Yassine Tahi, founder of Kinetix

The proliferation and expansion of virtual worlds has created an exponential need for more accessible solutions for creating 3D content. It is at this intersection of disruptive technology and artistic creation that we find Kinetix, an innovative startup specializing in 3D innovation founded in 2020 by Yassine Tahi, himself a great fan of video games and animated films: from simplified motion capture to revolutionizing the XNUMXD animation sector, there is only one step.

Automatically extracting 3D motion from videos is now possible with Kinetix

Bringing 3D characters to life is a technical and costly process. In the video game, animation, virtual and augmented reality, media, and entertainment industries as a whole, mocap (motion capture) suggests several approaches:

- The use of markers (either reflective: they are placed on the actor's body, the movements are captured by infrared cameras, or active: luminous markers or LEDs are used),

- Motion capture suites (special suits equipped with sensors – gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers – are worn by the actors),

- Multiple cameras (a set of high-speed cameras is arranged around the capture space to record the movements of markers or sensors placed on the actor),

- Processing software (data captured by cameras, sensors or markers are processed in specialized 3D software),

- A controlled environment (motion capture usually takes place in a specially designed studio with suitable lighting and a clear space to allow the actors to move freely, or can also be done outdoors under certain conditions).

Example of traditional motion capture: Hockey player Ryan Kesler is filmed on June 16, 2009, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the game "NHL 2K10," released on September 15, 2009, for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii games.

Kinetix aims to revolutionize these processes, making 3D animation accessible to everyone through AI technologies, and giving creatives around the world the opportunity to tell their stories in a more engaging 3D format, without resorting to traditional, more expensive systems.

In the animation market, this startup stands out for its ability to automatically extract movements from classic 2D videos - which also do not require advanced equipment or specialized studios, a smartphone camera is enough - and convert them into 3D animation via the platform. This can be used on all modeling software and game engines on the market such as Autodesk Maya, Epic Games Unreal Engine, or Unity. It is aimed at creatives in the video game, animated film, media (Kinetix has already tested its solution within the TF1 Group editorial offices, incorporating 3D animation for educational purposes into news content on TV sets), but also augmented reality or virtual reality, allowing them to quickly and easily generate and modify 3D animation directly in their browser.

The solution relies on artificial intelligence algorithms , including deep learning and computer vision, which predict the positions of the actor's 3D skeleton, precisely identify joints and movements, recognize objects, and detect faces, all resulting in smooth and realistic animation. The tool also generates 3D animated videos from text descriptions, similar to the text generated by Le Chat de Mistral AI , OpenAI's ChatGPT , or DeepSeek from a prompt.

Kinetix - Transforming a backflip video into 3D animation applied to a stylized character

Sensorless motion capture: technical and commercial challenges to overcome

To build " the largest database of 3D human movements " according to the CEO, the Kinetix teams spent several years collaborating with athletes, dancers, acrobats, people with atypical morphologies, to capture diverse and complex movements, so that users of the tool could multiply the use cases.

One crucial hurdle remained: quality. According to the entrepreneur, who worked in strategy consulting, primarily for private equity funds, before joining the Entrepreneur First program (a program designed to help individuals build innovative businesses), transforming video into animation has been possible for several years (six or seven, according to him), but the available tools had never managed to reach the quality level of work produced by professional animators. He draws a parallel with ChatGPT, a tool whose first model was presented in 2018, but which has only been truly used since its launch in 2022, when LLMs (Large Language Models) experienced a breakthrough in quality. " We are starting to reach a level of maturity that allows a certain type of creator to put content into production; it's a work in progress. "

Currently, Kinetix licenses its technology to industry giants such as Adobe and Unity. " Bpifrance and the French Touch helped us with the Deeptech and research aspects to build the core algorithm, and with the product and integration aspects, to move towards commercialization ," he explains, himself aware of the importance of being supported in this type of entrepreneurial adventure, having participated in launching a Venture Capital fund for the Moroccan Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion, enabling entrepreneurs to be financed.

New creative perspectives in the entertainment industry

In short, thanks to its AI model, Kinetix simplifies the production process, democratizes access to high-quality 3D animation, and encourages a new form of visual storytelling. By breaking down technological barriers, it opens up new creative possibilities in the entertainment industry.

Is artificial intelligence now the best ally of creatives? The entrepreneur offers a more nuanced perspective: “ Unity, Maya, Blender, Photoshop, Adobe After Effects: creatives all have traditional, industry-standard tools they work with, which allow them to edit (the process of modifying and improving content) and provide control. AI enables new possibilities, and it's still in its infancy, particularly because it doesn't always allow for very precise control of the final result: the artist may have something specific in mind, but that's not necessarily what will emerge with AI. As long as this control isn't possible, with a higher level of quality, and without infringing on intellectual property rights, especially regarding data training, we can't say that AI will always be the best solution. So I don't believe it's necessarily the best tool for creatives; it depends on expectations and the industry.” I believe more in a combination of traditional processes and AI, where the latter will facilitate the creation of certain parts of a work, helping the creative person to bring their vision to fruition.

Kinetix has received support from the Tech&Touch fund

The Tech & Touch fund, deployed by Bpifrance and La French Touch, is a seed capital and venture capital fund for startups in the cultural and creative industries. Financed as part of the France 2030 plan and managed by the General Secretariat for Investment, in conjunction with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Culture, the Banque des Territoires, and the IFCIC, it invests in companies combining creativity and technological innovation. It makes direct minority investments (Pre-Seed to Series C) in cultural and creative startups and indirect investments (funds of funds). Tech & Touch covers various cultural sectors in France, including transformation and innovation issues such as AI, VR, blockchain, and Industry 4.0.