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You won´t find Ajjen Joshi ´12 in an office wearing a standard pinstripe suit this summer

Ajjen Joshi ´12 shows off his motion capture suit.
Ajjen Joshi ´12 shows off his motion capture suit.

Architectural studies and computer science major Ajjen Joshi ´12 wears a different kind of suit--a black one with 34 reflective markers designed to capture and translate motions into a digital model--for his summer job. "This process, motion capture, has been around for many years, but it recently has been gaining prominence since it is increasingly being applied in the process of making movies, games and animations," Joshi said.

Joshi, a scholar of the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, spends his days working in a Connecticut College computer lab, researching the process from start to finish. He started with setting up eight cameras, which he uses to capture his sequences of motions while wearing the reflective suit. He then analyzes, edits and manipulates the motions and creates computer programs based on his analysis. Joshi plans to expand the scope of his project by creating a small digital collection of generic animated motions for students and professors to use in the future. He even hopes to continue to expand his study by integrating it into his Ammerman Center senior integrative project.

Joshi is able to pursue this extensive and intricate project with support from the Keck Undergraduate Science Program, which encourages students to undertake comprehensive research projects over a 14-month period. Also supporting him is Computer Science Professor Ozgur Izmirli and Mathematics and Computer Science Professor Bridget Baird, who both agreed to oversee his project and guide him through the process. "As a student, he maintains a great balance between being able to work on his own, collaborate with us and generate his own ideas," Baird said. By Kelly Parlin ´12



August 10, 2010