Innovation, Acquisition, Expansion
15/01/2018

Innovation, Acquisition, Expansion

In my article published in the 30th Anniversary edition of “The Standard,” I took a look back at the achievements and progress made over the 30 years Vicon had been in business. The closing paragraph concluded, “for Vicon motion capture in whatever form it takes.” Given the recent events at Vicon, with an acquisition and a move for the head office after 32 years in our original location, this latest edition of “The Standard” provides a good opportunity to update you on the future for Vicon.

Since the 30th Anniversary edition article in 2014, we have been very busy with new product launches in our core passive optical technology area. We have refreshed and grown our entire camera range and launched a new game-changing entertainment software, Vicon Shōgun, to very enthusiastic market response. This included some fantastic social media commentary from customers, both old and new. We will continue to push the boundaries in our main market areas and to take care of our valued user base, but believe that there should also be a focus on the future use of different motion capture modalities, not only from a technical standpoint but also, importantly, accessibility.

We are now in an exciting period where the form, function and use of motion capture is changing for Vicon and the wider market. In the past, motion capture modalities (passive, active, inertial, etc.) were siloed technologies with distinct and separate use cases. As motion capture techniques have become more widely used, users simply want to utilize the best technique for the analysis required, rather than being entirely focused on the movement acquisition technology itself.

Vicon has always been an innovator in motion capture technology and it is time for us to broaden not only our technological appeal, but also the accessibility of our systems, meaning lowering barriers to entry across all aspects of the system. This change in philosophy cannot be applied only to the technology itself. From the initial and ongoing investment needed to acquire and operate the motion capture technology, to the training required to install and use the systems and the presentation of outcomes, all must change to truly make motion capture fully accessible.

With the recent acquisition of IMeasureU, we have the opportunity to bring a non-optical capture modality into our offering. Inertial systems have the advantage of being able to capture data unencumbered by the laboratory, studio or the requirement to have line of sight to cameras in the field. The power of using Vicon optical technology coupled with native inertial devices will bring many advantages to our customers. In addition, the IMeasureU technology has the capability of delivering outcomes to coaches who are helping injured athletes return to play through the implementation of cloud technology, tablet-only system control and user-specified dashboards. I strongly believe that these techniques will also benefit our Vicon customers in the longer term.

And finally, a few words about our recent move. Vicon HQ has been located in Botley, a suburb of Oxford, UK since the company’s beginnings in the early 1980s. But over recent years it was becoming obvious that we were outgrowing the facility and that it was no longer suitable for our needs. Throughout the late summer, Vicon UK moved to a ground-up refitted, world-class facility in Yarnton, close to Oxford. The facility has vastly improved and expanded production facilities, with four motion capture volumes that can be combined in several ways up to a single 14m x 26m x 6m volume for large-scale captures and testing.

We continue to be inspired by you, our valued customer family, and are committed to bringing new technologies to enhance and complement the use of motion capture, whatever the requirement. 

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