The Motion Capture of Dress in Etruscan Dance: preliminary tests

<p>The process or technique of recording patterns of movement&nbsp;digitally is now regularly used for different human movements, such as dance. But what about textiles? Recording textiles presents several challenges, notably due to the lack of a fixed structure and the great variability of the material. But there would be also opportunities. The Motion Capture system has been used to record body movements of specific spinning and weaving process (see the experiments at the Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark). But in which extent can it be used for textiles themselves? What would be the possibilities offered by this technic? Can the challenges be solved? How and in which extent this technic could produce new information about ancient clothing and society?<br><br>The two preliminary MoCap tests published here present the case of ancient clothes that were used in performative rituals during pre-Roman Antiquity. They specifically build on the results of the Marie Curie project TEXDANCE (ID n° 839799) that aimed at studying dress in Etruscan dance. One of the objectives was to study dress movement in dance. Clothes give indeed complementary information to the body movements, which permit to better understand the kind of dance represented in Etruscan iconography.<br><br>The preliminary tests were performed with a skirt in viscose. The aim was to remove existing doubts about the possibility or not of digitally capturing the movements of dress, and to determine what were the difficulties to be solved when working with objects as unstable as textiles. The tests were carried out on the FR-SCV digital platform, with Laurence Willard Delbarre, instrumentation and experimental techniques engineer.<br><br>Test 1: the first phase of the experimentation, which consists of placing the different sensors on the cloth, is crucial. It was decided to resolve as much as possible the problem of variability between two sensors, by multiplying the sensors over the area to be recorded, and by placing them very close to each other. The aim was to keep as much of a continuous trace in the structure as possible. We began the investigation by focusing on the movement produced by the lower part of the garment selected for the experiment. The aim was to see how it behaved in relation to the movements of the dancing body. Thus, a Velcro strip was stuck all over the garment, to which the sensors were attached. This resulted in a horizontal strip of sensors in the lower part of the skirt. And in order to give the garment an orientation, we placed two sensors vertically on the front part. The next phase of the experiment was to record the movement of the skirt. This skirt (worn by the author) was positioned in the centre of the MoCap system, and therefore was surrounded by multiple high-speed cameras. To set the fabric in motion, the movements performed were as follows: 1. walk; 2. turn around; 3. turn from side to side; 4. alternating walk and lift of each leg; 5. alternating jump and lift of each leg. The first results were very satisfying since we were able to follow the different movements of the fabric. Some sensors tended to sometimes disappear from the capture, notably during the first four seconds of the recording, then occasionally during the recording. This is due to minor issues with calibration and placement of the cameras around the body. Despite these minor issues, we can track and calculate the movement of the cloth.<br><br>Test 2: with test 1, we discovered that we were missing information regarding the cloth's height, its overall movement, and its movement relative to the upper body. So, we decided to add vertical lines of sensors on the right and left sides of the fabric, and the wearer put on the MoCap upper jacket with sensors placed on several crucial articulation points. Subsequent testing and recording, based on a similar sequence of movements, yielded more results on the overall trajectory of the garment, on the relationship between the fabric and the moving body, on fabric behaviour, and ergonomics.<br><br>These MoCap tests are possible thanks to the support of the CPER ENHANCE and the Research Federation Visual Sciences and Cultures (University of Lille, France).</p>