Mahesha Kulatunga Undergraduate Dissertation 2016/17

Using human motion capture to control a tree character

Supervised by S.Maddock

Abstract

There are several method used to animate character in film and video games. The most common method has been key framing, however motion capture has proved to be a very effective technique in recent years. Traditionally, motion capture requires expensive and complicated systems comprising of the Microsoft Kinect, there is now a cheap and easy option for motion capture animation. This project aims to use the Kinect to animate a humanoid tree character and thus evaluate the animation capabilities of the device. The user will control the character to explore an interact with a 3D environment, creating believable animation sequences while doing so. The system was implemented as a game compromising of a single game level. The character's pose, walking and turning are all controlled by a user's body. The user must engage in hand to hand combat with enemies, overcome obstacles and reach the end of the level. Feedback gathered during participant testing suggests that despite limited in the walking and turning, users believed the system's controls felt natural overall and that they were able to produce fluid and believable animations. Gives more time to make improvements are implement more features, this system could stand as a cheap and easy way of gathering motion capture data for animation in film and video games.