Communications of the ACM
Creating Animated Characters Outdoors
Computer scientists from Saarbruecken have developed a method that immediately transfers actors' movements to virtual characters in near real-time.
Credit: Uwe Bellhuser/Max-Planck-Institut fr Informatik
Max Planck Institute for Informatics researchers have developed a method for motion capture that works without markers. The researchers say their method immediately transfers actors' movements to virtual characters in near-real time.
"Now it is possible to film the movie scenes outdoors and not only in the studio," says Max Planck's Nils Hasler.
The researchers also are working to simultaneously transfer the movements of two actors into two animated characters--"but the software needs a little bit more computing time to deal with two persons," says Max Planck's Carsten Stoll.
The researchers say their method makes it possible to imitate entire tracking shots, which means the movements of one character can be more easily captured from every angle. Another challenge the research could tackle is that of displaying people in full, even if they had been partly obscured by other characters in a movie scene.
Meanwhile, the technology could have applications beyond the film and gaming industries. "Company doctors and physiotherapists could also use the technique to prevent, for example, back pain issues for company staff, or to optimize work processes," the researchers say.
From Saarland University
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