Motion capture is simply the process of recording movement. It is used in entertainment to capture specific motions for animations, in medicine for doctors to diagnose and treat their patients, and in sports for athletes to improve their physical performance. In more technical terms, motion capture uses sensors, whether they be on- or off-body, to record objective data such as joint kinematics, global orientations, and force analysis.

In the past, this data could only be measured in a lab filled with expensive cameras, treadmills, and markers, but now, wearable motion capture brings the data to you. At Brave, our motion capture technology eliminates the need for cameras and provides a wearable alternative to capture movement in athletes anywhere, anytime. A series of wearable, adjustable sensors work together to provide accurate objective data to ensure performance improvement and reduce risk of injury in athletes.

Imagine a high school football player named Liam. His school’s starting quarterback but he hasn’t been throwing as well as he had anticipated this season. His completion percentage is only 53% and he knows that his team will not be able to make it to the playoffs if he keeps throwing this way.

After practice one day, his coach pulls him aside and asks if he would like to try something different to help improve his throw. Liam agrees, hopeful for any improvement in his performance. His coach introduces him to Valor: motion capture used to pinpoint inefficiencies in throwing form and then work to alter it. Although a bit hesitant to turn to science for answers, Liam reads the testimonies of many other athletes who used Brave’s Valor to drastically improve their performance and decides to try it.

The next day, he and his coach meet at their training center, where Liam puts on the Valor sensors all over his body and throws a few footballs to several desired targets. The sensors immediately pick up on the fact that Liam is throwing shoulder-first instead of leading with his hips to throw the football. His coach relays this information to him as he watches his player’s movement on the Valor software.

“You should begin rotating your pelvis, then your torso, and finally your shoulder to properly throw a football,” he says

On the screen, it shows that Liam tends to throw the ball with only his shoulder. The Valor report tells him that if he can find a way to engage his hips, he will see better results on the field.

For the next month, Liam focuses solely on rotating his hips as he throws the football. Whether it be a gentle pass or a 40 yard throw, he notices that hip rotation has a big role to play in controlling the velocity of a throw. In his games, his teammates start to receive a greater amount of his passes. Now, his completion percentage has grown to 60%. For the rest of the season, Liam keeps on improving his throw and takes his team all the way to the playoffs. He also begins to receive college recruiting offers from several universities across the country.

Motion capture provides objectivity – the basis of our increasingly data-driven world. In sports, statistics have come to influence every movement, every play call, and every minute decision. Instead of getting clouded in subjective opinion, motion capture cuts straight to the facts: the numbers, the data. Moreover, physical inefficiencies that were once missed with video are now highlighted by motion capture. This technology captures and analyzes the appropriate metrics, which are then interpreted by a professional and can help improve a player’s coordination and athletic ability.

is and always will be the most important aspect in a player’s career. As the clock inevitably ticks on during an athlete’s career, motion capture is there to save time. By quickly identifying faulty movements and correcting them using calculated, data-fueled methods, an athlete can truly improve their trade.

Granting access to previously exclusive technology, wearable motion capture has and will revolutionize the rapidly growing field of motion capture. Brave’s wearable motion capture technology has turned motion capture into a superpower for anyone’s hands, even yours. After all, we have and always will prioritize and emphasize

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