With a retail price of 49,500 yen (about $358), Sony has introduced an intriguing gadget called Mocopi, which consists of six motion-tracking bands worn on your wrists, feet, back, and head. The idea is to enable you to use metaverse applications like VRChat to track your body while making films or controlling avatars in real time. Even an SDK is available, allowing you to input motion data into 3D animation programmes.
According to Sony, Mocopi, a play on the term “mocap,” uses “proprietary technology and a smartphone” with a special app. It has six color-coded, lightweight motion sensors. According to Sony, “motion capture video production often requires specialised equipment and workers. “‘Mocopi’ delivers highly accurate motion measurement with a minimal number of sensors by employing our patented algorithm,
On December 15th, Sony will make a software development kit (SDK) available, along with the real-time development environment Unity and the animation/mocap app MotionBuilder from Autodesk, that connects the motion capture data with metaverse services. This SDK broadens the usage of motion data for tasks like full-body monitoring, supporting the creation of new services in domains like fitness and the metaverse.
Sony demonstrates how to calibrate the sensors, strap them to your body, and couple them with the app in the how-to video (below). After that, you can start dancing or making other motions, and the in-app avatars will imitate your movements. Although the second video above (which shows some avatar animations) is visually appealing, it does have some typical motion capture flaws, like jitter and foot sliding.
It’s a bold product that targets both metaverse enthusiasts and experts in animation and filmmaking. If you have a device running iOS 15.7.1 or Android 11.1, Sony notes that you can use existing VRM avatars and export recorded videos in the MP4 format. There is currently no information on North American availability, but reservations are scheduled to open in mid-December 2022 and go on sale in late January 2023.
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