Researchers Use a 480-Camera Dome to More Accurately Capture 3D Motion

Traditional 3D motion capture technologies, amazing though they are, are limited. They only give you a small number of data points to work with, and while they seem to capture a great deal of detail, their abilities are far outpaced by the intricate movements of the human body.

Fortunately, there’s a new technology in development that might just be able to solve this problem by throwing a crap-load of cameras at it.

3DMotionCaptureDome480

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a geodesic dome with 480 cameras built into it. These cameras work together to track a rather insane 100,000 points, all without the need for those ping-pong ball markers you’ve probably seen if you ever watch the behind-the-scenes videos for your favorite animated movie.

Those balls are gone because, rather than looking for individual spots in the frame, this system uses the incredible amount of footage to estimate trajectories through changes in motion, shape and light. It’s through this technology that the researchers are able to capture motion far more accurately than ever before.

The most convenient aspect of the entire design is that it uses off-the-shelve cameras, meaning that the amount of cameras and particular setup is as versatile as can be — the potential is almost limitless. From animation studios to the high-tech replays of the future, the scalable design will be a key component in the latest research.

Give the demonstration videos a watch and then let us know the most interesting (and SFW) thing you’d like to capture with one of these mammoth setups.

(via Engadget)

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