Avatar mirrors

How does the exhibit work?

Stand in front of one of the two screens.

If you stand close enough, the shape on the screen will start to look like you and mimic your movements.

What is the science behind it?

Motion capture technology can capture your movements and convert them into an animation. How does that work here? Simple: a depth camera 'scans' you. It maps out how you move. Based on that data, a computer programme converts your movements into a 3D figure. And you see those on the screen.

Game and film makers also like this technology. This allows them to change the movements of actresses and actors into the movements of animals, dragons, trolls or space creatures. What would you like to become?

Motion capture of your face

You can capture the movements of the entire body of actors and actresses, but... you can also go for just a specific body part. For example, the face. This is called facial motion capture. This allows an animated character to show emotions in a realistic way. A well-known example is Benedict Cumberbatch. His face and emotions were transformed into those of the dragon Smaug in 'The Hobbit' trilogy.

Motion capture for animals

Have you ever seen starlings flying through the air like a flock and appearing to dance? How do they do that without colliding with each other? And how do you study such a large group of birds all at once, including those in the middle that you can't see very well? That can be done with motion capture cameras.

Predecessor of motion capture

Before motion capture, makers of animated films used a rotoscope. That is a device that filmed an actor or actress. Those images were projected onto a drawing board, making it easy for the cartoonist to superimpose them. In this way, the movements of cartoon characters, such as Snow White, looked just like the real thing.