Attached Link: Link to video

Yes, this works with our Manga Studio 5.  Doesn't work with Poser at the moment, don't know if there are plans for that (and if I did, I couldn't tell you anyway).  It's a great device. I got to use it during our recent NY press tour.

Oh look at that! The video is actually of Manga Studio 5. How neat. Or is that the 3D app to get models into Manga Studio...need a closer look there.

Not clear that it's any better than mouse manipulation.  You have to move one part at a time, which is exactly what you can do with a mouse or joystick or whatever. 

I suppose if you had three or four people wiggling the mannequin at once, you could get realtime action of more than one part... but it would get crowded in there, and three or four people aren't easy to coordinate.

You have to use it to appreciate it. Trust me. It's a lot faster than messing around with rotation handles.  It's also plug and play.  It's also limited to actual joint movement, so you don't get super bizarre poses. If you pose the arm, the collar auto follows. So that's handy. 

That model is cool.

I can imagine with what took two to four dial movements can easily be done in one movement with both hands on the model.

Pretty much. There's also an internal gyro so you can rotate the figure in 3D while working on the joints - just using both hands, one to hold it and one to move the joint. Anyways, I liked it. I could see benefit for it and everyone from Popular Mechanics on to CNet thought it was the sweetest thing since sliced bread, lol. Hope it comes stateside officially soon. At the moment it's only in Japan, so it's a bit expensive but would pay for itself over time.

I wonder how it compares to one of the cheaper mo-cap units ? 

Whelp, It's awesome.  The downside?  I "invented" this about four years ago, in my head, and never made a move for lack of know-how.

The shame is that there is not enough of a public demand for this, so it will always be an expensive specialty tool.

Quote - Whelp, It's awesome.  The downside?  I "invented" this about four years ago, in my head, and never made a move for lack of know-how.

The shame is that there is not enough of a public demand for this, so it will always be an expensive specialty tool.

 

There's more than the IPAD out there. As long as you don't steal from the company maybe you can still make it work.

Also, 750 bucks is out the range of a lot people. Maybe you can do it cheaper!

We've had a lot of positive feedback from the reviewers that tried it wtih MS. Maybe we'll be able to influence them to bring it to the west.

it cost more than nearly two seats of poser
and it wont help with realistic animation unless you learn your graph editor and dope sheet to refine the transitions between  your blocky "pose to pose" animation.

and what about IK? for squating and leaping animations

not a wise purchase option for character animation in poser IMHO

Cheers

It works with IK in Manga Studio. If we do end up adding support for it in Poser, I don't see why it can't work with IK in Poser. 

"I don't see why it can't work with IK in Poser.
"
Well first you must convince SM to actually fix IK in poser as it is horribly broken.( search this forum for my many description of the all or nothing problem of poser IK)

I understand that 99.9% of the poser user base does not want to learn to use the existing CA tools tool as they are quite outdated by todays standards.
 
But  IMHO before you spend $700 plus dollars for this  Doll gimmick
you should consider just using the Free Daz studio and buying the aniMate plugin where you can easily mix various motions  in a nonlinear fashion like editing various video clips together and export them as animated pose files(PZ2) to poser.

This is what I have been doing for years and actually making money at it.

Cheers

I have to agree with Wolf on the IK issues in Poser. Although I don't think it is 'broken' so much as it hasn't been touched since P4. A full IK/FK system would open up the animation potential quite a bit (and lets face it; how many newbie animators give up after starting something, switching the IK status, and finding that they have just trashed their past X hours worth of work....?). Just like having a spherical gizmo onscreeen that links to the motion functions of  selected body part would speed up the keyframing process (I hate to think how much trouble morphs would be with that, but basic skeletal motion, and do the fine tuning with the dials would be good. I know the gizmo they added in Vue has sped up manipulations in that app).

The question on the sensor doll is how sturdy is it. If it only lasts, say, 50,000 translations, that might get you partway through a busy year.  And if it disintegrates if it ever falls on a hard floor, well........  

Man, just bloody hell, really, with all the negative nancys.

Hey, if it gets some tlc paid to the animation controls......

Quote - Whelp, It's awesome.  The downside?  I "invented" this about four years ago, in my head, and never made a move for lack of know-how.

Ummm, you read my mind then because I 'invented' it too...!

I think many a poser user has thought of the same thing over the years, especially since the original poser was marketed as an electronic artists manequin - just the whole thing in reverse really, use a manequin to set poses in Poser.

How about a manequin and a Microsoft Kinect - anything available in that field yet?

Quote - especially since the original poser was marketed as an electronic artists manequin - just the whole thing in reverse really, use a manequin to set poses in Poser.

Nice, Ironic Full Cirlce.