I’ve just finished creating a runtime blendshape generator and need to come up with a workflow which would allow developers to capture facial mocap data in real-time, mapped on to those same blendshape values.
Because, in this instance, the meshes and blendshapes are generated at runtime, I cannot configure this while in edit mode (hence why many existing solutions don’t meet the requirements - they require extensive configuration and setup). The saving grace however is that all my blendshape values are consistent over multiple meshes. To that end, I can imagine a workflow in which I have a dedicated XML/hardcoded script configuration that gets applied at runtime to any model generated the same way.
I’m just looking for the path of least resistance when it comes to retrieving these values from a webcamera. Is anyone aware of some existing examples I can use to make this vision a reality for peeps?
Are you looking for an Editor-only solution or do you wish to record Blendshapes at runtime in a standalone build?
For the Editor-only use case, I can recommend my remote plugin + iOS device. The plugin can transmit Blenshapes from the iOS device back to the Editor. But this solution will not work with a webcam.
I was hoping for a real-time solution in which you can animate the character directly without having to use an intermediary model with its own preconfigured blendshapes. In hindsight, the results seem to work just as well. The video shows my progress when remapping the blendshapes in runtime from a real skinnedmeshrender to fake ones on a bone-driven facial rig.
This is using FaceWare and a normal webcam. I’m going to keep looking for editor tools designed to work in play mode which can work using the same apparatus. As is, this requires a streaming server to pipe the data into Unity, which is just plain annoying as a workflow.
I’m sorry, I didn’t make it clear. My plugin works in real-time, but only in Editor (standalone builds are not supported out of the box).
If you have an iOS device, you can use it as blendshapes data source for your models.
Sadly I don’t have an iOS device :[ The results above come from a normal webcamera though - I’m using an older gen Microsoft Livecam. I do have a Kinect 2 which I’m prepping for body-based motion capture though, not sure if that’s viable as an addition to your tool?
My plugin only covers the AR Foundation API. And, unfortunately, Kinect is not supported by AR Foundation.
I have a plan to add body tracking support in the future, but again, this will be iOS only feature.
