Optitrack Mocap Skeleton
Method #
This node reads bone data from a OptiTrack motion capture suit and applies it to Bone nodes, either via direct input links or by a connection to the root of the target hierarchy. A network connection must be made to the OptiTrack software which provides a stream of bone data from the suit. This is done via the Devices menu - use the “Motive” connection options.
The input skeleton the node is applied to must have been designed to receive motion capture data: the bones must be named, oriented and arranged appropriately. Mixamo rigs are a good reference.
Entering the IP of the target system can be unreliable in some cases, so we generally advise you leave the IP address blank. This will use the OptiTrack SDK to search for the OptiTrack system automatically, and is much more reliable at getting a connection. If that doesn’t work, it’s likely there is an issue with your network setup, as in that case the SDK itself can’t find it on the network at all.
OptiTrack is only available to Pro users, so Learning and Base licenses won’t be able to use this feature.
Parameters
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
Parameter Details Position X Move along the local x-axis.
Position Y Move along the local y-axis.
Position Z Move along the local z-axis.
Rotation Heading Rotate around the local y-axis.
Rotation Pitch Rotate around the local x-axis.
Rotation Bank Rotate around the local z-axis.
Scale X Scale along the local x-axis.
Scale Y Scale along the local y-axis.
Scale Z Scale along the local z-axis.
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
Parameter Details Position Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent.
Rotation Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent.
Scale Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent.
World Position Only Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit Time Toggle inheritance of time from the parent.
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details Avatar Index Select the mocap actor to drive the skeleton.
Rotate Bind Pose Joints By Facing Direction Determines whether the input skeleton has been rigged so that the bones in their bind pose are rotated to point in the direction of the next bone, or whether they are unrotated in their bind pose.
Input Skeleton Scale Uniformly scale the size of the input mocap skeleton.
Mirrored Mirror the movements of the incoming mobcap data along the x axis.
Inputs
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position X | Move along the local x-axis. |
| Position Y | Move along the local y-axis. |
| Position Z | Move along the local z-axis. |
| Rotation Heading | Rotate around the local y-axis. |
| Rotation Pitch | Rotate around the local x-axis. |
| Rotation Bank | Rotate around the local z-axis. |
| Scale X | Scale along the local x-axis. |
| Scale Y | Scale along the local y-axis. |
| Scale Z | Scale along the local z-axis. |
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position | Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent. |
| Rotation | Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent. |
| Scale | Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent. |
| World Position Only | Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties. |
| Inherit Time | Toggle inheritance of time from the parent. |
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Avatar Index | Select the mocap actor to drive the skeleton. |
| Rotate Bind Pose Joints By Facing Direction | Determines whether the input skeleton has been rigged so that the bones in their bind pose are rotated to point in the direction of the next bone, or whether they are unrotated in their bind pose. |
| Input Skeleton Scale | Uniformly scale the size of the input mocap skeleton. |
| Mirrored | Mirror the movements of the incoming mobcap data along the x axis. |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Hierarchy Root | The root of the input skeleton to be driven by motion capture. | You’ll need to connect the skeleton root within an 3D Scene. |
| Transform Modifiers | Apply the transforms of another node to this node. | Null |
| Target Node | Modifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Apply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent. | Null |