Found cheap mocap, but what's the best way to use it?

[antweiler]

I guess most companys doing mocap have or use Kaydara products, so they can deliver .fbx format, for which there are free import/export plugins for max, maya, lightwave, etc...
available at kaydaras website.
Using Motionbuilder, you, or the mocap company can remap the motion to your Skeleton/Rig, but you can also do it in maya, which is more of a problem than the import.
There is also free software, that enables you to import .bvh data into maya.

antweiler

[joie]

I´m developing a MoCap Software/Hardware and my question is:
How the hell do you transfer that data to MAYA?, I mean, Wich is the best way?, translations or rotations?

1.- With translations you have to develope an IK based system that allows you to give IK handles those translations, but you can´t re-escale the solution although you can reprocess mocap data of course. In the other hand, you can stick feet on the ground (and this is an important thing).

2.- Rotations seems they are the best way since you can reescale mocap data without any problems, but your feet will shuffle on the ground, so it´s very tricky to stick them on it.
Another Rotations problem is the method you choose to transfer the data, wich type of rotation would you choose from?, local?, global?, mmm, if you choose global then you don´t have gimbal lock problems, but the skin may not work as desired. If you choose local rotations, skin will surely work as desired, but you will get gimbal lock problems...

So what?

How do you transfer that data?, IK? or FK?

[antweiler]

joie,
what do you mean with rescaling mocap data, and why its not possible when transferring data from a mocap sceleton to an IK driven rig.

I transfer mocap animation (sceleton with rotations and translation on the root)
with the help of constraints and baking to the controllers of my rig. The new parenting constraints should help a lot in this area. with this I get the most control. It works only, if the mocap sceleton and the Rig are quite similar.

Anti

[joie]

Pardon, I mean rescale the mocap in size, it´s like if I have 2 meter tall man and a 1,5 meter tall man, I´d have to rescale the mocap (if workin on IK) to match actor´s proportions.
but, you know, how do you create joints?, the 2 skeletons must be quite the same, so they have to mach their local rotation axis and you have to know these when you process your mocap data.
So, you have to have a starting pose and that must have all joint´s rotation at "0". Well, then the first frame will be an offset from that "0", this is true if you are using local rotation (wich I believe is the method I have to use).
Just thinking, but how do you do it WITHOUT kaydara´s stuff?

[solun]

hi guys,


The mocap data could be rescaled without Kaydara software. Some programm will bundle with mocap system for rescaleing and retouch. For MotionAnalysis, a software called "Solver Interface" S.I. was bundled with EvaRT to do this kind of things.

Basic workflow:

Import the skeleton in S.I. which done in Maya with wanted scale and size. Then setting joint type and the the relationship between the marker data and the skeleton. Solve the motion data and export the skeleton back to maya with motion data.



I hope it's helpfull to you guys

solun

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