Captury
Captury delivers markerless motion capture: video cameras track full body, fingers and facial expressions for several performers at once, with no suits or markers. Data streams live into Unreal, Unity and MotionBuilder, or is processed afterwards from recorded footage.
What is Captury?
Captury is a markerless motion capture technology: it reconstructs human movement from ordinary video cameras, with no markers, no suits and no preparation of the performer, who can be filmed in jeans and a t-shirt. One universal algorithm underpins the whole range, combining implicit volumetric optimisation-based template matching with two AI techniques so that processing stays fast and results stay stable.
The range covers six programs. CapturyLive is the real-time, turnkey hardware and software system: four to twelve Gigabit Ethernet cameras or more, wired through a network switch to a vision server shipped with Ubuntu pre-installed, generating live 3D data for several actors simultaneously. CapturyFace adds facial capture through blendshapes compatible with the 52 blendshapes of Apple's ARKit, in a helmet-mounted, static-webcam or multi-camera version, either standalone or as an add-on. CapturyInGame is a custom-built installation that tracks athletes during actual play, in real time indoors or in post-processing outdoors. CapturyStudio works from pre-recorded multi-view footage, with an unlimited number of videos and performers and a more affordable entry price. CapturyDome is a volumetric scanner that rebuilds textured 3D meshes frame by frame from high-resolution 4K cameras. CapturyReplay is a free Windows player.
Setting up is deliberately quick. Camera calibration runs in three stages and takes five to ten minutes; actor calibration takes seconds, the operator dropping a skeleton onto the person in any camera view or letting the system find them automatically. The vendor states that one person can run the whole system, indoors or outdoors, in cluttered scenes, under changing light and against moving backgrounds, and that tracking holds when two actors are close together, rolling on the ground, sitting or holding objects.
Output is built to leave the software immediately: live streaming into Unreal Engine through a Live Link plugin, into Unity, MotionBuilder or BoB, plus OSC, VRPN, ROS, OSVR and VIZRT; exports in FBX, BVH, C3D and CSV; a documented Python automation API and an open streaming SDK. Built-in charts measure 3D kinematics of the main bones and joints, fingers included, and AMTI and Bertec force plates are supported. Six fields are addressed: 3D game development, VFX and film, virtual reality, live entertainment, in-game player tracking and life sciences.
What it does
- Track full-body motion of several performers at once, in real time and without markers or suits
- Capture finger movement, every segment, as an add-on to body tracking
- Capture facial expressions through ARKit-compatible blendshapes, down to a single webcam
- Stream skeletons live into Unreal Engine, Unity, MotionBuilder or BoB
- Calibrate a multi-camera system in five to ten minutes and an actor in seconds
- Export motion data as FBX, BVH, C3D or CSV, or record takes for later processing
- Measure 3D kinematics and chart rotation and position of the main bones and joints
When to use Captury / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Captury is the right fit.
When to use Captury
- 3D game studios that want character animation without suits, markers or lengthy talent preparation
- VFX, film and advertising teams capturing performance from prototyping through to final production
- Virtual reality and location-based entertainment venues driving avatars from live visitor movement
- Sports teams and performance staff tracking athletes during real indoor or outdoor play
- Biomechanics and life-science laboratories that need objective 3D kinematic data on human movement
When not to use Captury
- Buyers who need a published price, since every quotation goes through a sales conversation
- Solo creators without the budget for four to twelve cameras, a switch and vision servers
- Teams wanting a browser or mobile tool: systems ship on Ubuntu workstations and servers
- Organisations requiring a named data hosting country or a published subprocessor list
- Anyone expecting self-service sign-up, since there is no online purchase path of any kind
How to use Captury
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Position the cameras around the capture volume and wire them through a network switch to the vision server
- Focus the cameras, then run lens calibration to measure distortion parameters and focal length
- Run volume calibration to establish the world coordinate system and the relative position of each camera
- Repeat volume calibration whenever cameras are moved; focusing and lens calibration are one-off operations
- Drop a skeleton onto the performer in any camera view, or let the system search for the person automatically
- Ask the performer to move and flex knees and arms so bone lengths and joint centres are scaled accurately
- Start tracking; in post-processing you may begin anywhere in the sequence and track forwards or backwards
- Stream live into Unreal through the Captury Live Link plugin, or into Unity, MotionBuilder or BoB
- Record motion and video takes, organise them by workflow, then export in FBX, BVH, C3D or CSV
- Download plugins and sample projects from the Resources page, or automate steps with the Python API
Pros & Cons
Pros
- No markers, no suits and no performer preparation: everyday clothing such as jeans and a t-shirt is enough
- Body, fingers, face and several actors handled together in a single interface
- Works well outside the studio, in cluttered scenes, outdoors and against dynamic backgrounds
- Fast to set up, with camera calibration in five to ten minutes and actor scaling in seconds
- Can be operated by a single person, with immediate on-screen feedback during capture
- Open output path: ready-made plugins, an SDK published on GitHub and a documented Python automation API
- Trial versions offered for the main products, and CapturyReplay for Windows is a free download
Cons
- No public pricing whatsoever: every purchase has to go through a sales conversation
- Substantial hardware commitment, from four to twelve cameras or more plus switch and vision servers
- Systems ship on Ubuntu workstations and servers; there is no web or mobile version
- The terms and privacy policy are written for a different website and date from November 2021
- Legal pages are visibly unfinished, with Lorem ipsum blocks and a second terms URL that is a blank template
- No email address on the captury.com domain; written contact runs through the parent company
- No about page, no legal notice, no stated hosting location and no named subprocessors
Pricing & Plans
No price is published anywhere on the site: the complete sitemap holds nine pages and none of them is a pricing page, so neither a lowest price point nor a currency can be stated. Captury is sold by quotation, through the 'Talk to an Expert' and 'Contact us' forms. There is no permanent free plan for the paid products. Trial versions are offered for CapturyLive, CapturyStudio and CapturyReplay: the first two on request through the contact form, while CapturyReplay for Windows is available as a direct free download. CapturyStudio is presented as having a more affordable entry price than CapturyLive, though no figure is given. Finger tracking and facial capture are sold as add-on modules, and CapturyInGame and CapturyDome are custom-built installations.
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Captury handles your data.
GDPR overview
Implementation is explicit but generic. The privacy policy devotes a full section to GDPR rights for EEA residents and enumerates eight of them: withdrawal of consent, information and access, rectification, objection, restriction, erasure, portability, and complaint to a supervisory authority. The vendor states that it acts as data controller when it determines the purposes of processing and as data processor when users submit personal data, and it names consent as its legal basis. Transfers outside the European Union are said to occur only with explicit consent or in the cases provided for by the GDPR, and identity verification is required before any rights request is answered. Two gaps stand out: no Article 27 EU representative and no data protection officer are named, and the only contact given is an address on the parent company's domain. Both documents date from 30 November 2021.
Who owns the data?
The terms state that the vendor does not own any content submitted through the website, and that the user alone is responsible for its accuracy, legality and intellectual property. The same document nonetheless grants the vendor a licence to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish or distribute that content for commercial, marketing or similar purposes, which reaches well beyond simply delivering the service. Under the privacy policy the vendor acts as data controller when it sets the purposes of processing, and as data processor when the user submits personal data, in which case the user becomes the controller. Both documents are dated 30 November 2021 and are written in the name of DARI Motion, Inc.
Reuse rights
The published documents govern the website and its related services rather than the on-premises capture software, so they say comparatively little about reusing captured motion data. Within that scope the vendor disclaims ownership of whatever the user submits, which leaves the user free to reuse it without asking permission. Running the other way, however, the user grants the vendor a licence to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish or distribute the same content for commercial, marketing or similar purposes, with no stated time limit and no opt-out. Users may delete certain personal data themselves or request removal of their account by writing to the vendor. Neither document mentions customer data being used to train AI models.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
No hosting country or region is disclosed. The privacy policy says only that, depending on the user's location, transfers may involve storing information in a country other than their own, and that transfers outside the European Union will take place only with explicit consent or in the cases provided for by the GDPR. Users are told they may ask about the legal basis for such transfers and the safeguards applied. Third parties are described by category rather than by name: cloud computing services, data analytics services, and sales and marketing services. On security, the vendor says information is held on servers in a controlled environment with reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards, while explicitly declining to guarantee any transmission over the internet. Note that the site's own IP address resolves to a Cloudflare anycast node, which indicates content delivery and says nothing about where customer data is stored.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Captury.
- The terms and privacy policy on captury.com describe a different website and bind a different named company, leaving the visitor's actual legal counterparty ambiguous
- Both legal documents date from November 2021, so retention, GDPR and data ownership statements are close to five years old
- The user grants a broad licence letting the vendor use, reproduce, modify, publish or distribute submitted content for commercial or marketing purposes
- Liability is capped at one dollar or the amount paid in the previous month, which is negligible against the cost of a capture installation
- Governing law and jurisdiction are set in Kansas, United States, despite a European presence and an announced GDPR framework
- No hosting country, no named subprocessors, no Article 27 EU representative and no data protection officer are disclosed
- Motion capture produces biometric-grade recordings of identifiable people, so consent and retention for performers, athletes and patients need handling beyond what the site documents
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Demanding at the top of the range, straightforward at the bottom. A CapturyLive installation is a physical project: mounting four to twelve Gigabit Ethernet cameras or more, cabling them through a switch to a vision server, then running focus, lens and volume calibration. Systems arrive with Ubuntu pre-installed, and volume calibration must be repeated whenever cameras move. Against that, calibration itself takes five to ten minutes, actor scaling takes seconds, and the vendor states one operator is enough. CapturyFace in its webcam version needs no specialised equipment at all, while CapturyInGame and CapturyDome are bespoke installations involving server clusters.
Deployment
Integrations
Behind Captury
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
Do performers need markers or a special suit?
Can several people be tracked at the same time?
Are fingers and faces tracked as well as the body?
Which engines and software can receive the data live?
What export formats are available?
How many cameras are needed and how long does calibration take?
Is there an API?
Is there a free version or a trial?
How much does it cost?
Can it be used outdoors?
Should you pick Captury?
Captury is a mature, well-equipped answer to a specific problem: getting clean 3D human motion without putting anyone in a suit. The range is coherent rather than scattered, with one universal algorithm behind real-time capture, post-processing from recorded footage, facial capture, athlete tracking in real games and volumetric scanning. The engineering choices that matter to a production team are all present: calibration in minutes, actor scaling in seconds, operation by a single person, tolerance for cluttered and outdoor scenes, and an output path that leaves the software immediately through engine plugins, standard export formats, a published SDK and a documented Python automation API.
The reservations are commercial and administrative rather than technical. Nothing about pricing is public, so the only way to size a project is to talk to a salesperson, and the hardware commitment behind a four-to-twelve camera installation is real. More awkwardly, the legal apparatus does not match the site: the terms and privacy policy are written for the parent company's other website, they date from November 2021, they still carry unfinished Lorem ipsum blocks, and a second terms URL is nothing but a blank template. There is no legal notice, no about page and no email address on the site's own domain.
For a game or VFX studio, a sports performance department or a biomechanics laboratory, the technology is clearly the point and it is convincingly documented. Buyers with procurement or compliance obligations should expect to ask directly for what the site does not publish: pricing, the contracting entity that will actually sign, where data is hosted, and which subprocessors are involved.
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