What Motion Workshop does

Motion Workshop, founded in 2007 and headquartered at 1122 NW 46th St, Seattle, Washington, is a private, founder-owned manufacturer and developer of the Shadow professional inertial motion capture system. The company designs and builds a wearable mocap suit comprising 17 precision inertial measurement units (each with a 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer), a Wi-Fi 5 wireless controller, two pairs of pressure insoles, and accompanying software, output at up to 400 Hz with sub-degree static orientation accuracy. Shadow is sold in three vertical variants — Animator (game, television and film animation), Streaming (live virtual production), and Biomech (biomechanics, sports science, ergonomics and training) — and integrates with the dominant content creation tools via native plugins (Unity Asset Store, Unreal Engine Marketplace, Autodesk Maya and MotionBuilder) and SteamVR / OptiTrack for hybrid positional tracking.

The business model is primarily hardware sales of complete Shadow kits, sold either self-service through the company's own e-commerce storefront (shop.motionshadow.com) for individual and SMB buyers, or via quote-based direct phone sales (206-201-2708) for enterprise, academic, and government customers who require procurement support. Aftermarket recurring revenue comes from an optional Preferred Care extended warranty beyond the initial one-year coverage. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and there is no evidence of external institutional investment; the company operates with a small (1-10 employee) team.

The technology stack pairs the inertial sensor hardware with cross-platform capture and analysis software (Windows, macOS, Linux, plus iOS and Android companion apps), an open-source Motion SDK (C++, Python, Matlab) under permissive royalty-free licensing, file I/O utilities, a C API, a Lua scripting interface, and exporters to industry-standard formats including FBX and C3D. Shadow software releases have been delivered on a roughly quarterly cadence, and the company has positioned its product for portability (1.2 kg wearable, 8-hour battery, 15-minute setup) to serve independent game developers, VFX and animation studios, virtual production teams using live performance capture, and academic and clinical research labs conducting gait, ergonomic, and sports science analysis.

Name

Motion Workshop

Legal name

Motion Workshop

Website

https://motionshadow.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Motion Workshop, founded in 2007 in Seattle, designs and manufactures the Shadow professional inertial motion capture suit (17 IMU sensors) for animators, virtual production studios, and biomechanics researchers, selling hardware via e-commerce and direct sales with native integrations for Unity, Unreal Engine, and Autodesk tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Motion Capture Systems

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

VR/XR Hardware & Accessories (Headsets, Controllers, Trackers, Haptics) (MPAFAGAG)

Keywords

• Motion capture systems
• Inertial tracking suits
• Biomechanics analysis
• Virtual production tools
• Character animation

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Motion Workshop sells the Shadow motion capture system as a complete hardware package including 17 sensors, wireless controller, all wearables, storage case, and one-year warranty. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Preferred Care Extended Warranty: Optional extended warranty and service coverage program for after the initial one-year warranty expires, with expedited shipping on warranty service.
3. Enterprise/Academic/Government Sales: Direct sales to enterprise customers, academic institutions, and government agencies with custom pricing and procurement support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Motion Workshop designs, manufactures and sells the Shadow Motion Capture System, a wearable inertial mocap suit built around 17 IMU sensors that streams full-body orientation data wirelessly to a companion desktop application. The system is sold as three application-specific variants — Animator (character animation for games/film), Streaming (live virtual production), and Biomech (biomechanics, sports science, ergonomics research) — and is bundled with native plugins for Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya and MotionBuilder, plus an SDK for custom integrations.

Product overview

Motion Workshop offers the Shadow Motion Capture System, a professional-grade inertial motion capture suit. The core product includes 17 precision inertial measurement units, wireless controller, wearables, and transport case. The product portfolio includes three specialized variants: Shadow Animator for game and film animation production, Shadow Streaming for live virtual production, and Shadow Biomech for research and biomechanics. Software offerings include cross-platform applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux, plus mobile apps for iOS and Android. Developer tools include the Motion SDK (C++), Python SDK examples, Matlab File IO, C API, and Lua scripting interface. Built-in plugins are available for Unity, Unreal Engine, Autodesk Maya, and MotionBuilder. The company also provides technical documentation and supports SteamVR hybrid tracking integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shadow Motion Capture System Professional inertial motion capture suit built around 17 precision IMU sensors (3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) with a wireless controller, wearable garments, pressure insoles, storage/transport case and a one-year warranty. Streams full-body orientation over Wi-Fi at up to 400 Hz for animation, virtual production and research users.
• Shadow Animator Application-specific configuration of the Shadow mocap system for recording character animation clips for games, television and film. Records wireless clips that load instantly in game engines and exports to FBX for Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya and MotionBuilder pipelines.
• Shadow Streaming Portable motion capture configuration for live virtual production, virtual camera tracking and real-time streaming into game engines and content apps. Supports drift-free hybrid tracking with SteamVR (HTC Vive) for accurate scene positioning during live performances.
• Shadow Biomech Lab- and field-ready motion capture configuration for biomechanics research, sports science, ergonomics and training. Exports to C3D with Visual3D ROTATION extension support and is compatible with Matlab, Python, R Studio, Excel, Jupyter, TensorFlow, Mokka and Visual3D.
• Shadow Software Companion desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux) plus iOS and Android apps that capture, record, calibrate and export motion data from the Shadow suit. Bundled with the hardware and provides free updates.
• Motion Software Development Kit (SDK) Developer toolkit for live-streaming Shadow motion capture data into custom applications. Includes a C++ SDK (with devkit, tests and examples), Python SDK example, Python and Matlab File IO libraries for reading take data, a C API for third-party apps, and a Lua scripting interface for controlling the Shadow application. Released under a permissive royalty-free license.
• Preferred Care Extended Warranty Optional post-warranty service plan that extends coverage for the Shadow motion capture system after the standard one-year warranty expires, with expedited shipping on warranty service.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15-minute setup from unboxing to recording
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HTC VivecoreTechnology or IntegrationShadow motion capture system integrates with HTC Vive (SteamVR) for hybrid position tracking. Allows synchronization with SteamVR room-scale play area using Vive Trackers. Users can combine Shadow inertial orientation data with Vive positional tracking for accurate, drift-free virtual production.
• Unity TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationShadow mocap system includes a native plugin for Unity game engine. Available on Unity Asset Store for easy installation. Enables live-streaming character animation directly into Unity scenes. Motion Workshop is a Unity Asset Store Publisher.
• Epic Games (Unreal Engine)coreTechnology or IntegrationShadow mocap system includes a native plugin for Unreal Engine. Available on Unreal Engine Marketplace. Supports live streaming to Epic skeleton and Shadow skeleton. Enables live animation for Unreal Marketplace characters and in-game character animation.
• Autodesk (Maya, MotionBuilder)coreTechnology or IntegrationShadow includes native plugins for Autodesk Maya and MotionBuilder. Motion Workshop is a member of the Autodesk Developer Network. Plugins enable live-streaming animation directly into Maya and MotionBuilder scenes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OptiTrack: Optical motion capture leader with complementary hybrid support (Motive + plugins for Shadow/Suits); competes in same animation, biomechanics, and virtual production use cases.
• Rokoko: Sells the Smartsuit Pro inertial mocap system and Smartsuit Gloves plus the Rokoko Studio software, targeting indie animators, game developers, and creators — directly comparable to Shadow Animator/Streaming.
• STT Systems: Provides inertial mocap suits and biomechanics analysis software; competes head-to-head with Shadow in sports science and clinical/research applications.
• Movella (Xsens): Market-leading inertial mocap suit vendor (MVN Awinda/Animate) for animation, sports science, and biomechanics; closest direct competitor to Shadow in full-body inertial capture.
• Noitom (Perception Neuron): Perception Neuron series is a competing inertial mocap system used in animation, VFX, and live performance — directly comparable product category and target customer base.

Others

• HTC Vive: Partner for hybrid positional tracking via Vive Trackers and SteamVR; not a direct competitor in mocap but co-sells into the same virtual production and XR ecosystem.
• Autodesk (Maya/MotionBuilder): Indirect partner/ecosystem anchor via Autodesk Developer Network membership and built-in Maya/MotionBuilder plugins; defines the animation pipeline that Shadow plugs into.

Broad incumbents

• Vicon: Established optical motion capture incumbent serving VFX, games, life sciences, and biomechanics; broader portfolio and larger installed base than Motion Workshop.

Emerging players

• Synertial: Specialist inertial mocap provider for film, broadcast, and research; smaller-scale direct competitor with overlapping customer set in entertainment and academia.
• Mo-Sys Engineering: Provides virtual production camera tracking and StarTracker system; adjacent competitor in the virtual production workflow where Shadow Streaming also operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shadowmocap
• Facebookfacebook.com/motion.workshop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/motion-workshop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Motion Workshop