Movement, Motion Capture, and Machines: A New Dance + Engineering Course

This spring, Profs. Jason Forsyth and Tara Burns co-developed and co-taught ENGR 490 / DANC 303: Movement, Motion Capture, and Machines through the Office of Creative Propulsion. The course paired embedded sensing and motion-capture technology with dance and choreographic practice, drawing seven students from five departments across campus – Engineering, Computer Science, Biology, Psychology, and the School of Media Arts and Design. Sammy Nelms, of the Wearable Computing Group, served as teaching assistant, bringing sensor-building and live show production experience to the students’ projects.

Over the semester, students learned to translate technical concepts like embedded sensing, computer vision, and motion-capture kinematics into tools for movement and performance, while in turn learning from their classmates’ choreographic and embodied-movement expertise. Using OptiTrack motion capture and custom-built sensors, students designed and built demos and performances driven by the human body, presented at a public showcase, “Movement, Motion Capture, and Machines,” on May 13, 2026. The program mixed technology demos with live performance, including a real-time theremin duet, an interactive game, and dance pieces built directly around motion-capture and sensor data.

The final show can be viewed online.