Sony Releases Mobile Motion Capture Product ‘Mocopi’

Japanese tech giant Sony has announced the release of ‘mocopi’, its newest mobile motion capture product. Said product uses in total six physical sensors and a dedicated smartphone app to capture real-time motion into motion data and/or a movable avatar.

• The product is listed at ¥49,500 (~US$358.00), with pre-order starting in mid-December this year.
• Mocopi is set to be released by late January next year.

You can check out a promotional video for Mocopi below:

Mocopi’s six sensors include two each for the wrists and in the ankles, one in the head and one in the hip. Users can use Mocopi to create avatar videos, which they can export using the dedicated smartphone app.

• Export outputs include as video file (.mp4) or motion data (BVH format), which can be exported to a user’s computer or saved locally.

You can check out a demonstration in setting up Mocopi below:

Sony also announced that they will be providing a software development kit (SDK) publicly on December 15, where users can link the acquired motion data from Mocopi into other metaverse services and other 3D development services.

• Said SDK will not only benefit VTubers but also creators and producers involved in movie and animation production.

Mocopi will be making public demonstrations at the upcoming Virtual Market 2022 Winter (December 3-18) and XR Kaigi 2022 (December 15 for online demo, December 22-23 for offline demo).

HIKKY, the company that hosts Virtual Market on the VRChat platform, have already teamed up with Sony to integrate Mocopi into their services.

• Hikky had also announced that it is integrating Sony’s Mocopi into their new solution called ‘Unlink’. This solution allows users to send their own recorded motion data into their metaverse solution via smartphone.
• VRChat chief technology officer Jesse Joudrey was pleased to offer the same VRChat functionality to Sony’s mocopi, and hopes that users of all types of headsets will be able to fully experience VRChat’s full tracking capabilities.
• HIKKY’s chief executive officer Yasushi Funakoshi is confident that the device will create many opportunities for the creative revolution.