons
	simulations

Features

Simi MotionCapture3D:

	uses video recordings to capture three-dimensional movements
	allows objects to move freely within the recording area
	is user-friendly and intuitive
	has evolved from our experience in analyzing complex three-dimensional motion sequences in sports and medical applications

Procedure

Simi MotionCapture3D helps you to acquire motion data quickly and easily. Below is a short summary of the necessary steps.

Advantages

	An optical motion capture system is less expensive than systems with sensors.
	The participants can move around freely and unhindered by cables. Only colored marking of joints is required.
	Movements such as turns, somersaults and wrestling are possible.
	Several participants such as horse and rider, dancers or fighters can be processed simultaneously.
	Indoor and outdoor recordings are possible. Only the cameras are required on location.
	No preparations are necessary apart from spatial calibration and joint marking.
	Editing, smoothing and optional analysis of the data are all possible.

Data export

The acquired data can be edited for various software packages. Simi MotionCapture3D exports the data in the file format of each particular application. If the file format for your software is not yet available or you require adaptations, please contact us.

The new optional Inverse Dynamics module provides even better motion data including perfect rotation data. Any necessary adaptation of the data export module for this feature is in planning.

As far as it is meaningful and possible, the hierarchy between the points which was defined in the specification is retained during file export (see workflow). This allows the software, for example, to generate a complete skeleton structure.

The following applications and file formats are currently supported:

	Maya (native MA), translation and rotation, bones
	LightWave 3D (native LWS), translation and rotation, bones
	Softimage|3D and Softimage|XSI (via FTK, in development)
	3ds max (via plug-in), captured points as dummy objects
	character studio (via BVH and CSM)
	Cinema 4D (via BVH)
	Poser (via BVH)
	MOTIONBUILDER (via BVH, TRC and LightWave LWS)
	CSM (character studio marker file), translation, special marker set
	BVH (Biovision hierarchical data), rotation, special marker set
	TRC, translation
	DXF, translation
	ASCII, flexible configurable text export

System requirements

	Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 7
	Microsoft DirectX 8.1 or later
	Intel Pentium 4 compatible PC
	256 MB RAM
	large hard disk for video data
	FireWire interface (IEEE 1394) for DV or high-speed cameras

Simi MotionCapture3D is first and foremost a software solution only. However, Simi also offers completely configured computer systems including cameras. Please contact us for more information.