Move.ai now works with Android phones and webcams
AI-based motion-capture developer Move.ai has launched a new experimental mode to the platform that lets users extract mocap data from video recorded on any kind of camera.
The new mode promises to make it possible to extract good-quality data from footage captured on Android phones, webcams, action cameras and DSLRs as well as Move.ai’s iPhone app.
AI-assisted markerless mocap tech extracts production-quality data from smartphone footage
Launched earlier this year, Move.ai’s iOS app lets artists generate production-quality motion-capture data from footage of an actor captured on between two and six tripod-mounted iPhones.
Move.ai compares the quality of the data generated to commercial inertial capture suits – or, if using the full six iPhones, to commercial marker-based optical capture systems.
The motion data can be retargeted to a custom character rig, and downloaded as a Maya HumanIK file or Blender scene file, or in FBX, BVH or USD format for use in other DCC applications and game engines.
Motion-capture data generated from video captured on four $18 Lenovo 300 FHD webcams.
New experimental mode process video from webcams, Android phones and other cameras
For users without Apple hardware, the new experimental mode makes it possible to upload video captured on any device to Move.ai’s website and process it in the same way.
Move.ai isn’t making any definite claims for the quality of the results, which may be “anywhere from amazing to terrible”, depending on the quality of the footage captured.
However, the product website has demo videos of pretty reasonable-looking raw output from video recorded on sub-$50 webcams and Android phones, as well as more obvious devices like GoPros.
Footage must be at least full HD (1,920 x 1,080px) resolution and captured at 60fps on at least two synchronised cameras.
Price, system requirements and availability
Registering for a free account on the Move.ai website enables you to trial experimental mode on two minutes of footage, after which, processing video requires a subscription.
Creator subscriptions cost $365/year, with a limit on the amount of animation data that can be processed each month equivalent to 30 minutes of footage of one person or 15 minutes of footage of two people.
Processing additional animation consumes credits, which cost $0.04/second/person processed. You can find more details in Move.ai’s Fair Use Policy.
Updated 26 March 2023: Move.ai has also now introduced monthly pricing.
Read more about Move.ai’s new experimental mode on the product website
Find out how to extract mocap data from uploaded video in Move.ai’s online documentation