• University of Oslo logo

Motion Capture: The Art of Studying Human Activity

Learn about how to record, visualize, and analyze human body motion.

893 enrolled on this course

Motion capture illustration

Motion Capture: The Art of Studying Human Activity

893 enrolled on this course

  • 6 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Introductory level

Find out more about how to join this course

Learn about how to record, visualize, and analyze human body motion.

This online course from the University of Oslo is for everyone interested in human motion capture. You’ll start by learning the basics of human anatomy and biomechanics. Then we’ll move on to setting up, calibrating and recording with an infrared optical motion capture system. Some other sensing technologies will also be presented, including accelerometers, muscle sensors, and video recordings. Examples will be given of how such systems are used in various types of music research. Finally, you’ll learn about some of the ethical and legal challenges of working with human motion capture.

Download video: standard or HD

Skip to 0 minutes and 18 seconds So what actually happens internally  in his body is he’s using his muscles

Skip to 0 minutes and 27 seconds So that’s on his side and we go anterior  is towards the front and posterior  Hi and welcome to this RITMO course on motion capture My name is Alexander Jensenius and I’m a professor of music technology here at  the University of Oslo But what is actually motion capture Well that’s actually a very good  question because it’s not so easy to answer because some people think about motion capture as  these suits that you put on with markers etc But you may also think about motion capture as more  generally just a way of being able to capture   some kind of human body motion And in general I would say that you can kind of separate between observational based motion capture Another one is to use different types of technologies to be able to capture the motion and that’s the focus  of the course that we’re going to have here now   but then Jonna, why do we actually want  to work with motion capture in the first place   in music research and also outside of music research?

Skip to 1 minute and 25 seconds Yeah well that’s a very good question

What topics will you cover?

  • Introduction to movement analysis
  • Anatomy and biomechanics
  • Infrared motion capture
  • Video-based analysis
  • Accelerometry and muscle sensing
  • Motion capture in music research
  • Ethical and legal matters

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe the musculoskeletal system and biomechanics of the human body
  • Reflect on the usage of various motion capture systems for different applications
  • Describe the setup of an infrared marker-based motion capture system
  • Identify challenges working with different types of motion capture systems
  • Explain some ethical issues related to motion capture of human participants

Who is the course for?

This online course from the University of Oslo is for everyone interested in human motion capture.

What software or tools do you need?

The course describes several advanced motion capture systems. You can complete the course without any specialized equipment but will need access to a motion capture lab to get hands-on experience with the presented technologies.

Who will you learn with?

Professor of music technology, University of Oslo. Director of the fourMs Lab and Director of RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time, and Motion

I am a senior engineer at RITMO. I split my time as lab engineer and data manager.

Researcher, RITMO, Department of Musicology, University of Oslo.

Research interests: music ensemble performance, attention and mental effort, music and motion, collaborative creativity.

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Musicology, University of Oslo.
Research interests: Embodied music cognition, music and motion, rhythm and dance.

I'm a postdoctoral researcher at RITMO, UiO, where I study human movement in relation to music. I have background in human movement science and mechanical engineering.

Associate Professor of Music Cognition at the RITMO Centre, University of Oslo

My research interests are music and emotion, empathy, and the social and embodied cognition of music

Who developed the course?

University of Oslo

Founded in 1811, the University of Oslo (UiO) is the highest ranked institution of education and research in Norway.

Ways to learn

Buy this course

Subscribe & save

Limited access

Choose the best way to learn for you!

$134/one-off payment

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Free

Fulfill your current learning needDevelop skills to further your careerSample the course materials
Access to this courseticktick

Access expires 30 Apr 2024

Access to 1,000+ coursescrosstickcross
Learn at your own paceticktickcross
Discuss your learning in commentstickticktick
Certificate when you're eligiblePrinted and digitalDigital onlycross
Continue & Upgrade

Cancel for free anytime

Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 30 Apr 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Learner reviews

Learner reviews cannot be loaded due to your cookie settings. Please and refresh the page to view this content.

Get a taste of this course

Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...

You can use the hashtag #FLmotioncapture to talk about this course on social media.