The application of motion capture technology (also known as mocap) for education is relatively new and yet to be expanded. The benefits, however, are undoubted. Motion capture for education improves the success rate of the learning process because it provokes multi-sensory learning. In this article, we will review what motion capture technology is, what are the benefits of using mocap, why to use the technology in your educational projects, and what software options are on the market.<\/p>\n
Article overview:
\n1. What is motion capture (mocap)?
\n2. Motion capture for education: is it feasible?
\n3. Motion capture software for mass use: a few suggestions<\/p>\n
Motion capture technology is used to capture the movement of the whole body or the facial expressions, in order to recreate the same movements and emotions in an animation. The mocap technology’s most common use is to recreate realistic emotions on cartoon characters’ faces.<\/p>\n
Motion capture has two basic principles of work. Firstly, the technology can use pre-recorded data specifically captured for this purpose, and transform it into a 3D animation. Secondly, motion capture can work in real-time by detecting the movements and facial expressions of a performer which directly projects onto an animated character.<\/p>\n
Motion capture is widely used in the gaming and entertainment industry but it is also very valuable for educational purposes. By using this technology, you can easily nail the attention of your audience and improve their engagement, especially when you are presenting in front of students.\u00a0Motion caption technology helps students develop their\u00a0knowledge in video and animation, as well as their IT knowledge.\u00a0When it comes to children, motion capture makes the information easier to perceive because it is shown in the form of animation. As a result, it captivates the interest of the little ones more easily.<\/p>\n
While in the past this technology was quite pricy for mass use, today it is very affordable.\u00a0You don’t need special equipment – you can easily use it from your home. Moreover, you don’t need specific preparation or professional skills in video or animating.\u00a0Here is a quick review of the pros and cons of using motion capture technology in a non-professional environment.<\/p>\n\t\t
Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone in the education field can enjoy the benefits of motion capture technology. The visual animated materials prepared with motion capture technology highly engage the students’ attention. Besides making the learning process more effective, the fun with motion capture technology is also guaranteed.<\/p>\n A few beneficial applications of\u00a0motion capture for education:<\/p>\n Using motion capture technology in professional studios is usually related to using specific equipment and expensive software and the final results are very complex animations. When it comes to using easily accessible motion capture for education to use in learning projects, the challenge is where to find such software. Let’s go through a few options of motion capture software available for everyone to use from their home or workplace.<\/p>\n A motion capture software included in the Creative Cloud of Adobe. Adobe Character Animator is very easy and intuitive to use even if you’ve never used a mocap animation software before. The software allows you to create an animation very quickly. Its working principle is super simple. The program detects your facial expressions and your speaking via your mic and cam and animates a character’s face accordingly (as you speak). For the body movements such as walking, holding objects, making gestures, etc., you can use pre-made triggers and actions with the help of your mouse and keyboard.<\/p>\n\t\t Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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3. Motion capture software for mass use: a few suggestions<\/h3>\n
Option 1: Adobe Character Animator<\/h5>\n
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