Motion capture technology has been around for a while, but with VR and AR applications on the rise, our search for reasonably priced motion capture devices intensifies. We’ve tested several of devices ourselves, each with their own quirks. Today, Rokoko launched the SmartSuit Pro, a relatively affordable mocap suit that the company brags you can put on in under a minute.
Rokoko first announced the SmartSuit Pro back in December, with the main selling point being that it provides accurate professional motion tracking for a measly pre-order price of $2,245. Granted, the SmartSuit Pro is still quite expensive, but the traditional camera-based motion capturing systems can cost upwards of $100,000 and more. This makes them a thing of luxury for all but the most established game developers. This is where solutions like the SmartSuit Pro—or the slightly more affordable Noitom Perception Neuron—come in. If a studio doesn’t have the budget to buy or rent out a motion capture room, it can buy a mocap suit and record all the required mocap scenes in its own studio or even outdoors.
The SmartSuit Pro works by tracking the body’s movements via 19 sensors, each of which contains a gyrometer, an accelerometer, and a magnetometer. As you move, the SmartSuit Pro records data locally to the suit's central hub. The hub can deliver the data to your local computer via Rokoko's SmartSuit Studio software. The suit features 6 hours of battery life via a USB power bank. Unlike suits such as the Perception Neuron, the SmartSuit Pro integrates all of its sensors into a jumpsuit-like garment; this means no fussing over exposed wires. If you’ve ever worn a jumpsuit, you should have no problem putting on the SmartSuit Pro.
While the SmartSuit Pro’s primary markets are film producers and game developers, Rokoko hopes the suit’s price will make it a viable full-body controller in VR gaming applications.
The Rokoko SmartSuit Pro is available for $2,495 in small, medium, large, and extra large sizes. The SmartSuit Studio software is included with every SmartSuit Pro, plus plugins for Unity, Unreal, and AutoDesk MotionBuilder.
