sony has formalized its integration into the metaverse, but curiously it has not been with another Virtual Reality device such as PlayStation VR, but with Mocopi, a motion capture system using sensors for the creation and animation of digital avatars.
The reality is that to date we have no idea whether or not the virtual parallel world approach driven by mark zuckerberg and the company that used to be called Facebook and is now called Meta.
However, the truth is that the expectations are very high although the foundations at times make us think that the technology is not advanced enough to support the graphic processing originally desired.
But Sony knows perfectly well that this is precisely the moment to arrive and lay the foundations, creating an ideal opportunity to develop tools that position themselves as an obligatory reference to solve the needs of users.
It is in this context that its new motion capture system based on a basic principle has arrived, although much more robust than the mechanism used by the Xbox Kinect a few years ago.
This is Sony’s Mocopi: the Metaverse bet for vtubers
Through his official channel Youtube the Japanese company has released some promotional videos to celebrate the launch of this new motion capture device.
Where, by the way, they also explain the essence of its operation, illustrating the movement capture process and the final results, where we end up creating a digital avatar with a high level of animation emulating our gestures.
This is how the company explains how its new system can simplify many processes, making accessible a technology that would otherwise cost content creators and ordinary users a fortune:
“Normally, video production using motion capture requires dedicated crews and operators. By using our proprietary algorithm, Mocopi performs high-precision motion measurement with a small number of sensors, freeing VTubers (virtual YouTubers) and creators involved in film and animation production from the constraints of time and place.”
The basic use of Mocopi in theory is to integrate avatars into the metaverse, but as they themselves describe, it can also work perfectly for content creators who use a digital character to capture their movement and integrate it into their productions without spending so much money.
This system is compatible with Android and iOS, it is made up of a series of 6 sensors that are integrated into the body during capture sessions. At the same time it supports facial animation.
The company prepares a development kit (SDK) in mid-December that can link the capture data with software such as Unity and MotionBuilder.
Its cost will be approximately USD $362 in Japan. It is not known if it will reach America.