Inertial Sensors - Xsens

Source: Adam Nelson PhotographyXbus Master controllersynchronizes and powerssuit’s trackers.Trackers gather data andsend it to master controller.The technology that allows actors to fly off tall buildingsor run through walls has been available for several years, ofcourse, but these new sensor-laden suits are taking moviemakingto new heights.“With this technology, you can exaggerate everything,”says Harvey Weinberg, group leader of applications engineeringfor Analog Devices Inc., maker of the sensors. “Youcan have an actor jump off a three-foot platform and with amotion-capture suit and computer graphics, the platformbecomes a 10-story building.”Actually, it does that and much more. The new breed ofsensors and suits is transforming the process of “previsualization”(or “pre-vis,” as it’s known in Hollywood lingo).Instead of artist-rendered storyboards or black suits withluminous markers, directors can now use gyroscopes andaccelerometers to visualize scenes before filming them. It’sa huge step forward for moviemakers, largely because itremoves multiple cameras and sound stages from the previsualizationprocess. Directors can now do the pre-vis stepwherever they want — in a hallway, parking lot, or in someone’sbackyard.“We can go anywhere with this suit,” says Chris Edwards,chief executive officer of The Third Floor, the largest previsualizationcompany in the world. “We don’t need any specialrooms with lots of heavy gear. We can take it on a planeand go to a director’s house in Europe and set it up with alaptop. We can do a remote motion capture recording sessionthere and get high fidelity data in real time.”Moreover, the new MVN Motion Capture Suits, asthey’re known, are bringing new capabilities to abroader swath of moviemakers. Until now, such digitalcapabilities were reserved for the likes of JamesCameron and others with mammoth budgets.“My hope is that we’re embarking on a goldenage of cinematic content creation, where finallythese technological tools will enable inspired directorswith average budgets to create whatevertheir hearts desire,” Edwards says.Beyond OpticalAt first glance, the marriage of inertial sensors andHollywood moviemaking would seem an unlikely one.Microelectromechanical systems-based (MEMS-based)inertial sensors debuted in the early 1990s, first in automotiveair bags and stability control systems. Later, they beganappearing in smart phones, laptop computers and videogames, such as Nintendo’s Wii.But as sensor performance improved over the years andcosts dropped, engineers began finding new uses for thetechnology. The most popular of the inertial sensors —Each tracker employstwo dual-axis accelerometersfrom AnalogDevices.Source: Analog Devicesaccelerometers— have becomeincreasingly appealingto engineersdesigningmedical andindustrial equipment,as well as automotive systems.Tens of millions of the devices are nowemployed every year to measure motionin linear axes. At the same time, MEMSbasedgyroscopes have added anotherdimension to inertial measurement, enabling engineers tobuild products that can determine the rate of rotation aboutan axis. »DESIGN NEWS SEPTEMBER 2010 [www.designnews.com] 45