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v3.2
v3.2
  • OptiTrack Documentation
  • WHAT'S NEW
    • What's New in Motive 3.2
  • QUICK START GUIDES
    • Quick Start Guide: Getting Started
    • Quick Start Guide: Prime Color Camera Setup
    • Quick Start Guide: Precision Capture
    • Quick Start Guide: Tutorial Videos
    • Quick Start Guide: Active Marker Tracking
    • Quick Start Guide: Outdoor Tracking Setup
  • HARDWARE
    • Cameras
      • Ethernet Cameras
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        • V120:Duo
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        • Adjusting Global Origin for Tracking Bars
    • Prepare Setup Area
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    • Ethernet Camera Network Setup
      • General Overview and Specs
      • Windows 10 Network Settings
      • Cabling and Load Balancing
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      • NETGEAR ProSafe GSM7228S: Disabling the Broadcast Storm Control
      • White/Blacklisting Cameras
    • USB Camera System Setup
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      • V120:Duo and Trio Setup
      • Tracking Bar Coordinate System
        • Transforming Coordinate System: Global to Local
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  • MOTIVE
    • Installation and License Activation
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    • Calibration
      • .mcal XML Calibration Files
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    • Status Panel
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  • PLUGINS
    • OptiTrack Blender Plugin
      • OptiTrack Blender Plugin
    • OptiTrack Unreal Engine Plugin
      • Unreal Engine: OptiTrack Live Link Plugin
        • Quick Start Guide: Real-Time Retargeting in Unreal Engine with Live Link Content
        • Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN): OptiTrack Plugin for Live Link Hub
        • Unreal Engine: Live Link Camera Stream Setup
        • Live Link Content: Active Puck Static Meshes
      • Unreal Engine: MotionBuilder Workflow
      • Unreal Engine: HMD Setup
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    • OptiTrack Unity Plugin
      • Unity: HMD Setup
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    • Autodesk Maya
      • Autodesk Maya: OptiTrack Insight VCS Plugin
    • Autodesk MotionBuilder
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder Plugin
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      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: OptiTrack Optical Plugin
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      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: Timecode Data
    • OptiTrack Peripheral API
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      • Houdini 19 Integration
  • ACTIVE COMPONENTS
    • Active Components Hardware
      • Active Puck
      • Wired AnchorPuck
      • CinePuck
      • Wired CinePuck
      • BaseStation
      • Information for Assembling the Active Tags
      • Manus Glove Setup
    • Configuration
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      • Active Hardware Configuration: PuTTY
      • Active Component Firmware Compatibility
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      • Active Finger Marker Set
  • SYNCHRONIZATION
    • Synchronization Hardware
      • External Device Sync Guide: eSync 2
      • External Device Sync Guide: OptiHub2
    • Synchronization Setup
    • OptiTrack Timecode
  • VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
    • Unreal Engine: OptiTrack InCamera VFX
    • Entertainment Marker Sets
    • PrimeX 41
  • MOVEMENT SCIENCES
    • Movement Sciences Hardware
      • General Motive Force Plate Setup
      • AMTI Force Plate Setup
      • Bertec Force Plate Setup
      • Kistler Force Plate Setup
      • Delsys EMG Setup
      • NI-DAQ Setup
      • Multiple Device Setup
    • Movement Sciences Marker Sets
      • Biomechanics Marker Sets
      • Biomech (57)
      • Rizzoli Marker Sets
    • For Visual3D Users
    • Prime Color Camera Setup
      • Prime Color Setup: Required Components
      • Prime Color Setup: Hardware Setup
      • Prime Color Camera Setup: Camera Settings
      • Prime Color Camera Setup: Prime Color FS Calibration
      • Prime Color Setup: Data Recording / Export
      • Prime Color Camera Setup: FAQ / Troubleshooting
      • Prime Color Camera Setup: Windows Network Settings
  • VIRTUAL REALITY
    • VR Plugins
      • VR Unreal Engine
        • OptiTrack Unreal Engine Plugin
        • Unreal Engine: OptiTrack Live Link Plugin
          • UE5.1 Live Link Retarget External Workaround
        • Unreal Engine VCS Inputs
      • VR Unity
        • OptiTrack Unity Plugin
      • VR OpenVR
        • OptiTrack OpenVR Driver
    • VR HMD Setup
      • Unreal Engine: HMD Setup
      • Unity: HMD Setup
      • Manually Calibrating the HMD Pivot Point
      • Sync Configuration with an HTC Vive System
    • SlimX 13
    • Active Marker Tracking
      • Active Finger Marker Set
    • Synchronization Hardware
      • External Device Sync Guide: eSync 2
      • External Device Sync Guide: OptiHub2
  • ANIMATION
    • Autodesk Maya
      • Autodesk Maya: OptiTrack Insight VCS Plugin
    • Autodesk MotionBuilder
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder Plugin
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: OptiTrack Skeleton Plugin
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: OptiTrack Optical Plugin
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: OptiTrack Insight VCS Plugin
      • Autodesk MotionBuilder: Timecode Data
  • ROBOTICS
    • MoCap4ROS2 Setup
    • OptiTrack Robot Applications
    • Outdoor Tracking Setup
  • DEVELOPER TOOLS
    • Developer Tools Overview
    • Camera SDK
      • Class: cCameraModule
      • Class: cUID
    • Motive API
      • Motive API: Quick Start Guide
      • Motive API Overview
      • Motive API: Function Reference
      • Motive API Camera Calibration
    • NatNet SDK
      • NatNet 4.1
      • NatNet: Class/Function Reference
      • NatNet: Creating a Managed (C sharp) Client Application
      • NatNet: Creating a Native (C++) Client Application
      • NatNet: Data Types
      • NatNet: Matlab Wrapper
      • NatNet: Migration to NatNet 3.0 libraries
      • NatNet: Remote Requests/Commands
      • NatNet: Sample Projects
      • NatNet: Unicast Data Subscription Commands
      • Latency Measurements
    • VRPN Sample
    • Peripheral API: Glove Devices
  • SKELETON MARKER SETS
    • Full Body
      • Baseline (41)
      • Core (50)
      • Biomech (57)
      • Conventional (39)
    • Full Body + Fingers
      • Baseline + Passive Fingers (49)
      • Baseline + Active Fingers (57)
      • Core + Passive Fingers (54)
      • Core + Active Fingers (62)
    • Upper
      • Baseline Upper (25)
      • Conventional Upper (27)
    • Lower
      • Baseline Lower (20)
      • Helen Hayes Lower (19)
      • Conventional Lower (16)
    • Hand and Fingers
      • Left/Right Hand (4) Active
      • Left/Right Hand (10) Active + Passive
      • Active Finger Marker Set
    • Glove Device Setup
      • Manus Glove Setup
      • StretchSense Glove Setup
    • Rizzoli Marker Sets
    • Entertainment Marker Sets
    • Rigid Body Skeleton Marker Set
  • GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING
    • Licensing Troubleshooting
    • Windows 11 Optimization for Realtime Applications
    • Network Troubleshooting
    • Troubleshooting Q&A
    • Running Motive on High DPI Displays
    • Firewall Settings
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On this page
  • C3D Export
  • C3D Axes
  • Notes on Timecode Export
  • Streaming to Visual3D
  • V3S: Correcting Sync Offset

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  1. MOVEMENT SCIENCES

For Visual3D Users

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This page contains useful information for users who are outputting motion capture data from Motive into Visual3D.

For more information on Visual3D:

C3D Export

General Export Options

Option
Description

Frame Rate

Number of samples included per every second of exported data.

Start Frame

End Frame

Scale

Apply scaling to the exported tracking data.

Units

Sets the length units to use for exported data.

Axis Convention

Sets the axis convention on exported data. This can be set to a custom convention, or preset convetions for exporting to Motion Builder or Visual3D/Motion Monitor.

X Axis Y Axis Z Axis

Allows customization of the axis convention in the exported file by determining which positional data to be included in the corresponding data set.

C3D Specific Export Options

Options
Descriptions

Use Zero Based Frame Index

C3D specification defines first frame as index 1. Some applications import C3D files with first frame starting at index 0. Setting this option to true will add a start frame parameter with value zero in the data header.

Export Unlabeled Markers

Includes unlabeled marker data in the exported C3D file. When set to False, the file will contain data for only labeled markers.

Export Finger Tip Markers

Includes virtual reconstructions at the finger tips. Available only with Skeletons that support finger tracking (e.g. Baseline + 11 Additional Markers + Fingers (54))

Use Timecode

Includes timecode.

Rename Unlabeled As _000X

Unlabeled markers will have incrementing labels with numbers _000#.

Marker Name Syntax

Choose whether the marker naming syntax uses ":" or "_" as the name separator. The name separator will be used to separate the asset name and the corresponding marker name in the exported data (e.g. AssetName:MarkerLabel or AssetName_MarkerLabel or MarkerLabel).

C3D Axes

Common Conventions

Since Motive uses a different coordinate system than the system used in common biomechanics applications, it is necessary to modify the coordinate axis to a compatible convention in the C3D exporter settings. For biomechanics applications using z-up right-handed convention (e.g. Visual3D), the following changes must be made under the custom axis.

  • X axis in Motive should be configured to positive X

  • Y axis in Motive should be configured to negative Z

  • Z axis in Motive should be configured to positive Y.

This will convert the coordinate axis of the exported data so that the x-axis represents the anteroposterior axis (left/right), the y-axis represents the mediolateral axis (front/back), and the z-axis represents the longitudinal axis (up/down).

MotionBuilder Compatible Axis Convention

This is a preset convention for exporting C3D files for use in Autodesk MotionBuilder. Even though Motive and MotionBuilder both use the same coordinate system, MotionBuilder assumes biomechanics standards when importing C3D files (negative X axis to positive X axis; positive Z to positive Y; positive Z to positive Y). Accordingly, when exporting C3D files for MotionBuilder use, set the Axis setting to MotionBuilder Compatible, and the axes will be exported using the following convention:

  • Motive: X axis → Set to negative X → Mobu: X axis

  • Motive: Y axis → Set to positive Z → Mobu: Y axis

  • Motive: Z axis → Set to positive Y → Mobu: Z axis

Notes on Timecode Export

There is an known behavior where importing C3D data with timecode doesn't accurately show up in MotionBuilder. This happens because MotionBuilder sets the subframe counts in the timecode using the playback rate inside MotionBuilder instead of using the rate of the timecode. When this happens you can set the playback rate in MotionBuilder to be the same as the rate of the timecode generator (e.g. 30 Hz) to get correct timecode. This happens only with C3D import in MotionBuilder, FBX import will work fine without the change to the playback rate.

Streaming to Visual3D

Streaming tracking data into the Visual3D requires 2-step pipelines. Motive streams tracking data first into the Visual3D Server, and then from this application the data is streamed into Visual3D.

On Motive

Advanced Settings

The For Visual3D Users contains advanced settings that are hidden by default. Access these settings by going to the menu on the top-right corner of the pane and clicking Show Advanced and all of the settings, including the advanced settings, will be listed under the pane.

The list of advanced settings can also be customized to show only the settings that are needed specifically for your capture application. To do so, go the pane menu and click Edit Advanced, and uncheck the settings that you wish to be listed in the pane by default. One all desired settings are unchecked, click Done Editing to apply the customized configurations.

On Visual3D Server/Visual3D

V3S: Correcting Sync Offset

For a Single C3D

Prompt_For_Pipeline_Parameter_Value
/PIPELINE_PARAMETER_NAME=FRAME_OFFSET
/PROMPT=Please enter the frame offset, at POINT rate.
! /DATA_TYPE=
! /DEFAULT_VALUE=
! /USE_POSSIBLE_VALUES=FALSE
! /POSSIBLE_VALUES=
! /USE_UNITS=FALSE
! /DEFAULT_UNITS=
! /USE_POSSIBLE_UNITS=FALSE
! /POSSIBLE_UNITS=
! /CONVERSIONS=
;

Set_Use_Processed_Analog
 /USE_PROCESSED=TRUE
;

Shift_Frames
/SIGNAL_TYPES=ANALOG
! /SIGNAL_FOLDER=ORIGINAL
! /SIGNAL_NAMES=
! /RESULT_FOLDER=PROCESSED
! /RESULT_SUFFIX=
 /FRAME_SHIFT=-&::FRAME_OFFSET
 /REPLACEMENT_VALUE=0
;
Recalc
;

For Multiple C3D Trials

File_New

;

File_Open
! /FILE_NAME=
! /SUFFIX=
 /SET_PROMPT=File .C3D files with data offsets
 /FILTER=c3d
;

Set_Pipeline_Parameter_To_List_Of_Tagged_Files
/PARAMETER_NAME=FILE_LIST
/TAG_NAME=ALL_FILES
! /GET_CURRENT_SELECTED_FILES=false
! /USE_SHORT_FILENAMES=false
;

Set_Use_Processed_Analog
 /USE_PROCESSED=TRUE
;

Switch_to_Event_Processing_Mode

;

For_Each
/ITERATION_PARAMETER_NAME=FRAME_OFFSET_CYCLE
! /ITERATION_PARAMETER_COUNT_NAME=
 /ITEMS=::FILE_LIST
;

Select_Active_File
/FILE_NAME=::FRAME_OFFSET_CYCLE
! /QUERY=
;

Pipeline_Breakpoint
/PAUSE_MESSAGE=Confirm the exact number frame count offset between the POINT and ANALOG data for the current file.
Click "Resume Pipeline" when ready.
;

Prompt_For_Pipeline_Parameter_Value
/PIPELINE_PARAMETER_NAME=FRAME_OFFSET
/PROMPT=Please enter the frame offset, at POINT rate. NEGATIVE offset = Late ANALOG data
! /DATA_TYPE=
! /DEFAULT_VALUE=
! /USE_POSSIBLE_VALUES=FALSE
! /POSSIBLE_VALUES=
! /USE_UNITS=FALSE
! /DEFAULT_UNITS=
! /USE_POSSIBLE_UNITS=FALSE
! /POSSIBLE_UNITS=
! /CONVERSIONS=
;

Evaluate_Expression
/EXPRESSION=(PARAMETERS::ANALOG::RATE/PARAMETERS::POINT::RATE)
! /SIGNAL_TYPES=
! /SIGNAL_FOLDER=ORIGINAL
! /SIGNAL_NAMES=
! /RESULT_TYPES=DERIVED
! /RESULT_FOLDERS=PROCESSED
 /RESULT_NAME=RATE_RATIO
! /APPLY_AS_SUFFIX_TO_SIGNAL_NAME=FALSE
;

Shift_Frames
/SIGNAL_TYPES=ANALOG
! /SIGNAL_FOLDER=ORIGINAL
! /SIGNAL_NAMES=
! /RESULT_FOLDER=PROCESSED
! /RESULT_SUFFIX=
 /FRAME_SHIFT=::FRAME_OFFSET&*&DERIVED::PROCESSED::RATE_RATIO
 /REPLACEMENT_VALUE=0
;

Recalc

;

Tracking data can be exported into the C3D file format. C3D (Coordinate 3D) is a binary file format that is widely used especially in biomechanics and motion study applications. Recorded data from external devices, such as force plates and NI-DAQ devices, will be recorded within exported C3D files. Note that common biomechanics applications use a Z-up right-hand coordinate system, whereas Motive uses a Y-up right-hand coordinate system. More details on coordinate systems are described in the later section. Find more about C3D files from .

Start frame of the exported data. You can either set it to the recorded first frame of the exported Take or to the start of the working range, or scope range, as configured under the or in the .

End frame of the exported data. You can either set it to the recorded end frame of the exported Take or to the end of the working range, or scope range, as configured under the of in the .

When streaming into Visual3D Server, set the stream Visual3D Compatible to true in the . This will modify the axis of the streamed data. This setting is configured as the advanced setting by default. Click Show Advanced to bring up this setting.

Please refer to Visua3D docmentation for more information about the receiving streamed data in visual 3D. For more info: .

The following pipeline commands can be used in Visual3D to accommodate systematic synchronization offset frames between recorded mocap tracking data and another data. Save and import these commands into the Visual3D pipeline dialogue to execute the commands. For more information on Visual3D pipeline commands, refer to the c-motion wiki ().

https://www.c3d.org
Data Streaming Pane
Visual3D Server to Visual3D
https://www.c-motion.com/v3dwiki/index.php/Visual3D_Pipeline
Control Deck
Graph View pane
Control Deck
Graph View pane
C-Motion wiki
Visual3D biomechanics analysis software provided by C-Motion.
C3D export setting for applications using z-up right-handed coordinate systems.
C3D export MotionBuilder compatible axis setting
Data streaming settings of Motive for outputting data into Visual3D.