Vicon Unveils Groundbreaking Next Generation Motion Capture Software
Vicon Shōgun meets the demanding production requirements of today’s cutting-edge games, films and VR experiences with new innovative live features and unprecedented real-time solving capabilities.
GDC (South Hall – Booth #2124), SAN FRANSISCO, CA, February 27, 2017 – Vicon, the motion capture (mocap) technology specialist for the entertainment, engineering, virtual reality and life science industries, today unveiled Vicon Shōgun; a revolutionary new software platform for entertainment users and the successor to the industry leading Vicon Blade software. The ability to deliver the highest quality animation data quickly and efficiently is key for all users. Shōgun delivers time savings at each point in the motion capture workflow with cutting edge new features to ensure users have Final Quality Skeletal Data by Day’s End.
Shōgun eliminates the previously time-consuming process of calibrating performers from captured data as the process occurs dynamically in Shōgun Live mode. Performers that enter the capture space are automatically detected and labelled and the subsequent Range of Motion (ROM) outputs a complete calibration including scaling of Shōgun’s new skeletal mesh model. The new mesh is designed to be highly functional and make the assessment of solving data easy, visual and immediate. With today’s large productions featuring dozens of performers, this enables directors to quickly start capturing the performances they want. Every aspect of the mocap workflow from system setup to exported data has been streamlined and improved.
Shōgun represents a step change in real-time performance captures, ensuring that solving stays true even when multiple actors undertake complex interactions that would usually disrupt real-time visualization such as hugs, folding arms and props. Vicon support for all the major real-time game engines enables film and game directors to visualize exactly how the final scene will look. Labelled solved data from Shōgun is recorded direct to disk, saving hours in post-production and ensuring data is delivered in record time. Shōgun Post mode supports existing pipelines and HLS scripts, but also adds new data assessment features to get data processed faster. A single view data quality heat map shows every gap and issue across the entire capture and a data health panel gives users an overview of data quality across multiple performers.
Shōgun’s active camera monitoring ensures that system uptime during a shoot is maximised. This feature alerts operators to camera bumps, dropped frames and when a camera has stopped contributing data. When issues do arise, correcting them is easier than ever. Live camera recovery enables users to quickly update a camera calibration using any tracked object or subject in the volume, without the need for a full re-calibration. Recalibrating a system can cost a lot of time, but now the crew can continue working and the system is back on line in just a couple of minutes.
“We’ve developed Vicon Shōgun based on industry needs both for today and in the future. Improved efficiency, better visualisation, robustness and feedback are added to the best tracking system available” said Imogen Moorhouse, CEO, Vicon. “With Vicon Shōgun, our customers can deliver the highest quality final data faster, combined with increased system and studio efficiency regardless of whether they’re working on games, films or VR experiences.”
Attendees can stop by the Vicon booth (#2124) at GDC to see the latest mocap technology that’s transforming the games, film, and VR industries March 1-3. For more details and updates, follow Vicon’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
About Vicon
Academy Award®-winning Vicon is the world’s largest supplier of precision motion tracking systems and match-moving software. It serves customers in CG animation, engineering and life sciences industries. As well as those in film, visual effects, video games and broadcast television sectors.
Vicon is a subsidiary of Oxford Metrics (LSE: OMG), the international software company servicing government, life sciences, entertainment and engineering markets. Other holdings include: Yotta, a provider of software and services for infrastructure asset management.
Amongst many others, Vicon global clients include:
Entertainment: Framestore, Audiomotion, The Imaginarium, Quantic Dream, Ninja Theory, Konami, Activision, Sony, DreamWorks, ILM, USC, EA, Capture Lab, 2K Games, CD Projekt, Digic Pictures, IO Interactive, Creative Assembly, Plarium Games, Mocap Lab
VR: Dreamscape VR, VR Tech, Maserati, BMW, Ford, Toyota, NASA, European Space Agency, Daimler
Broadcast: Vizrt, hunan TV
Clinical Sciences: Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Oxford, Headley Court, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, Hong Kong PolyU, Children’s Hospital Colorado, UZ Leuven, Salford University, Strathclyde University, Guys Hospital, Melbourne Children’s Hospital, Teleton Uruguay, ORLAU, Johns Hopkins
Biomechanics & Sports: Loughborough University, , Imperial College London, University of Western Australia, Japanese Institute of Sport Science, University of Oregon, University of Ottawa, Adidas, Reebok, Li-Ning, Asics, Xtep Sports, Cricket Australia, University of Cologne, Ohio State, Össur HF
Object Tracking: DJI, European Space Agency, ETH Zurich, Canon, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, MIT, Edinburgh University, NASA, Dyson
For more information about Oxford Metrics and its subsidiaries, visit: oxfordmetrics.com, www.vicon.com or www.yotta.co.uk.
Media contacts
For more information, images, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – www.rlyl.com
UK enquiries: Joanna Clark, +44 (0) 20 7403 8878, [email protected]
USA enquiries: Tanya Roberts, (+1) 310 870 9822, [email protected]
-ends-
The entertainment community will be able to get a first look at Vicon Shōgun, which will be available in Q2 2017, at the 2017 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, March 1-3.
