Simi Shape 3D
Simi Shape 3D is a markerless full-body 3D motion capture module for Simi Motion, using computer vision and machine learning to detect and quantify human and non-human movement across sport, medicine, automotive and media applications.
What is Simi Shape 3D?
Simi Shape 3D is a markerless motion capture and analysis module that runs as part of Simi Motion, the movement analysis software of German manufacturer Simi Reality Motion Systems GmbH. It reconstructs full-body 3D motion from video alone, using silhouette-based tracking driven by computer vision and machine learning algorithms, and it can quantify human and non-human movement.
The vendor describes a four-layer chain. An infrastructure layer records, stores, compresses, synchronises and calibrates any number and any type of cameras. A machine vision layer handles image manipulation and the localisation of objects and features. A 3D motion capture layer performs automated pose estimation on a full body or an object. A final layer covers data analytics and cloud, where recorded movements are stored, sorted, quantified and analysed. Camera count scales with the task: one camera can be enough, while more complex movements and larger spaces require more.
Because it sits inside Simi Motion, the module inherits a broad acquisition chain including synchronised high-speed video, kinematics, force plates, EMG and pressure measurement. It also supports hybrid tracking, where markers can be added to a markerless capture to resolve particular rotation axes or to validate results. The claimed benefits of dropping markers are no setup time, no misplacement errors, no artefacts from markers sliding on skin or clothing, no interference with the movement itself, and automatic processing.
Four application areas are presented: sport, medicine, automotive and media. Commercially the technology appears as on-site multi-camera systems, a cloud-based production and analytics offer, and development partnerships for device-specific pose estimation.
One point is essential. Simi has been a subsidiary of the ZF Group since May 2019, and the vendor's own homepage states that its Sports and Life Science Motion Capture division has been closed as per April 2026, even though the product site remains online and presents the product in the present tense.
What it does
- Capture full-body 3D motion without attaching a single marker
- Combine markers and markerless tracking within the same recording
- Synchronise and calibrate any number and type of cameras
- Estimate 3D pose automatically for a body or an object
- Quantify and analyse recorded movement in a few clicks
- Process high volumes of captures automatically for large-scale analytics
- Track non-human movement as well as human movement
When to use Simi Shape 3D / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Simi Shape 3D is the right fit.
When to use Simi Shape 3D
- Biomechanics laboratories and movement-science research groups that need marker-free capture validated against reference methods
- Sports performance staff working on technique, tactics, competition analysis and feedback training at high volume
- Clinical teams running gait, running and jump analysis or return-to-sport assessments
- Automotive engineering teams working on occupant ergonomics, human-machine interaction, robotics and autonomous driving
- Animation, VR/AR and broadcast teams that need character motion or live sports data without suiting up a performer
When not to use Simi Shape 3D
- Individuals and small studios: the enquiry form only offers budget brackets above 80,000 EUR and above 150,000 EUR
- Consumers, since the general terms of sale apply exclusively to businesses and public-law entities
- Teams wanting to install software themselves: there is no download, no trial version and no public documentation
- Developers looking to embed motion capture in their own stack, as no API or SDK is offered
- Buyers who need a product with a guaranteed roadmap, given that the vendor states its sports and life science division closed in April 2026
How to use Simi Shape 3D
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Contact the vendor through the enquiry form or by writing to sales@simi.com, indicating your application area and budget bracket
- Scope the installation with the vendor: the number of cameras depends on how complex the movement is and how large the capture volume needs to be
- Take delivery of the system, including the specialised PC that the vendor configures for high-speed camera recording and movement analysis
- Install the camera infrastructure in the capture space, whether laboratory, gym or stadium
- Let the infrastructure layer record, store, compress, synchronise and calibrate the camera streams
- Record the movement markerless, adding physical markers only if you want hybrid tracking for specific axes or for validation
- Let the automated 3D pose estimation process the capture without manual labelling
- Store, sort, quantify and analyse the recorded movements in the analytics layer
- Optionally add the Simi Motion Remote Control tablet to start and stop recordings, import teams and exercises from XML and replay in super slow motion on a second screen
- Use the included support hours, then contact service@simi.com for further assistance during German business hours
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Removes every constraint tied to markers: no attachment time, no misplacement errors, no skin or clothing artefacts, and no interference with the movement
- Hybrid tracking remains available when a difficult rotation axis or a validation step needs physical markers
- Scales from a single camera to a multi-camera rig, and the vendor states any camera can be used
- Automated processing is designed for high-volume, big-data style analysis rather than clip-by-clip work
- Sits inside a rich measurement chain with force plates, EMG, pressure and synchronised high-speed video
- Backed by more than thirty years of vision-based movement analysis and a claimed base of over 1000 customers
- Unusually transparent contractual documentation: terms of sale, service rules, published service rates and support hours tied to order value
Cons
- The vendor states on its own homepage that the Sports and Life Science Motion Capture division closed in April 2026, while the product site still presents the product as current
- No licence or system price is published anywhere: buying goes through a quotation, and the only budget brackets offered start above 80,000 EUR
- Heavy hardware dependency: multiple cameras plus a vendor-supplied dedicated PC on which installing any other software voids the warranty
- No API, no SDK and no mobile application, so the software cannot be embedded in another stack
- The product site is a single landing page with no documentation, no pricing page, no trial and no changelog
- The privacy policy covers website visits only and says nothing about the movement data recorded, which can be health or biometric data depending on use
- Support is chargeable beyond the included hours, limited to German business hours, and systems ordered more than five years ago get no free service at all
Pricing & Plans
There is no free plan and no free trial, and no licence or system price is published. Simi Shape 3D is sold by quotation: the enquiry form asks for an application area and a budget bracket, the two options offered being above 80,000 EUR and above 150,000 EUR, which are qualifiers rather than prices. The only figures the vendor publishes are service rates, set out in its service guideline. A day of on-site service costs 1,290 EUR plus tax within Europe and the United States, and 1,800 EUR in all other countries. An additional non-complimentary service hour costs 150 EUR. A replacement system can be rented at 30 EUR per day plus tax. Complimentary support hours are granted after purchase according to net order value, from 30 hours above 100,000 EUR down to none below 2,000 EUR, and are cut by 90 percent where hardware exceeds 60 percent of the order. The vendor states service prices may change without prior notice.
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Simi Shape 3D handles your data.
GDPR overview
The vendor is established in Germany, so no Article 27 representative is required or named. Its data protection page names a statutory data protection officer, Philipp Ruß, reachable on +49-89-321459-0 and at simi@simi.com, and states that personal data is treated confidentially and in accordance with statutory data protection law. The policy is written entirely under the GDPR, citing Article 6(1)(a), (b) and (f) as legal bases and listing the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection under Article 21, withdrawal of consent and complaint to a supervisory authority. SSL/TLS encryption is mentioned, IP anonymisation is enabled for analytics, and a processing agreement is in place with Google. Two limits matter: the policy carries no effective date or version number, and it addresses website visitors only, saying nothing about the movement data the software records.
Who owns the data?
Neither the website terms nor the general conditions of sale state who owns the motion data the software produces. The published privacy policy covers website visitors only. The one explicit allocation of responsibility appears in the service rules: if a system is returned to the factory, all data security, protection and privacy duties fall on the customer, who must secure and externally store personal data beforehand, and the vendor accepts no responsibility for anything left on the machine. In practice the software runs on a customer-operated PC, so captured data stays with the customer, but no contractual clause confirms ownership. This is a documentation gap worth raising with the vendor.
Reuse rights
The published documents say nothing about whether customers may reuse the motion data they record, and impose no licence restriction on it. Because the system is delivered as software on a dedicated PC operated by the customer, recorded material is held by the customer rather than by the vendor, and no clause requires permission before using, publishing or sharing it. The only restrictions the vendor does impose concern the machine itself: installing third-party software on the supplied PC voids all warranty claims. Website content is separately protected by German copyright, with reproduction and distribution beyond private use requiring written consent. Anyone with a contractual need for certainty on reuse rights should request it in writing.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
The vendor discloses very little about hosting. Its privacy policy states that the website is hosted by an external service provider but never names that provider, its country or its region, so no hosting jurisdiction is declared. For analytics, the policy notes that information generated by Google Analytics cookies is usually transmitted to a Google server in the United States and stored there, with IP anonymisation activated. As a purely technical observation rather than a vendor commitment, the site's IP address resolves to a host in Nuremberg, Germany. The product itself is software installed on a dedicated PC operated by the customer, so recorded movement data normally stays on customer premises. The one exception is the cloud-based production and analytics offer the vendor advertises, for which no hosting location, jurisdiction or safeguard is documented anywhere. Buyers with data residency requirements will need to ask directly.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Simi Shape 3D.
- The vendor states its Sports and Life Science Motion Capture division closed in April 2026 while the product site still sells the product in the present tense: confirm commercial and support status in writing before any commitment
- No email address exists on the product's own domain; every contact runs through the publisher's separate simi.com domain, so verify you are corresponding with the right entity
- The domain is registered to ZF Automotive Germany GmbH rather than to the company named in the site notice, which is consistent with group ownership but worth confirming
- The privacy policy covers website visits only and is silent on the movement data recorded, which may qualify as health or biometric data in clinical and sports settings; capturing people's bodies demands consent and a legal basis the vendor does not document
- Accuracy claims such as the world's most accurate markerless system are vendor statements: ask for the validation studies before treating outputs as clinically or scientifically authoritative
- Automated pose estimation can look more objective than it is; treat outputs as measurements with error bars, not as ground truth, especially when decisions about an athlete's health or return to play depend on them
- The contractual documents are dated: terms of sale from 2014 and service rules declared effective on 31/9/2013, a date that does not exist in the calendar
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
High. This is not self-service software: there is no download, no trial and no public documentation. A multi-camera rig must be installed, synchronised and calibrated in the capture space, with camera count driven by movement complexity and volume size. The system arrives on a specialised PC the vendor configures, and installing anything else on it voids the warranty. Simi Shape 3D is a module of Simi Motion, so a full Simi Motion installation is a prerequisite. Work not directly tied to the vendor's products, such as network integration, drivers or third-party EMG software, is billed separately.
Deployment
Behind Simi Shape 3D
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is Simi Shape 3D?
How many cameras do I need?
Which cameras are supported?
How accurate is it?
Why choose markerless over marker-based capture?
Can I still use markers if I need them?
Is there an API?
How much does it cost?
Is the product still being sold?
Who is behind Simi Shape 3D?
Should you pick Simi Shape 3D?
Simi Shape 3D is a serious piece of engineering with an unusually long lineage. Its publisher has spent more than thirty years on vision-based movement analysis and presents itself as the company that brought the first commercial markerless motion capture solution for biomechanics to market. The technical proposition is coherent: drop the markers, keep the accuracy, add hybrid capture when a difficult axis demands it, and plug the result into a measurement chain that already handles force plates, EMG and high-speed video. For a biomechanics laboratory or a performance department capturing at volume, that combination is genuinely valuable, and the published service rules and rates are more transparent than most vendors manage.
The reservation is significant and it concerns the product's future rather than its quality. The publisher's own homepage states that its Sports and Life Science Motion Capture division was closed as per April 2026, in the past tense and with a full farewell message, while the Simi Shape site stays online and still describes the product as current. The underlying 3D pose estimation work continues on the automotive side within the ZF Group, but that branch does not carry the Simi Shape name at all.
There is also no public price. Buying means a quotation, and the only budget brackets offered start above 80,000 EUR. Add the absence of any API, trial or self-service documentation, and this is a capital purchase requiring a direct conversation.
Anyone interested should first ask the vendor, in writing, whether Simi Shape 3D is still sold and still supported, and on what terms. Verify the commercial status before any commitment.
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