BOSTON: MIT scientists have developed a way to 3D print “motion sculptures” from two dimensional videos that can help professional athletes and dancers to better visualise human body movements.
The system uses an algorithm that can take 2D videos and turn them into that show how a human body moves through space.
In addition to being an intriguing aesthetic visualisation of shape and time, the team envisions that their “MoSculp” system could enable a much more detailed study of motion for professional athletes, dancers, or anyone who wants to improve their physical skills.
“Imagine you have a video of Roger Federer serving a ball in a tennis match, and a video of yourself learning tennis,” said PhD student Xiuming Zhang at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
“You could then build motion sculptures of both scenarios to compare them and more comprehensively study where you need to improve,” said Zhang.
Since motion sculptures are 3D, users can use a computer interface to navigate around the structures and see them from different viewpoints, revealing motion-related information inaccessible from the original viewpoint.
Artists and scientists have long struggled to gain better insight into movement, limited by their own camera lens and what it could provide.
Previous work has mostly used so-called “stroboscopic” photography techniques, which look a lot like the images in a flip book stitched together.
However, since these photos only show snapshots of movement, you wouldn’t be able to see as much of the trajectory of a person’s arm when they’re hitting a golf ball, for example.
These photographs also require laborious pre-shoot setup, such as using a clean background and specialised depth cameras and lighting equipment. All MoSculp needs is a video sequence, researchers said.
Given an input video, the system first automatically detects 2D key points on the subject’s body, such as the hip, knee, and ankle of a ballerina while she’s doing a complex dance sequence.
Then, it takes the best possible poses from those points to be turned into 3D “skeletons.”
After stitching these skeletons together, the system generates a motion sculpture that can be 3D printed, showing the smooth, continuous path of movement traced out by the subject.
Users can customise their figures to focus on different body parts, assign different materials to distinguish among parts, and even customise lighting.
The system works best for larger movements, like throwing a ball or taking a sweeping leap during a dance sequence.
It also works for situations that might obstruct or complicate movement, such as people wearing loose clothing or carrying objects.
Currently, the system only uses single-person scenarios, but the team soon hopes to expand to multiple people.
This could open up the potential to study things like social disorders, interpersonal interactions, and team dynamics. (AGENCIES)
But who’s the favourite?
“That’s difficult but I have a soft corner for Suranjoy. He is phenomenal, I have never seen a more hard-working guy. He deserved so much and I still get sad that he never got to compete in the Olympics,” he said referring to the Manipuri, who was nicknamed ‘Chhota Tyson’ for his aggressive streak.
What about his favourite moment as coach?
“Might sound cliched but it was after Beijing Olympics when Vijender had become this huge star surrounded by people all the time. At one such gathering, he took my hand and brought me forward and announced to everyone present ‘this is my coach’, it was an emotional moment for me,” he said.
A Subedar in the army, Kuttappa’s boxing journey began in 1992-93 after a tryst with swimming, volleyball and even athletics.
He was deemed a slow mover in the ring but powerful hitter nonetheless.
“I was hard working too and in 1996 I was picked by the Army. It didn’t start so well for me but in 1997 I got the junior national gold and eventually moved to the senior camp,” said the former lightweight and light welterweight boxer.
“The high point of my fighting career was a National Games gold in 2002 but overall it didn’t work out the way I wanted because of several factors. Eventually, I was advised to complete a coaching diploma, which I did and that’s been my life,” added the Karnataka-based coach.
Talking about the challenges of coaching, Kuttappa said he has mostly enjoyed the ride but there are aspects of the job, which can be called testing.
“Staying away from family for months is one. I have a young child and it is sometimes difficult for me to go about my job with my family so far away. They visit me in Patiala but obviously it’s not the same,” he said.
“But then what’s life without a little challenge,” he signed off. (AGENCIES)
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