Rokoko names a rival while selling a camera-free suit

The shot

Rokoko, the Denmark-based motion-capture company, documents two separate capture methods under one brand: a wearable inertial suit line and a newer AI camera tool, Rokoko Vision, now rebuilt as a monocular, single-camera solver inside a platform called Rokoko Create.

What the documents show

The Smartsuit Pro II product page specifies the hardware precisely: “9 degrees of freedom IMU sensors connected to a hub,” stated to hold “3D orientation accuracy: ± 1 deg,” shipped with a Wi-Fi hub and requiring only a Windows or macOS computer, a Wi-Fi network and a USB power bank — “no external cameras, markers, or studio modifications are required,” per Rokoko's own FAQ. That page draws a direct, named comparison this site should flag as a vendor's own claim rather than an independent test: asked how the suit compares to optical and other systems, Rokoko states that “compared to video-based AI solutions (like Move.ai), the Smartsuit delivers higher-fidelity data with less post-cleanup and with live-streaming options,” while noting Xsens is “often preferred for biomechanics research” despite a similar sensor count. Separately, the Rokoko Vision product page documents an unrelated method: a “monocular AI solver” that processes an uploaded video file; webcam live capture and a dual-camera mode were both removed in the Vision 3.0 rebuild, per the page's own FAQ, because most users were already uploading pre-recorded files and the single-camera solver now outperforms the retired dual-camera one.

The workflow

An independent animator choosing the suit route buys hardware and, per Rokoko's own setup description, can be “recording in under 5 minutes” after pairing and calibration, with the free tier of Rokoko Studio handling capture and paid tiers adding live streaming and export options. Choosing Vision instead means no suit purchase at all: a creator records a performance on any camera, uploads the file to Rokoko Create, and receives processed motion data limited by a monthly processing-time allowance stated on the pricing page. Either route still ends in Rokoko Studio for cleanup, retargeting to a named rig preset such as HumanIK, Mixamo or Unreal Engine, and export.

What the tool does not change

Rokoko's own comparison to Move.ai is a competitor claim, not a published benchmark, and its accuracy figure for the suit describes the sensor's stated spec, not a validated result on a finished animation. Selecting a rig preset, cleaning foot sliding or jitter, and judging whether a performance is usable for a shot remain an animator's decisions in either workflow.

• Is a stated comparison between two vendors' systems published by either company itself, and does that change how much weight it deserves?
• Does a “no cameras needed” claim describe the primary hardware product, or a separate camera-based tool the same company also sells?
• What does a subscription tier's processing-time limit mean for a production's actual shot count, checked against the current pricing page?

Rokoko's own documentation is unusually candid about trade-offs between its two product lines and a named competitor, which makes it a useful text for practicing the exact distinction this site keeps returning to: a vendor's comparative claim, clearly labelled, is still a vendor's claim.