NaturalMotion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NaturalMotion is a software company with offices in Oxford and San Francisco. Founded in November 2001 as a spin-out of Oxford University, the company specializes in creating animation technology for the game and film industries.
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[edit] Technology
NaturalMotion is the first company to commercialize procedural animation technology, which they call Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS). DMS is based on a real-time simulation of biomechanics and the motor control nervous system [1]. As such, it has roots in biology and robot control theory. NaturalMotion states that DMS allows for fully interactive 3D characters, as it is not based on canned animation. DMS is used in the company's products endorphin and Euphoria, with the former being a 3D application and the latter being a run-time engine for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
[edit] Customers
NaturalMotion's technology is in use at many film and games companies, including Sony, The Mill, Electronic Arts, Moving Picture Company, Konami, Capcom, Sega and many more. Movies and games featuring endorphin animation include Troy, Poseidon, The Getaway, Tekken 5 and Metal Gear Solid.
In 2006, LucasArts announced that it will use the Euphoria engine in the upcoming Indiana Jones and Star Wars games. In 2007, Rockstar Games announced it has licensed this engine for many of their new and upcoming games, with the first announced title being Grand Theft Auto IV. It is noted that several staff members of NaturalMotion joined video game developers to develop titles based on the Euphoria engine.
In August 2007, NaturalMotion announced Backbreaker, an American Football game that utilizes Euphoria to generate interactive tackles in real-time [2].
