So, I finally got my hands on some move controllers and I want to make it a little less bulky. Threads like these: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9665 have shown that it's not too difficult to strip the outer casing and leave only the essentials like the board and battery. So, my only concern right now is which direction to point the move controller stripped down board.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mV7yITXyBU <= Seed Crystal Games stripped their move controller and has it pointing forward on the back of the hand, like some sort of wrist mounted gun. But the earlier mentioned thread has their's mounted horizontally across the palm. I'm confused by this as wouldn't you have to point your wrist in a strange way to calibrate it when pointing to the camera? What's the best way to mount it?

You just need to be able to point the controller directly at a sensor at the beginning of your recording. This action gives Mocap Studio the reference frame it needs when you adjust it later in Mocap Studio. It is important that the orientation of the controller remains fixed relative to the hand, whether your holding it or when it's attached to the hand.

For example, if you're holding the controller in your hand, you need to keep a firm grip on it. Gripping it loose and sloppy is bound to record poor data.

When the controller is mounted to the back of the hand, it's typically aligned with the fingers. This is mainly because it's easier to point to a sensor this way. As you noticed, this orientation is different from when the controller held in the hand, so it really doesn't matter. You just need to make sure the orientation remains constant relative to the hand. So when it's attached to the hand, it must be attached firmly and not allowed to bounce, twist or slide when you move around.

After recording and tracking the body mocap, you can adjust the orientation of the controller on the Actor skeleton. When the controller is manually aligned to match the orientation seen in the reference frame, then the hands/head motion is be applied. The key is to make sure the character's body motion is tracked, corrected and smoothed before you apply the hands/head data.

The Wiki has more detailed information about this:

http://docs.ipisoft.com/Motion_Controllers

I hope this helps. Good luck!

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Tip: Early on, I experimented with attaching a controller to the back of a workout glove. To do this, I stitched a dense foam rubber riser to the back of the glove and used a wide velcro strap to attach the controller. The riser was required because when I bent my wrist, the long handle of the sensor would hit my arm and limit the range of movement. By lifting the controller, it was less likely to hit my arm.

After some successful testing, I decided to abandon the glove and just hold the controller in my hands. I prefer this because I can use the controller's buttons as a remote to operate iPi Mocap Studio. I can't do this easily when it's attached to a glove.

Some users will disassemble the controller and just attach the inner parts to a glove. I've never bothered to go that far with it. For me, holding the sensor in my hand has worked fine.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

The legendary Greenlaw! Thanks for the response. Really appreciate it. I see you everywhere and reading your experiences has been helpful in getting my stuff started. I think I'll stick to holding the controller as well, at least for now.

Sure, glad to help.

The only downside to holding the controller is maintaining the firm grip while allowing the wrist to rotate naturally. It's easy to forget and loosen the grip on the controller while performing but with practice it can become second nature to do both and make it look natural.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!