XSENS MVN Live Stream Plugin [BETA V1.0]

Warning This product is in active development/beta. Translation: I’m living on coffee fumes and broken dreams while coding this at 3 AM. It’s bound to have issues in weird corner-cases I haven’t tested (like if you decide to run it on the moon or something). I’ll try to fix things as I go, but let’s be real: updates aren’t promised on any specific schedule. I release this now because it works for me and maybe for you. All known glitches are shown in that fancy video up top. (tested on Unity 2021 and MVN 2024.2)
 ONLY BUY IF YOU UNDERSTAND THIS.

Background

Xsens (aka Movella) loves to tout themselves as the budget-friendly motion capture solution. You know, “for indies!” …As long as your “indie” dev studio makes at least $750K a year. Because that’s obviously what “indie” means, right?

After some phone calls of me basically begging for common sense, I got the usual corporate spiel: “I hear you, but also I don’t. And oh, you recorded that call? We’re totally striking it off YouTube just to ‘see how the system works.’” So yeah, let’s just say Xsens is about as consumer-friendly as a Gym when you want to cancel your membership.

But hey, at least their suits cost more than Gucci or Supreme so you can brag about that to your friends... I guess? 

What Does This Plugin Do?

It streams data from Xsens MVN to Unity3D—so you can actually use that $4K–$12K cloth contraption collecting dust in your closet. Huzzah!

So in short:

• This app allows you to pipe Xsens MVN data into Unity.
• Then you can record, export an FBX, or go full-on VTuber cosplay with live streaming.

What It’s NOT:

• A crack for MVN. (I’m not trying to get sued into the Stone Age here.) You’re still on the free plan, so you’ll still have whatever limitations that entails.
• A magical native recorder that exports FBXs directly from MVN.

Current Issues

Look, MVN’s code is older than some of you reading this—and it’s not exactly commented well. Then add Unity’s random quirks, and voilà: bugs.

1. Inconsistent Syncing – Unity bones sometimes mismatch MVN bones. You might have to refresh MVN for it to remember what it’s doing. After that, it’s usually good. Usually.
2. Fingerless Capture Quirks – If you’re not using Xsens-approved gloves, your poor avatar’s hands might do a sad downward dog pose. If you have third-party gloves, you might fix it, but I can’t test it because I don’t have them. 

TL;DR

• Sometimes MVN and Unity get in a fight and refuse to talk until you refresh them manually.
• Fingers can be a bit “down in the dumps” if you don’t have the right gloves.

Why Charge Anything for This?

1. I have a CS:GO gambling addiction. (Thanks for enabling me, Gaben!)
2. Time is money, friend. And I spent a lot of it trying to hack together a solution.
3. Also, I’d like to afford new hardware to keep improving this. I can’t feed my GPU with kisses and compliments alone. The 5090 is calling my name.
4. Want me to make this work with XYZ hardware? Then I need to buy it. 

But I’m Broke!

Yes, you with the $4K suit… complaining about a $100 one-time fee. The irony is delicious. But hey, there’s no DRM here, so if you have friends (did I just assume?), maybe they’ll slip you the file under the table. You do you.

How to Install

1. Drop the plugin into your MVN plugin folder.
2. Edit ogre_plugin.cfg with this line:

   Plugin=BipedStreamerPlugin 
   

3. Right-click the MVN .exe, go to Properties → Compatibility → run as Administrator (because Windows obviously).
4. Install crypto miner 
5. Profit(?)

Future Plans

• Add Maya streaming.
• Add Blender streaming.
• Fix desync between Unity and MVN.
• Fix fingerless hand rotations so you stop giving the floor a half-baked handshake.
• Test 3rd party hardware (Rokoko, Manus, etc.) for that sweet synergy that Xsens refuses to address.

Final Words

So there you have it: My lovingly–crafted, borderline–sleep–deprived plugin letting you side-step subscription absurdities. It’s basically a rebellious “I do what I want” piece of code. Enjoy. Or don’t. I’m not your mom.