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home > products > ShapeWrap II > FAQ's

ShapeWrap II FAQ's

1. Are ShapeTapes fragile?

2. How does ShapeWrap II compare to other portable systems?

3. Do I need a special stage to capture motion?

4. Does it run in real-time?

5. Does ShapeWrap II use analog-output or serial-output ShapeTapes?

6. What are the limitations of the system?

7. Which 3D software packages does ShapeWrap II work with?

8. What formats does ShapeWrap II output?

9. Can you track non-human objects?

10. Can you add more tapes to make more appendages etc. on an actor?

11. How many actors can you capture at one time? Can actors interact?

12. How can you tell where the joints are on an actor? How are these values assigned to a character later on?

13. How is the torso tracked?

14. How is absolute position of the torso tracked?

1. Are the ShapeTapes fragile?
The same kind of tapes are used routinely in crash testing, and the sensors have been tested successfully to over a billion bend cycles. You can bash limbs against objects with the tapes in between (don’t hurt yourself!, you won’t hurt the tapes). There are some precautions to take in storing the tapes: don’t roll them up into tight circles; don’t roll over a tape with a wheeled chair.

2. How does ShapeWrap II compare to other portable systems?
ShapeTapes conform to the body’s shape and are fully flexible, so you avoid equipment breakage and personal injury problems often associated with competing systems. There are no major projections from the body. Motion is fluid and unimpeded. Sitting and falling are permitted! You can also use the four ShapeTapes individually as multi-sensor input devices using ShapeAnimator software.

3. Do I need a special stage to capture motion?
No. ShapeWrap II is completely portable, requiring no cameras or magnetic fields. There is no occlusion. No magnetic calibration is needed.

4. Does it run in real-time?
Yes, data can be captured to a file at 80-90 Hz. While the data are being captured, a lighted stick figure model is shown on the screen at a visual monitoring rate of 60 Hz.

5. Does ShapeWrap II use analog-output or serial-output ShapeTapes?
ShapeWrap uses up to four serial-output ShapeTapes connected to a data concentrator with an Ethernet output. The serial data streams are capable of >100 Hz. Analog tapes, which can capture up to 10 kHz, are for crash testing and consume more power than serial tapes.

6. What are the limitations of the system?
ShapeWrap II provides complete shape and orientation information, and with a walking routine, provides an estimate of position of the person in the world coordinate system. It excels at portable applications. Since the system uses no fixed cameras or fields, it is not capable of the high accuracy of camera-based systems, particularly for position of the person in a world coordinate system. But, ShapeWrap does not suffer from occlusion, and captures very smooth data regardless of position or orientation in the scene.

7. Which 3D software packages does ShapeWrap II work with?
ShapeWrap II works with:
a. AutoDesk/Kaydara MOCAP (real-time)
b. ShapeRecorder (real-time)
c. 3D Studio Max & Character Studio
d. XSI
e. Maya
f. AutoDesk Motion Builder
g. Lightwave

8. What formats does ShapeWrap II output?
ShapeWrap II software (ShapeRecorder) outputs the following formats:
a. C3D – marker data (type of data outputted by camera based optical systems)
b. BVH – skeletal data
c. Cartesian

9. Can you track non-human objects?
Yes, the tapes can be used to capture dynamic or static shape data from deformable objects, or to track the movement of a rigid object. Systems are available for capturing motion of animals such as horses.

10. Can you add more tapes to make more appendages etc. on an actor?
To capture full body data the ShapeWrap II system uses four ShapeTapes and three orientation sensors. There is room to add two additional tapes to ShapeWrap’s full body configuration; the data concentrator on the backpack can be used with up to nine tapes without the two orientation sensors, or up to seven tapes with the two orientation sensors.

11. How many actors can you capture at one time? Can actors interact?
Multiple actors can interact. Any number of actors can interact. Yes, you can capture multiple actors across multiple running versions of ShapeRecorder at one time to create a seamless animation. Their captures can be blended together using the timestamps on the data.

12. How can you tell where the joints are on an actor? How are these values assigned to a character later on?
The joint positions are entered in a simple LinkWare table. The entries describe the lengths of 'bones' for the data set and limbs of the stick figure.

13. How is the torso tracked?
The orientation of the torso in the world coordinate system is tracked by a MEMS orientation sensor referenced inertially and corrected to the earth's magnetic field.

14. How is absolute position of the torso tracked?
A walking algorithm is combined with the torso orientation to resolve an approximate position in the world coordinate system.