The MEMS-based MotionPod developed by Movea and its research partner, Motion Lab, allows low cost, full body motion capture, so a computerised avatar can reproduce a person's body movements in real-time, accurately. The MotionPod patented hardware for motion sensing incorporates a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope and a three-axis magnetometer. It measures 33x22x15mm and weighs 14g and is designed to clip onto a bracelet or strap. Each has a built-in, 2.4GHz wireless transmitter that uses the company's proprietary wireless technology with a range of up to 30m with very low power consumption, providing up to eight hours of usage. Nine pods are attached to a person's limbs, to track any movement in 3D. In addition to tracking motion in real time, live gesture recognition allows it to be used to control televisions and PCs through simple hand gestures. The full body positional information and motion is compared in real-time against a library of full body gestures, for example to correct a position in a yoga or martial arts application. For an avatar in a game, the technology speeds up action due to the fact that the early detection feature recognises the start of a gesture without having to wait for it to be completed, triggering the game action early.
