Big Leap Forward for Animation Production at Gearbox Software

ENSCHEDE, The Netherlands, June 28 2007.

Gearbox Software, LLC and Xsens Technologies B.V. announce that Gearbox, one of the world's leading independent video game developers, has selected Moven as their new motion capture system. The great ease of use and flexibility provided by the sensor suit-based system will greatly reduce the costs of their game production pipeline.

Customer experience

"Xsens has achieved something special with Moven", said PJ Putnam, Vice President of Gearbox. "Moven allows us to record motion capture data for any application in its natural environment, whether indoors or outdoors. An actor who plays a soldier can wear the Moven suit underneath his military
attire, which results in more realistic motions. By using two Moven systems we can capture multiple actors simultaneously in a fighting or combat scene. Moven does not suffer from problems of occlusion and missing markers which we find in the existing (optical) motion capture technologies. Besides, the price is substantially lower than that of an optical system."

Advantages of inertial motion capture

Moven is based on small inertial sensors, integrated in a comfortable suit, which transmit their motion data wirelessly to a laptop which calculates the position and orientation of all body segments in real-time. As specialist in inertial sensor technology and with a proven track record in supplying the biomechanics community, Xsens makes full use of the sensor
data, enabling unprecedented freedom of movement, dynamic range and accuracy. The utilization of inertial sensor technology enables Moven to be used anywhere. Neither cameras, emitters, markers nor a dedicated studio are needed to perform a motion capture session.

Easy to use software

Moven makes motion capture as simple as using any plug-and-play device: install the software, plug in the hardware, and the system is up and running. Moven can even be operated by the actor himself, no assistance is needed in the calibration procedure or in the recording session. The software (Moven Studio) gives a real-time view of the actor and offers the
opportunity to evaluate recorded motions by playing it back in normal, fast and slow motion. Moven Studio provides a data format which is compatible with all major 3D content creation software such as 3ds Max, Maya, MotionBuilder, Softimage|XSI or Lightwave 3D.

Siggraph 2007

Xsens will launch Moven to the international community on 7-9 August at Siggraph 2007 in San Diego, California. Visitors are welcome to booth 109 for a comprehensive hands-on demonstration of the system and its capabilities.

About Xsens Technologies B.V.

Xsens Technologies B.V. is a leading supplier of products for
measurement of motion, orientation and position, based upon miniature MEMS inertial sensor technology. Xsens' products are used in various markets such as 3D animation, movement science, robotics and unmanned systems. Their latest product is the inertial motion capture suit Moven. Xsens is based in Enschede, The Netherlands. For additional information, please
visit www.xsens.com.

About Gearbox Software, LLC

Gearbox Software, LLC is an independent, award-winning developer of interactive entertainment responsible for best-selling titles on all major gaming platforms e.g. 'Brothers in Arms' (published by Ubisoft Entertainment), 'Half-Life Counter Strike' (published with Valve by Sierra Studios), 'Halo-PC (published with Bungie by Microsoft); Gearbox is currently working on 'Brothers in Arms - Hell's Highway' and 'Aliens - FPS' (to be published with Fox Entertainment by SEGA). Gearbox Software, LLC is based in Plano, Texas, USA. For additional information, please visit http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/.


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