Vicon announces new FK Extreme motion capture system for game developers

8 March 2007: Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture systems, announced today the launch of the FKextreme system, catering specifically to game developers and small studios. FKextreme will be introduced at the Game Developers Conference, Booth 354 WH, 7-9th March, 2007 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.

"There has been a perception in the marketplace that Vicon motion capture is out of reach of small to mid-sized animation facilities and game developers. FKextreme is an incredibly affordable and accessible motion capture system that delivers better price performance than any other professional mo-cap system targeting these customers," explained Robin Pengelly, Business Development Manager, Vicon Entertainment. "Over recent years a number of low-cost systems have been released, but they have significant limitations and technical roadblocks for production use. Vicon has taken our flagship system and pipeline and brought the price within the reach of small studios and first-time game producers. "

With an extensive amount of new camera engineering and a simplified, user-friendly software interface, FKextreme delivers incredible price performance in a setup comprised of Vicon's MX3+ cameras, new processing software and a full customer support package. The software component contains all of the underlying power of Vicon's robust architecture, in a new graphical user interface (GUI) that takes the user step-by-step through the process of running a motion capture system.

"This new software interface is very appealing to first time users, because ultra high-end motion capture can seem a bit daunting. However, the same GUI can be easily customised by someone experienced in motion capture who wants to design their own specific interface and workflow," continued Pengelly.

Changes have been made to the design of the VICON MX3+ cameras to significantly increase their performance metrics. Along with the new software interface, a sophisticated plug-in suite for many 3d packages including the popular Autodesk MotionBuilder allows true cinematic workflows. Real-time pre-visualisation is now available in a simple point-and-click environment. The plug-in also enables skeletal data to be transferred from multiple characters and layered in real-time via a live remote control interface to essentially use MotionBuilder as an animation-recording tool.

The new FKextreme system is ideally suited to small to mid-sized game development and animation facilities and is great for capturing both in-game motions and cinematic sequences with up to two performers. The benefits of the latest Vicon system are that while incredibly powerful, it is also fully extensible for facilities that aim to expand into multiple performer capture sessions with high degrees of interaction between characters.

The new Vicon FKextreme Motion Capture system is based on the same Vicon motion capture technology in place at world-leading game developers including Electronic Arts, Sony, Computer Entertainment of America, Activision, Ubisoft, Microsoft Games, Midway Games, Square, Capcom, Konami, NAMCO, Nintendo, Sega and top film effects studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Animal Logic, Rhythm & Hues and many others.

About Oxford Metrics Group

Oxford Metrics Group plc (LSE: OMG) is a group of technology companies which produce image understanding solutions for the entertainment, defence, life science and engineering industries. Be it for capturing the movements of actors (for the movie industry), sportsmen (for video games or improving team performance), children with cerebral palsy, rehab patients and animals (for medical, life science and research industries) or virtual reality displays (for engineering and development), the Group has the world leading market position and a strong international reputation for precision instruments.

Founded in 1984, the Group's headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and has offices in California and Colorado, USA. It has customers in over 35 countries and is a quoted company listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. The Group trades through two core operating subsidiaries - Vicon, the world's biggest motion capture and movement analysis company and 2d3, a manufacturer of specialised visual effects software.

Oxford Metrics' global clients in science, medicine, sport, engineering, gaming, film and broadcast include major hospitals and research facilities such as Guy's Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic and Loughborough University, engineering industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus, Caterpillar, and Toyota, and in the entertainment sector, Sony, Industrial Light and Magic, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, EA, Square Enix and many others.

For more information about Oxford Metrics and its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, or www.2d3.com

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