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Redirected from: performance capture

Definition: motion capture


(1) See gesture recognition.

(2) Entering a movement pattern into the computer. Also called "performance capture," motion capture refers to people wearing sensors or markers on body parts while dancing, fighting, etc. The motion trail is recorded and overlaid onto another person or cartoon character in the computer. For example, in James Cameron's Avatar movie, actors wore head-mounted cameras aimed at their faces to capture every nuance of emotion, and software converted the real actors into fantasy creatures. See computer-generated imagery.




Capturing Motion in Real Time
The wearable sensors in Polhemus' ULTRATRAK PRO system capture motion in six degrees of freedom (6DOF) in real time of the woman's movements. (Image courtesy of Polhemus, Inc.)