motion capture

American  

[moh-shuhn kap-cher] / ˈmoʊ ʃən ˌkæp tʃər /

noun

1. a data collection technique in which the movements of people and objects are tracked, recorded, and rendered to create animations, as for a video game.

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motion capture British  

noun

1. a process by which a device can be used to capture patterns of live movement; the data is then transmitted to a computer, where simulation software displays it applied to a virtual actor

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Etymology

Origin of motion capture

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Beimel uses motion capture to provide pitching feedback, and uses health technology that coincides with its athletes having to self-report daily to track overexertion and determine how best to use their bodies.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2025

The big barrier was a disagreement over motion capture actors whose work was treated as "data" rather than as a performance.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025

After doing a day of motion capture with the band at a studio in the Valley, Fincher and a crew of animators from Culver City’s Blur Studio spent about 13 months working on “Can’t Stop.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2025

"Maybe we can do like a motion capture day somehow. Do some animal studies, as it were."

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2024

Williams did perform the whole of My Way while wired up to help with the motion capture, at a specially arranged pair of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 2022.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2024