A New Era For Motion Capture at SIGGRAPH 2023

A New Era For Motion Capture at SIGGRAPH 2023

Vicon debuts its markerless motion capture technology in collaboration with Artanim, the research arm of Dreamscape, the leading VR company, at SIGGRAPH 2023

Vicon today marks a new era of innovation in the field of motion capture, announcing that it will debut its machine learning (ML) powered markerless technology at SIGGRAPH 2023 in Los Angeles, in collaboration with Artanim, the Swiss research institute and the award-winning VR group, Dreamscape Immersive.

The announcement follows nearly three years of research and development focusing on the integration of ML and artificial intelligence (AI) into markerless motion capture at Vicon’s renowned R&D facility in Oxford, UK. The project has been undertaken by a new dedicated team, led by CTO Mark Finch, and leverages nearly four decades worth of Vicon innovation to enable a seamless, end-to-end markerless infrastructure, from pixel to purpose.

Commenting on the news, Imogen Moorhouse, Vicon CEO, said:

Today marks the beginning of a new era for motion capture. The ability to capture motion without markers, while maintaining industry leading accuracy and precision, is an incredibly complex feat. After an initial research phase, we have focused on developing the world class markerless capture algorithms, robust real time tracking, labeling and solving needed to make this innovation a reality. What we are demonstrating at SIGGRAPH is not a one-off concept, or simply a technology demonstrator. It is our first step towards future product launches which will culminate in a first-of-its-kind platform for markerless motion capture.”

For Dreamscape, markerless motion capture can now provide a more true-to-life adventure than any other immersive VR experience by allowing for more free-flowing movement and exploration with even less user gear. Commenting on the decision to partner with Vicon, Aaron Grosky, President & COO of Dreamscape said:

We have been anxiously awaiting the time when markerless could break from concept and into product, where the technology could support the precision required to realize its amazing potential. Vicon’s reputation for delivering the highest standards of motion capture technology for nearly forty years and Dreamscape’s persistent quest to bring the audience into the experience with full agency and no friction meant that working together on this was a no-brainer. We’re thrilled with the result. The implications for both quality of experience and ease of operations across all our efforts, from location-based entertainment to transforming the educational journey with Dreamscape Learn, is just game-changing.

The collaboration between Vicon and Artanim was key to ensure the desired requirements for the VR use case were met.

Achieving best in class virtual body ownership and immersion in VR requires both accurate tracking and very low latency. We spent substantial R&D effort evaluating computational performance of ML-based tracking algorithms, implementing and fine-tuning the multi-modal tracking solution, as well as taking the best from the full-body markerless motion capture, and VR headset tracking capabilities,” said Sylvain Chagué, co-founder and CTO of Artanim and Dreamscape.

At SIGGRAPH, Vicon and Artanim showcased a six person, markerless and multi-modal real-time solve, set against Dreamscape’s location-based virtual reality adventure called The Clockwork Forest, created in partnership with Audemars Piguet, the Swiss haute horology manufacturer. The experience allows participants to shrink to the size of an ant and explore a mechanical wonderland, while working together to repair the Source of Time and restore the rhythm of nature.

With this showcase, Vicon earned a CGW Silver Edge Award for technological innovation.More information about the collaborative R&D project here.

 

Vicon - Artanim team at SIGGRAPH 2023  Vicon booth at SIGGRAPH 2023

Dreamscape opens first permanent VR storefront

Dreamscape Immersive, the story-oriented VR company leveraging Artanim’s VR technology and whose backers include movie chain AMC Entertainment and several Hollywood heavyweights (MGM, Warner, 21st Century Fox, Steven Spielberg, Hans Zimmer), opens its first permanent location in the same upscale Los Angeles mall where it ran a pop-up storefront last February featuring its sci-fi-themed Alien Zoo experience.

The permanent storefront in the Westfield Century City mall will initially provide dedicated “theaters” and suit-up areas for three different experiences: Alien Zoo, the undersea adventure The Blu: Deep Rescue, and the Indiana Jones-style Lavan’s Magic Projector: The Lost Pearl. Tickets cost $20, get them here. The new location is part of a rapid expansion effort by the company, which plans to roll out stand-alone and in-theater venues (in partnership with AMC Theatre) outside of California.

Follow Caecilia Charbonnier and Sylvain Chagué, who are also the co-founders and co-CTOs of Dreamscape during the opening day at Westfield. Below, some pictures of the elegant Dreamscape store.

Dreamscape Immersive Store Dreamscape Immersive Store

Dreamscape Immersive Store Dreamscape Immersive Store

Dreamscape’s launch at Westfield Mall

Dreamscape Immersive, the location-based VR startup using Artanim’s VR technology, today announced the public debut of a limited engagement VR experience called Alien Zoo. Taking reservations at Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, California, the multiplayer experience will be open to the public until March 14th. Below some pictures of what’s waiting for you at Westfield

We are proud to see our tech becomes public! Read the interview of Caecilia Charbonnier and Sylvain Chagué, who are also the co-founders and co-CTOs of Dreamscape.

Dreamscape Immersive Alien Zoo VR Dreamscape Immersive Alien Zoo VR

Photos © Dreamscape Immersive

VR_I @ Sundance Film Festival New Frontier

VR_I was selected at the 2018 Sundance’s New Frontier Festival that took place on January 18-28 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Utah. The festival is one of the world’s premiere places to debut new independent films and highlights the best in storytelling technology. Again, the contemporary dance piece in immersive VR created in collaboration with the Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin encountered a huge success with more than 1000 visitors testing the installation during these 9 days of showcase.

VR_I @ Sundance VR_I @ Sundance

Swiss ICT Award 2017

Swiss ICT Award 2017

The Swiss ICT Award rewards Swiss companies and individuals from the ICT industry that have distinguished themselves through outstanding achievements during the last 24 months. Artanim was selected among the five finalists for its virtual reality platform Real Virtuality. The jury was impressed by how the technology and software – developed completely in Switzerland – will allow for entirely new forms of storytelling. Aside from the entertainment industry, the VR platform is paving the way for a wide variety of applications, including museum applications, building and city tours, telepresence systems, and medical applications (anxiety therapy, rehabilitation, neurosciences, etc.).

ICT Award 2017