vr tools: smartsuit pro
jakob Balsev, founder of mocap technology company rokoko, explains why his smartsuit pro is such a Vr game changer
There are other Remote and wearable sensor-based Mocap solutions out There, so what differentiates smartsuit pro?
In our Smartsuit Pro, all electronics are embedded in a suit, which takes around 30 seconds to put on. The suit ensures that all parts are always in the exact right places and that they will stay there. And while other mocap suits are known for being fragile as all the tech is exposed, the textile in the Smartsuit Pro protects all its parts.
how do you address accuracy of capture data issues?
Drift and inaccuracy over time is a challenge with all inertial systems, but with our factory calibration of each of the components and algorithms that corrects the positions over time, we have already taken great strides toward solving that problem.
is The sensor array fixed across The Body, and what about face/finger Tracking?
“The 19 sensors in the Smartsuit Pro are completely modular, so you can change the position and retarget them just as you’d like. You can add more sensors to the strings and they will find their own place in the chain, so you can place them on a prop such as a sword. We integrate with all existing face capture systems (like Faceware) but don’t have any plans to make our own version right now, though we’ll address finger tracking later this year with our Smartgloves.
why is it Good for vr work?
It’s perfect both as a development tool and as an input device for VR or AR (and our future products will even more skewed towards the latter). Even through Wi-fi, you have almost no delay with our current suit and a constant framerate over 100fps. If you plug the suit directly into your HMD, you will not notice the latency at all. And the data is small enough even to be handled by a tiny processor, which gives up to eight hours of battery life on a single USB power bank.
what about software and format support?
We have native plugins for Unity, Unreal, and Motionbuilder. In our own Smartsuit Studio software, you can export in .fbx, .bvh or .csv and import to any of the major 3D software tools.
at $2,495 The suit is a Tempting proposition for developers, BUT does This Technology have value for vr consumers?
We’re working on consumer-oriented versions of the suit at much lower price points. Our technology will change the way we interact with the digital space. This suit is only the beginning.