Check out promising browser-based AI mocap tool Plask
Originally posted on 11 February 2022. Scroll down for news of the new Mocap Pro subscriptions.
South Korean startup Plask has launched Plask, a self-titled AI-trained browser-based tool that extracts motion data from video footage and retargets it to 3D characters.
The tool, which can currently be used for free, can then export the resulting animation data to 3D software like Blender or Maya, or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, in FBX and BVH format.
Extract full body motion from video footage and retarget it to a 3D character inside your browser
Like PixCap, another recent startup, Plask is a new browser-based service for extracting the motion of an actor from video footage, and retargeting it to a 3D character.
It works with single-camera footage of a single actor, and works best with a static, horizontal camera, where the actor’s entire body remains in shot for the duration of the video.
Plask’s machine-learning-based technology then extracts the motion of the actor from the footage, and retargets it to a 3D character: either one of four stock human characters, or the user’s custom character.
Characters can be uploaded in FBX, GLB or BVH format: users can remap the bones in the character rig to Plask’s default 24-bone rig manually, or automatically based on bone naming.
Once generated, users can adjust the animation via simple keyframe editing – there aren’t currently any more advanced tools – or apply smoothing, and combine separate animation sources on layers.
The animated 3D character can then be exported in FBX, BVH or GLB format for use in DCC applications including Blender and Maya, or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
User comments on Plask’s YouTube channel suggest that, as with many solutions of this type, manual editing is required to stop a character’s feet slipping on the ground plane.
Updated 3 February 2023: Plask has now introduced a foot locking system for both free and Pro users.
However, it looks a promising way to generate motion data for games and real-time projects, particularly when a character is moving in place.
Updated 2 September 2022: Plask has launched MoCap Pro, its paid premium subscription plan.
MoCap Pro subscriptions, which cost $140/month or $600/year, provide access to advanced features, including the option to capture the motion of up to 10 characters simultaneously from source footage.
New credit-based pricing, but free accounts are still available
Plask has now moved to a credit-based system, with single-person mocap costing one credit per frame to process, and multi-person mocap costing three credits per frame. Pro users get 108,000 credits per month.
Free accounts are still available, including for commercial work, and get 900 credits per day.
Pricing and system requirements
Plask is browser-based, and is supported in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. You can find details of pricing in the story above, and compare the features of Freemium and MoCap Pro accounts here.