The Cadaver in the Machine: The Social Practices of Measurement and Validation in Motion Capture Technology
This work highlights hidden design assumptions in motion capture that could have negative consequences in human-computer interaction, though it is incremental in applying social theory to a technical domain.
The study analyzed motion capture technology through a systematic literature review (N=278) to show that measurement and validation are social practices, revealing how these practices embed assumptions about human bodies into system design over time.
Motion capture systems, used across various domains, make body representations concrete through technical processes. We argue that the measurement of bodies and the validation of measurements for motion capture systems can be understood as social practices. By analyzing the findings of a systematic literature review (N=278) through the lens of social practice theory, we show how these practices, and their varying attention to errors, become ingrained in motion capture design and innovation over time. Moreover, we show how contemporary motion capture systems perpetuate assumptions about human bodies and their movements. We suggest that social practices of measurement and validation are ubiquitous in the development of data- and sensor-driven systems more broadly, and provide this work as a basis for investigating hidden design assumptions and their potential negative consequences in human-computer interaction.