Capture Suits?

[tvining]

Are the 3x3 designed capture suits specifically geared for the Optitrack/Arena marker setup, or are there other designs/vendors that could work? I need a women's suit. I spoke to 3x3 but they didn't seem to have the size I need in their basic designs, so I was wondering if you knew of any other vendors I might try.

Thanks--Tim

[leith]

there must be others but honestly, every major mocap vendor I've run into uses the 3x3 suits.

I've used simple under-armor clothes with iron on velcro to make a custom suit for a specific marker set before. That may be an option.

Pheonix technologies sells some suit\marker combos separate from their systems.

Out of curiosity, what size are you trying to fit that they don't have? We once acquired a 3x3 womens suit that was so small it was laughable.

Having used the NP 3x3 suit and a standard 3x3 suit, I didn't notice any significant difference beyond the logo.

[Jim]

Hello:

Our suits are pretty standard for mocap and you can place the markers freely. We have found that there really wasn't a need for us to do a special "woman" suit. The suits are quite elastic, so they will conform nicely. Also, you can take up extra fabric slack by overlapping the material and putting a marker or just a velcro patch on it, this way you can take the slack out of any loose fabric.

As Brad suggests, you could go to Big 5 or any sporting goods store and get some UnderArmor and just put each marker on individually. That would be a set solution for that one actor.

For that solution, I use our markers, fill them with hotglue, then take a large flat metal tack and insert it from the back side of the fabric into the base of the marker. I can add extra hot glue when inserting the tack into the marker, to make more secure. That is the method I always use for making shoe markers. Haven't had any complaints about the tacks yet! You could cover over the tack back with some fabric tape if you wanted.

[seanboyette]

Hey Jim,

Do you guys have a Chroma Green/blue version of the suit.
and do you guys sell the booties?

Sean

[leith]

The booties always scare me. They have a tendency to make their way under the shoe and then you lose traction. I buy cheap neoprene dive shoes that go up past the ankle and affix velcro where I need it. That way, they can go in the wash and they're cheap, so you can get a variety of sizes. I also like that they're a little more shear to the foot than a shoe usually is.

I also make sure to affix velcro to clothes and items rather than affixing markers directly, as that way, the items can be washed and dried without having to worry about the retroreflective material on the markers. Sometimes, you just have to do a permanent bind of a marker, but if I can avoid it, I do. Also, I build my own markers now and use industrial strength velcro, (smaller more regular hooks i think). It holds the markers on a lot better than the commercially available markers i've used in the past (I've not used the soft markers natural point sells, so I can't compare to them). I think the velcro bind I have is now potentially stronger than the tear strength of the silicone I'm making my markers from. And I suspect that its stronger than the tear strength of the veltex that the suits are made from. So care must be taken when removing the markers. But I'd rather have a marker get trashed than have to keep dealing with them falling off all the time.

[Jim]

No Chroma suits from us, but you could always ask 3x3.

[leith]

for props and such, its useful to note that veltex comes in chroma blue and chroma green. Its harder to find people who carry it. but it does exist.