For decades, capturing human movement and transferring it to digital characters required tight suits covered in reflective markers, multiple operators in a studio filled with dozens of infrared cameras, and million-dollar budgets.
The arrival of AI mocap, 400;”>artificial Intelligence motion capture, also known as markerless motion capture, makes it possible to record body gestures from a simple video and transfer them to 3D models.
Here is a general overview of how AI motion capture works.
What is AI motion capture?
AI motion capture is a process that uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to track and record human movements.
This technology extracts motion data directly from 2D footage and converts it into animation data, which can then be mapped onto a 3D “skeleton.” The process, known as retargeting, allows human motion to be transferred onto digital characters, such as animated robots or avatars.
As opposed to traditional motion capture systems, AI-driven mocap can achieve similar, if not better, results with minimal equipment, like just a regular camera on a smartphone. The result can be a highly accurate digital recreation of human movement.
How does AI Motion capture work?
In general, AI motion capture works by analyzing the original video data to detect how the body moves frame by frame. These data feed an AI model, which, due to prior training, can reconstruct the movements in 3D.
Then, the AI corrects errors and adapts the cleaned-up motion to the skeleton of a digital character while maintaining its proportions and making sure that the final animation looks smooth and realistic.
This process involves performing thousands of matrix operations per second. That’s why AI mocap providers usually run on high-performance GPUs.
What are the benefits of markerless motion capture?
The main benefits of this new technology boil down to reduction of costs.
AI mocap eliminates the need for things like renting motion capture suits and sensors (a camera and Internet connection are enough) and transforms multi-hour capture sessions to analyses that happen in minutes or seconds.
This gives creative freedom to small studios, freelancers, and YouTubers to generate professional-quality animations without a major upfront investment.
What easy-to-use tools are available for AI motion capture?
The most easy-to-use AI tool for AI motion capture will depend on your technical knowledge and project needs.
The following are cloud-based mocap providers that allow you to take advantage of AI motion capture technology without programming knowledge:
Wonder Dynamics
Wonder Dynamics can be a great choice if you want to create movie scenes where a digital character moves around in real-world video footage. It’s fast, easy to use, and can run entirely on your browser.
DeepMotion
For animating characters in video games, DeepMotion could be ideal. It creates ready-to-use animations that work with Unity and Unreal, two popular platforms used to build 3D games and interactive content. Processing and animation happen on cloud servers.
RADiCAL
If you’re working on a larger project, like a show or a scene with multiple moving characters, RADiCAL can give you more precision and control. This makes it better suited for complex productions. It’s available as a browser-based or downloadable tool.
What if you wanted to build your own AI motion capture tool?
To build your own AI motion capture tool, you’d need strong programming and machine learning skills along with access to a large dataset of recorded human movements for training and testing.
Since motion analysis requires lots of computational power, you would also need high-performance GPUs or state-of-the-art cloud NVIDIA GPUs. Massed Compute can provide that.
Use the coupon code MassedComputeResearch for 15% off any GPU rental.
