The Terrible Truths Of Motion Capture Suits

[thenomad]

Just thought this might be interesting for the MTBS crowd!

I've been working with Motion Capture technology (optical and inertial) for the past 4 years, and as such I've had plenty of time for the glamour to wear off, and the reality of the entire process to set in.

As I know a lot of us would ideally like to end up using mocap suits for full VR immersion, I thought my tales of the practical side of mocap might be interesting!

Plus, there are funny stories.

http://www.strangecompany.org/7-terribl ... ts-part-1/

(Mods - I hope this is OK for this forum! If not, my apologies, and please do move/delete it!)

[geekmaster]

Just thought this might be interesting for the MTBS crowd! ... I thought my tales of the practical side of mocap might be interesting!

That was enlightening. After your lead-in, "dank" seems such an inadequate word...

[thenomad]

Heh, yeah, I was slightly understating there...

I've heard some pretty terrifying tales of just how bad mocap suits can get.

I do pre-recorded stuff, but even doing that, a heavy few days of mocap can leave the suits pretty ripe.

It gets even worse - much worse - if people are using the suits for live performances, day in, day out, for weeks or months, doing hard physical performance, without enough time to wash them...

[BOLL]

Interesting read, I left a comment on the site, and misspelled it too. Gah. For = of, haha. Thanks

[nateight]

Fun read. Love your writing style. Keep it coming!

[MSat]

I don't understand why IMU-based mocap systems would require a suit instead of just strapping each component on. I hate touching things people sweated all over, so wearing a suit someone else wore the day before without washing it would probably give me PTSD.

[brantlew]

I don't understand why IMU-based mocap systems would require a suit instead of just strapping each component on. I hate touching things people sweated all over, so wearing a suit someone else wore the day before without washing it would probably give me PTSD.

I can think of at least a couple of reasons.

1. Ease of setup. Strapping 10 - 15 sensors on your body - probably with each sensor configured for a particular bone (so you can't just place them arbitrarily) has got to be a huge PITA versus the alternative of just slipping on a suit and zipping it up.

2. Reproducible placement. Depending on the sensor algorithms it may be important for sensors to be placed roughly in the same position and orientation each time. For example, a sensor will experience more acceleration near your elbow than it will on the bicep. A suit will restrict placement a lot more than manual placement.

[Fredz]

Looks like NaturalPoint is aware of the problem :
http://www.naturalpoint.com/optitrack/p ... s-markers/

NEW Breathable and may be worn over light everyday clothing, markers can be attached to any of the velcro-friendly surfaces for custom marker sets and skeletons. Includes a top and bottom, Velcro beanie cap, extra Velcro for securing the suit, and Velcro attachments for shoes.

Lots of other interesting stuff there for motion tracking with markers (10 ultra wide angle IR leds at $20, 12"x1" strip of raw 3M reflective material at $3).

[grandmaster789]

Always nice to read about this type of thing

The company I work at also uses motion capture suits, but a couple of years ago we first switched from the wetsuit to loose sensors. This improved the odor situation, but it took around half an hour to suit up and connect everything. It also was pretty much impossible to do by yourself.

A while back we moved to a custom-made suit that has a minimum of fabric together with straps and everything is much better now. Switching a mocap getup now only takes a minute or two, it doesn't get as hot as with the wetsuit and the sensors are somewhat easy to (physically) access.