Xsens releases UWB RF-Based Position Aiding Technology

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Xsens releases UWB RF-Based Position Aiding Technology to Enable Occlusion-Free, Real-Time, Driftless Multi-Person Motion Capture in Large Volumes

Press Release from Xsens

At SIGGRAPH 2010, Xsens releases MotionGridTM, a breakthrough motion capture technology for previs, virtual moviemaking, game development and training & simulation

Enschede, The Netherlands – July 20th, 2010 – Xsens Technologies B.V., the leader in professional 3D tracking systems will be releasing MVN MotionGridTM at SIGGRAPH 2010 in Los Angeles, California. MVN MotionGrid is an Ultra-Wide Band RF-based position aiding system for Xsens MVN, the leading cameraless motion capture solution.  The portable system can be used indoors and outdoors in conjunction with the MVN full body motion capture suit. With a minimal amount of hardware and quick calibration, MotionGrid is a flexible system at a very low cost per square foot capture volume.

Large capture volumes of 20x20 m (60x60 ft) can be easily realized using the default 9-reader MotionGrid configuration. The system is based on UWB RF technology and therefore does not require line of sight or special lighting conditions. UWB based tracking technology is complementary to Xsens’ inertial based motion tracking, essentially adding the equivalent of a local GPS system to Xsens’ MVN full body motion capture system.

MVN MotionGrid is tightly integrated as a module within MVN Studio 3.0 PRO, the latest release of Xsens’ professional motion capture software suite. The system comes with two portable cases, stands and tri-pods, allowing studios to record anywhere, indoors and outdoors. MotionGrid readers can also be mounted on trusses, walls, floors and ceilings.

Zoic Studios, an Emmy Award-winning visual effects company based in Culver City, California is one of the first companies worldwide to deploy Xsens MVN MotionGrid.

‘With this new non-intrusive mocap technology we’re able to capture performers on our stages with regular lighting and camera set-ups’, says Mike Romey, Pipeline Supervisor at Zoic Studios, ‘speed of turnaround is crucial to us: MVN MotionGrid makes our pipeline faster and more cost efficient’.

‘We are proud to have such a leading VFX company as Zoic adopting MVN MotionGrid’ says Casper Peeters, CEO of Xsens, ‘Zoic immediately saw the value of our breakthrough technology and has integrated MVN MotionGrid into its award winning VFX services’.

MVN MotionGrid will be demonstrated the SIGGRAPH conference (July 27-29, 2010) in Los Angeles (CA) at booth 839.  See also www.xsens.com/en/general/motiongrid [1].

About Xsens Technologies
Xsens is a leading global supplier of 3D motion tracking products based upon miniature MEMS inertial sensor technology.

Since its inception in 2000, several thousands of motion sensors and motion capture solutions have successfully been deployed in areas such as 3D character animation, rehabilitation and sports science, and robot and camera stabilization. Customers include Electronic Arts, Sony Pictures Imageworks, INAIL Prosthesis Centre, Daimler, Saab Underwater Systems, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and many other companies and institutes throughout the world.

Xsens’ research department has created unique intellectual property in the field of multi-sensor data fusion algorithms, combining inertial sensors with aiding technologies such as GPS and RF positioning and biomechanical modeling. The company and its products have received several awards, amongst which four consecutive entries in Deloitte’s ranking of fastest growing technology companies in Europe.

Xsens is headquartered in Enschede, The Netherlands and has a subsidiary, Xsens North America Inc. in Los Angeles, California, US. http://www.xsens.com [2]