NaturalMotion is a software company with offices in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 and San Francisco. Founded in November 2001 as a spin-off of Oxford University

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, the company specialises in creating animation technology for the game and film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 industries.

Technology

NaturalMotion commercialized their procedural animation

Procedural animation

A procedural animation is a type of computer animation, used to automatically generate animation in real-time to allow for a more diverse series of actions than could otherwise be created using predefined animations....

 technology, which they call Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS). DMS is based on a real-time simulation of biomechanics

Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...

 and the motor control nervous system

Motor skill

A motor skill is a learned sequence of movements that combine to produce a smooth, efficient action in order to master a particular task. The development of motor skill occurs in the motor cortex, the region of the cerebral cortex that controls voluntary muscle groups.- Development of motor skills...

. As such, it has roots in biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 and robot control

Robot control

-See also:* Control theory* Mobile robot navigation* Robot kinematics* Simultaneous localization and mapping* Robot locomotion* Motion planning* Robot learning* Vision Based Robot Control...

 theory. NaturalMotion states that DMS allows for fully interactive 3D characters, as it is not based on canned animation. DMS is used in the company's products Endorphin

Endorphin (software)

Endorphin is a dynamic motion synthesis software package developed by NaturalMotion. Endorphin can be used to generate computer simulations of large numbers of independent...

 and Euphoria

Euphoria (software)

Euphoria is a game animation engine created by NaturalMotion based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, NaturalMotion's proprietary technology for animating 3D characters on-the-fly "based on a full simulation of the 3D character, including body, muscles and motor nervous system"...

, with the former being a 3D application and the latter being a run-time engine for PS3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

, Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 and PC

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

.

Customers

NaturalMotion's technology is in use at many film and games companies, including Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

, The Mill

The Mill (post-production)

The Mill is a post-production and visual effects company launched in 1990 with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles.The Mill's Film special effects subsidiary, Mill Film, won an Oscar for its work on the film Gladiator. The Mill was the first UK-based post-production company to set up...

, Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

, Moving Picture Company

Moving Picture Company

The Moving Picture Company is a post production facility creating digital visual effects and computer animation for feature films, commercials, music videos and television...

, Konami

Konami

is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

, Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

, Sega

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

 and many more.
Movies and games featuring Endorphin

Endorphin (software)

Endorphin is a dynamic motion synthesis software package developed by NaturalMotion. Endorphin can be used to generate computer simulations of large numbers of independent...

 animation include Troy

Troy (film)

Troy is a 2004 epic war film written by David Benioff and directed by Wolfgang Petersen based on the events of the Trojan War. Its cast includes Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector.It was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design.-Plot:...

, Poseidon

Poseidon (film)

Poseidon is a 2006 disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the third film adaptation of the novel The Poseidon Adventure written by Paul Gallico, and a loose remake of the 1972 film of the same name. It stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen...

, The Getaway

The Getaway (video game)

The Getaway is a video game series focused on gang life and the police in the city of London. The series was created by Brendan McNamara and is developed by Team Soho for the PlayStation 2...

, Tekken 5

Tekken 5

is the sixth installment in the popular Tekken series. It also marks the tenth anniversary of the series. It was updated for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 as Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and succeeded by Tekken 6.- Story :...

and Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid

is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...

.

In 2006, LucasArts

LucasArts

LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...

 announced that it would use the Euphoria

Euphoria (software)

Euphoria is a game animation engine created by NaturalMotion based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, NaturalMotion's proprietary technology for animating 3D characters on-the-fly "based on a full simulation of the 3D character, including body, muscles and motor nervous system"...

 engine in Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...

games. In 2007, Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...

 announced it had licensed this engine for many of their new and upcoming games, with the first announced title being Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...

.

In August 2007, NaturalMotion announced Backbreaker

Backbreaker (video game)

Backbreaker is an American football video game, developed by British technology developer NaturalMotion, and released on 1 June 2010 in North America and on 25 June 2010 in Europe. One of its highlights is the use of Euphoria, a game animation engine that determines animations dynamically rather...

, an American Football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

game that utilises Euphoria to generate interactive tackles in real-time.