Motion capture, performance capture and volumetric video technologies are rapidly advancing, incorporating AI and ML to a greater extent and focusing on enhancing realism, precision and accessibility. Peter Rabel, Technical Product Manager at Digital Domain, comments, “The trend towards real-time capabilities has become prominent, allowing for immediate feedback and integration into virtual environments, video games and live events. As we integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning as tools to enhance these functions’ capabilities further, it will enable automated analysis and capture of movements in real-time, which will help save time on the process, leading to cost savings. It’s essential for us to stay updated on recent developments and industry trends to understand the current trajectory of these capture technologies as technology continues to evolve so we can better serve our clients.”

“The ability to capture motion without markers while maintaining industry-leading accuracy and precision is an incredibly complex feat,” says Mark Finch, Vicon’s Chief Technology Officer. “After an initial research phase, we have focused on developing the world-class markerless capture algorithms, robust real-time tracking, labeling and solving needed to make this innovation a reality. It was our first step towards future product launches, which will culminate in a first-of-its-kind platform for markerless motion capture.”

VICON: MARKERLESS

Vicon made a splash in 2023 with its Los Angeles SIGGRAPH announcement of the debut of its machine learning (ML) powered markerless mocap. The news came after some three years of research and development focusing on the integration of ML and AI into markerless motion capture at Vicon’s R&D facility in Oxford, U.K. Vicon collaborated on the technology with Artanim, the Swiss research institute that specializes in motion capture, and Dreamscape Immersive, the VR experience and tech company.

ROKOKO VISION

Based in Copenhagen, Rokoko had two major announcements on the product front in the last year, “First, with Rokoko Vision, our vision AI solution that allows for suit-less motion capture from any camera. We released the first iteration mainly to get to know the space and gather insights from early use of the product,” CEO and Founder Jakob Balslev comments. “It’s becoming increasingly clear to us what the users need, and we are excited to release more updates on that front.

He adds, “Second, we unveiled our Coil Pro – the biggest innovation we’ve ever done on the hardware side – and, in my eyes, probably the biggest innovation ever in motion capture. Through a fusion of EMF and IMU capture, the Coil Pro unlocks the holy grail of motion capture: No drift and no occlusion. With drift-free global position over time and no need for line of sight from optical solutions, the Coil Pro is the best of both worlds of mocap [IMU and optical]. The underlying platform, named Volta Tracking Technology, fuses EMF and IMU and will be at the core of all our motion capture hardware solutions going forward.”

DIGITAL DOMAIN: CHARLATAN

Digital Domain is further developing its machine learning neural rendering software Charlatan (sometimes referred to as a face-swapping tool). “Acknowledging the expense and time associated with traditional methods, including our top-tier Masquerade [facial capture] system, we developed Charlatan to introduce efficiency and affordability,” Rabel comments. “Several years ago, Charlatan was created using machine learning techniques. This innovative approach involves utilizing real photography of an individual’s face and applying enhancements, seamlessly transferring it to another person’s face, or even manipulating discrete aspects such as aging or de-aging. Recently, we have been developing Charlatan 3D, which evolves this technology to produce full 3D geometry from this process but at a lower cost and simpler capture conditions than Masquerade. In essence, Charlatan represents a significant stride towards streamlining the creation of lifelike digital humans with unparalleled realism.”

OPTITRACK: NEW CAMERAS

OptiTrack provides tracking solutions that vary in use, including AAA game studios, medical labs, and consumer and prosumer budget solutions. In November the firm announced its three most advanced motion capture cameras; the PrimeX 120, PrimeX 120W and SlimX 120. “With higher resolution and increased field of view, these new additions enable larger tracking areas for a wider variety of training and simulation scenarios and larger cinematic virtual production studios,” says Anthony Lazzaro, Senior Director of Software at OptiTrack. All three cameras, which are designed and manufactured at OptiTrack’s headquarters in Corvallis, Oregon, feature their highest-yet resolution, 12 megapixels. With the PrimeX 120, customers benefit from a standard 24mm lens while the PrimeX 120W comes with an 18mm lens with a wider field of view. [And] we have 24mm or 18mm wide lens options available with the Slim X 120.”