Technique for recording 3D movement

Research lead

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain, and the University of Louvain, in Belgium, have developed a technique using two video cameras to capture human movement, which makes it possible to display body movements in 3D on a computer. The method can be used in the development of interactive video games.

Pedro Correa, from the Telecommunications and Teledetection Laboratory at Louvain together with Professor Ferran Marqués's unit in Spain, have written algorithms that tackle the problem of gesture recognition without the need to wear any special suit or receivers, using a simple video camera to film body movements.

Images of a person’s outline are filmed several dozens times a second, and the data obtained are analysed by the algorithms.

The low level of complexity of the system means it can be applied in real time on any personal computer. The technique is relevant to any applications that require motion interaction with the computer, from browsing through applications in an operating system (such as moving windows and text with hand movements) to interactive aerobic video games.