Dog motion capture with one camera?

A research team at Bath University in the UK is developing a system that can capture puppy movements with just one without using multiple cameras. Usually, motion capture technology is used to synthesize the movement of an actor wearing a special suit on a green background to another body. Motion capture is used in movies and games like this, but using this technology can also be helpful in veterinary medicine. Something that can also help diagnose recovery of a dog with difficulty walking or a sick dog.

Of course, humans are also used by athletes training, rehabilitation of the injured, and kinesiologists. I’m trying to apply this to dogs. In the future, it is expected that there will be many possibilities such as racing horses, horseback riding training, and dog robot learning.

The research team wore a suit for dogs of 14 breeds and then photographed various movements. Based on this data, a CG model that can predict and reproduce the movement of a dog without a suit was created. In this case, I used an RGB-D camera that can acquire color images and distances. The D stands for distance, which is the same as the camera that was once mounted on Microsoft Kinect. Usually, they shoot at the same time from several angles, but the innovation is that one can finish it.

As the research team succeeded in shooting animals such as horses, cats, lions, and gorillas, more realistic animal movies or games may be possible. If sooner or later it can be used on smartphones, the day may come when you can avatar your own pet at any time. Related information can be found here .