TheStandard 2020 Edition POWER UNLEASHED WWW.VICON.COM 1 A NEW VANTAGE POINT 2 3 18 28 32 36 A unique set of motion Epic Lab is creating the future Vicon technology helps teams Preparing student for the VFX capture challenges of wearable robots save the world applications of the future CONTENTS From extreme to mainstream Science fiction to science fact Using motion capture to create perfect communication Stronger Together 7 Using Motion Capture to Create Imogen Moorhouse, Vicon CEO Perfect Communication 36 Drexel University is preparing students for the VFX applications of the future Leaps & Bounds 8 Capturing the elite athletes Vicon Study of Dynamic Object of the NBA for 2K Tracking Accuracy 40 Fighting for the future At Vicon we understand that we produce a Motion Capture Has Become a Sixth system where our real-time data is relied upon. Sense for Autonomous Drone Flying 12 It’s natural for either our existing users or potential new customers to want to understand Bell Innovation is using mocap to model flight what the quality of that data is. in the smart cities of the future Cracking Knuckles, Metacarpals Bringing New Motion Capture Technology and Phalanges 60 Motion Capture’s to Old Biomechanical Problems 44 How Framestore and Vicon finally solved 44 58 Newest Frontier 16 hand capture Shedding new light on how How new tracking A collaborative approach to gait analysis is athletes’ joints work technologies will benefit life Flinders University is using its capture stage shedding new light on how athletes’ joints work sciences to help TV and games makers adapt to the when they run through a bend Democratizing Motion Capture pandemic in Physiotherapy with IMU 62 Bringing VFX to Life in the Physical SquareOne is pioneering the use of inertial From Extreme to Mainstream 18 World with Virtual Production 48 capture in private physiotherapy practice The wide variety of elite athletes in Red Bull’s DNEG uses pixel-perfect motion tracking of its 12 stable presents a unique set of motion capture cameras to support filmmakers’ creativity How Research Helps Animators Using Mocap to model flight in challenges the smart cities of the future Create More Realistic Characters 65 Finding the + In Vantage 22 Crossing the Divide Between VFX and Life Sciences 52 Vicon CTO Mark Finch on the spirit of innovation Fluent in the Many Languages that has taken Vantage to the next level Cross-pollinating the two major fields of of Motion Capture 68 motion capture at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Texas A&M’s Starlab has a truly cross-discipline mocap volume Crossing the Uncanny Valley 24 Beyond optical measurement Neoscape is discovering new horizons through A Simple Motion Capture System motion capture storytelling Bringing Mr Peanut (Back to Life) 72 Delivering Powerful Results 54 How Silver Spoon entertained millions with UW-Stout is proving that it doesn’t need an real-time animation during the Super Bowl. Science Fiction to Science Fact 28 elaborate system to capture the imaginations Robotic limbs and exoskeletons are enhancing of students mobility options A sixth sense for autonomous drone flying Beyond Optical Measurement 58 Fighting for the Future 32 New technology to old How new tracking technologies biomechanical problems How Vicon technology helps teams save the will benefit life sciences world in Navrtar & VR Arcade’s free-roaming virtual reality experiences. 4 5 VICON STANDARD 2020 STRONGER TOGETHER IMOGEN MOORHOUSE VICON CEO STRONGER elcome to our 2020 edition what our customers will be able to achieve with the launch of the free Vantage + high of The Standard which has W speed option within our Vantage platform. TOGETHER been written and edited during the During recent times we have seen growth most challenging of global events. in several emerging markets. I would like to take the opportunity to In remote monitoring and healthcare thank the Vicon team for the way they with the drive to improve global general have all risen to the challenge of altered health levels, in virtual production the working practices whilst continuing to demand for content is driving rapid develop & manufacture our products expansion of this technique globally and and support our customers. in Location Based Entertainment a desire to develop techniques in Education to And thank you to our customers who assist with online teaching and learning. have contributed their stories showcasing the continuing growth in the novel and It seems likely that we will all need to inventive uses of motion capture. function in shifting operational and market conditions for an undefined period, It is this increasing breadth of use which nevertheless I would like to close by drives our development pipelines and we assuring you that everyone at Vicon is there have been excited in 2020 by the uptake to support you in continuing to educate, to of Blue Trident IMUs alongside our optical research and to create in these challenging motion capture and, moving forward, times. We are stronger together. 7 6 VICON STANDARD 2020 ENTERTAINMENT MAYBE A PLAYER COMES IN SPORTS GOGGLES, AND WE’VE GOT TO DEAL WITH HOW THE LEAPS INFRARED IS GONNA REFLECT OFF OF THOSE. THERE’S ALWAYS & SOMETHING.” BRIAN COPENHAGEN BOUNDS Mocap Lead Pixelgun MORE MOVING PARTS Over the years, 2K has evolved its games to include sophisticated story modes with extended cutscenes. Photogrammetry and audio are no longer enough, and Pixelgun has expanded its offering to include motion capture. Mocap is, by its nature, a lengthier process than photogrammetry, but Pixelgun still has to work in very tight capture sessions. Brian Copenhagen, Mocap Lead for Pixelgun, says that a shoot would normally involve a four-day round trip by air, including time to get their bearings, set up, pack away and get home. In the middle of that is just a single two- to three-hour session to capture everything they need ixelgun Studio has flourished imagery of basketball players, to improve from a player, and it happens very much on the graphics in its NBA 2K series. “Before, the player’s terms. in an unusual niche - it P they’d been basically modeling and “The timing is really set by them,” says specializes in photogrammetry, texturing by hand, as other video games Brian. They might show up with just a do,” says Bill Gale, Supervising Producer vocal recording and motion manager, or they might have a whole for Pixelgun. Now, they were looking for the capture of elite athletes and high entourage in tow. They might be excited next step towards realism. profile actors in highly compressed about being shot for a videogame they’ve been playing for years or they might be timeframes. 2K deals with elite athletes on very demanding schedules, and therefore unnerved by being fitted into the capture suit and having markers placed all over their Working for the likes of the NBA 2K and needed a team that could do the body. WWE 2K video game series, Epic Games, specialized work very quickly. Pixelgun’s solution for photogrammetry and audio, Telltale Games and Facebook, the studio “You better have your act together,” says developed over a number of years, is a has fine-tuned the process of capturing the Brian, because shoots are unpredictable. mobile studio (“People compare it to what movements of time-starved athletes. “Maybe a player comes in sports goggles, Darth Vader lives in,” jokes Bill) that tours and we’ve got to deal with how the infrared The studio was formed eight years ago the United States and can have athletes in Capturing the elite athletes is gonna reflect off of those. There’s always when 2K was looking for a company that and out in seven minutes. something.” of the NBA for 2K could capture extremely high-fidelity 3D 9 8 VICON STANDARD 2020 ENTERTAINMENT WE’RE JUST TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THAT BARRIER AND GET THE FANS CLOSER TO THE GAME THAN THEY COULD ANY OTHER WAY.” BILL GALE Supervising Producer Pixelgun Meanwhile, being able to do visualization MOVE FAST, DON’T on set helps Pixelgun engage nervous BREAK THINGS athletes. “We’ll put a Vicon skin on them and let them see what they’re doing,” says Speed is an important factor both before Bill. “That usually breaks the ice pretty and during a session, too. “One of the quick, because you see a player out there things about the Veros which made moving and grooving and he’s like, ‘That’s the difference is being able to do the me!’ That’s a never-fail instant connection.” quick setup,” says Brian. “We put it up on stands, and because they have the The end result of all these different factors motion-sensing capability to tell us when is something Pixelgun is very proud of - they’ve been bumped, that gave us the data that is indistinguishable from that opportunity to have the mobile stage captured by 2K’s in-house, bespoke studio, despite having been gathered in a mobile “It’s going to happen because we’ve studio under challenging conditions. got a bunch of stands in a not-very-large volume and somebody is going to kick a stand at some point. But an individual camera could say, ‘I got bumped’ and in about two minutes we are able to THE END GOAL recover that camera and carry on.” Both the consumer applications and the professional functions of the technology boil down That means there are two main criteria Vicon’s motion capture technology has to meet: it Shōgun is also an important tool. On to one thing for Bill: immersion. As motion capture evolves, he hopes that more affordable needs to be portable and extremely reliable so that the team can remain laser-focused on a technical level, it reduces Pixelgun’s versions of the technology will find their way into homes to draw players deeper into 2K’s getting the data they need.