Analog and Xsens Develop Real-Time Motion Capture Technology

Analog Devices Inc (ADI) and Xsens Technology BV have jointly developed a real-time motion capturing technique that is used by major motion pictures for character animation.

These pictures include the recently released ‘Iron Man 2,’ a top box office hit, and ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ a 2010 release. Xsens is a leading 3D motion tracking products vendor and Analog Devices is a top global vendor of high-performance semiconductors utilized in signal processing applications.

ADI created the video game play for major gaming controllers through the motion sensing technology. This technology was modified by ADI for customizing a motion sensing system that was used for the MVN motion capture suit of Xsens. 17 trackers are incorporated in this lightweight, lycra MVN suit. These trackers, in turn, include 17 Blackfin digital signal processors (DSPs) of ADI and iMEMS sensors of ADI. These sensors have combined the high-performance, industry-best signal processing technology and the proprietary MEMS sensor designs from ADI for providing the best motion sensing performance. The proprietary signal fusion algorithms of Xsens have integrated enhanced biomechanical models along with the motion sensor data for creating a system output that has full body motion capture with high-fidelity features.

‘The Third Floor,’ a pre-visualization studio, had utilized the MVN suit recently for animation work related to the ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ movies. Industrial Light & Music, Double Negative and Sony Picture Imageworks are among the visual effects studios in Hollywood who have utilized the MVN suit. Electronics Arts and Gearbox Software adopted this suit. It used the solution for character animation for the videogame titled the Borderlands.

This suit helps pre-visualization and film production companies to provide creative ideas for the big screen through an intuitive, novel and visually impressive manner and provides a cost-effective and user friendly solution in full body motion capture. This accurate MVN suit does not need special lighting, external cameras, markers or emitters, unlike other computer generated imagery (CGI) techniques. This wireless suit can be used for outdoor locations that involve extensive freedom of movement, ranging from fight scenes to climbing.

A lightweight body suite incorporates the technology for recording the physical movement. The technology facilitates interactive special effects situations with innovative workflows in real time and changes the manner in which production teams and filmmakers plan and make movies. The motion capture technology is also adopted by the major developers of video games for creating computer-generated characters.

Xsens’s CEO Casper Peeters informed that the iMEMS motion sensing technology of Analog offers the correct performance level for its MVN suit design objectives.

Analog Devices’ MEMS and Sensor Group’s VP Mark Martin added that the next decade will witness medical, industrial instrumentation and other innovative applications adopting the MEMS sensors. He revealed that Xsens has a deep insight on the capabilities of motion signal processing and has shown that these iMEMS motion sensors can also be used for development of characters, besides enhancing the game play quality.