UK-based IKinema is looking to make sophisticated body tracking open to all with the use of the HTC Vive headset and its Orion software.
Last year we reported that the animation specialist was working with HTC’s new Vive Trackers to create an accessible body tracking solution that developers could purchase for an annual cost of $500. Today, Orion 1.0 releases for all, bringing head, hand, hip and feet tracking tech to studios around the world.
https://youtu.be/TyCc2186viY
Orion works with OpenVR to capture the motion of all Lighthouse-tracked Vive peripherals. The company’s algorithms are then able to accurately depict the position of other body parts not being tracked, such as arms and legs, to create a convincing 3D character model.
Current IKinema customers include NASA’s Hybrid Reality Lab, which used data collected from the tracking, and Tencent, which uses the solution for full-body mocap avatars.
You’ll need to acquire the Vive and Trackers yourself, which will run you around $900 without including the price of a high-powered PC. However, if you already have these components then Orion could be seen as an affordable body tracking solution; the recently-launched Perception Neuron 2.0 costs $1,500 to get up and running, though this is a one-time cost and not annual.
To that end, though, IKinema is running a promotion on Orion, offering 25% off until the end of March, meaning your first year will cost just $375.
