This blog post is part of a series of posts covering the technologies that Agora Brands Group uses to create avatars. To find all the articles in this blog series, Google search “InteracTech Series – Agora Brands Group” or use the hashtag “#InteracTech” on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
The second part of our series covers a technology that provides a truly realistic feel to our avatars – Motion Capture technology. Read on to learn about why this functionality is a crucial component to provide the best experience possible.
What is Motion Capture Technology?
Motion Capture (MoCap) uses the motion of live human beings to model the motions for virtual characters, such as in video games or films. MoCap gives virtual characters a life-like, humanistic quality that adds a sense of realism to these characters. If you have seen video game characters move in jerky, angular motions, you will quickly recognize the importance of MoCap technology. You might recognize the process of MoCap modeling by the image of a person wearing a bodysuit with light-colored dots on various points of their body that capture the movements of the actor in the suit. Agora Brands Group uses this technology to give realistic substance to our avatars.
The Development
It might seem like a very modern technology, but the foundations of MoCap date back to 1915, when Max Fleischer developed a technique called “rotoscoping.” In a very time-consuming process, animators drew each motion of a character by hand, frame-by-frame to give them fluid, life-like movements. The first full-length American film to use this technique was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1939.
Since then, collaborative technologies have raised MoCap capabilities to new heights. Using bodysuits with active markers and a group of interconnected cameras, much of the work of mapping the movements has become automated. This gives engineers more time to focus on creating high-quality visuals that can be laid over the framework of the 3D movements of a character.
The Tools
As computer processing technology advances, so too does the capability of MoCap. Higher processing speeds, helpful artificial intelligence, and high-powered quantum computing will all work together to make MoCap increasingly more powerful and realistic. Unreal Engine, a platform owned by Epic Games, has captured the attention of many software developers, video gamers, and business owners. Since its first video game in 1998, Unreal Engine has been on the forefront of incredibly realistic visual rendering that continues to astonish viewers today.
Agora Brands Group’s MoCap
Unreal Engine is what powers the fluid motions of our avatars. Paired with state-of-the-art imagery and innovative artificial intelligence engineering, the result of our avatar’s capabilities is an incredible and unique customer experience that is at the leading edge. We understand that realism is an important factor in providing the best avatars that we can, which is why we continue to utilize the best MoCap technologies available.
Follow our blog using the #InteracTech hashtag on all social media platforms to learn more about the technologies we use to create our avatars. Next week we will be covering the facial and voice recognition technology that enables avatars to uniquely identify customers and help tailor the experience to their preferences.