Yost Labs 3-Space Sensor Blender Motion Capture Plug-in

Description

The Yost Labs 3-Space Sensor Blender Motion Capture Plug-in is an addon for the open source 3D modeling program Blender. Once installed, the plugin provides tools for interfacing the Yost Labs 3-Space family of sensors with Blender, configure individual sensors, pair sensors with Blender armature bones, and record orientation data over time for driving armatures created in Blender. Utilizing these features, users may put Blender to work as an all in one tool for motion capture animation recording, clean-up, and editing.

Flexibility in capture options is also provided by the plugin. Options ranging from data stream and data poll rates to keyframe scaling options are all provided in an easy to use interface. Constraints on the length of time and number of frames captured may also be defined to further optimize any motion capture workflow. All data capture and storage is also performed from within Blender, which means any part of the capture pipeline may benefit from the collection of tools and options provided by Blender out of the box.

The 3-Space Motion Capture Plugin utilizes Blender’s powerful Python based API for creating the menus and tools necessary for interacting with the 3-Space family of sensor natively from within Blender. The plugin is also provided for free under an open source licence. This means others may expand, enhance, and learn from the code that drives it.

Accessories

We also offer Strap Sets that can be used for placing the 3-Space Sensor devices.

Key Features

Supports all members of the Yost Labs 3-Space Sensor family
Built with the Blender 2.6x Python API and compatible with all modern versions of Blender (32-Bit and 64-Bit)
Provides tools for configuring Yost Labs 3-Space sensors and dongles
Supports realtime data streaming and threaded orientation data recording
Records orientation data as armature keyframes, thus making editing and clean-up easy
Open source and free, allowing users to try and modify the plugin without consequence

System Requirements

Software

Operating System – Windows XP(32-Bit), Windows Vista/7(32-Bit or 64-Bit)

Blender Version – Blender 2.60a or newer(32-Bit or 64-Bit) for Windows. Blender may be downloaded here.
NOTE: Version 2.61 of Blender is not supported by the Yost Labs 3-Space Blender Motion Capture Plugin due to a bug in that version of Blender. To use the plugin, please either install 2.60a or a version newer than 2.61 of Blender.

License

The Yost Labs 3-Space Sensor Blender Motion Capture Plug-in is released under the Yost Labs 3-Space Open Source License, which allows for both non-commercial use and commercial use with certain restrictions.

For Non-Commercial Use, your use of Covered Works is governed by the GNU GPL v.3, subject to the Yost Labs 3-Space Open Source Licensing Overview and Definitions.

For Commercial Use, a Yost Labs Commercial/Redistribution License is required, pursuant to the Yost Labs 3-Space Open Source Licensing Overview and Definitions. Commercial Use, for the purposes of this License, means the use, reproduction and/or Distribution, either directly or indirectly, of the Covered Works or any portion thereof, or a Compilation, Improvement, or Modification, for Pecuniary Gain. A Yost Labs Commercial/Redistribution License may or may not require payment, depending upon the intended use.

Full details of the Yost Labs 3-Space Open Source License can be found here

Downloads and Documentation

Documentation

3-Space Blender Quick Start Manual, 1.0.0, updated 18 Jan 2012

Plugin Downloads

3-Space Blender Plugin Installer, 1.0.3, updated 17 May 2012
3-Space Blender Plugin Archive, 1.0.3, updated 17 May 2012

Informational Resources

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender3d – Wikipedia entry describing the open source Blender 3D modelling and animation application.

http://www.blender.org – Link to the Blender 3D website.

Quick Links