Unreal Engine Has Released A Cool New iOS App
Unreal Engine Has Released A Cool New iOS App
Finally, A Way To Do Face Tracking With FaceID
For a while now, I’ve been looking into different ways to do motion capture on the cheap. You wouldn’t believe how ridiculously expensive it is to create even an at-home setup that captures your body and face movements for animation software. That was until I came across a link on Twitter that changed everything.
When I was at university, I wanted to incorporate motion capture into an animation module to gain a few extra points. Unfortunately, I found out it was incredibly expensive and never got to do anything along those lines. I did come across RADiCAL, an app for your phone that uses the camera to record body movement and translate it into animation data. It sounded great—until I saw the price: £8/month would only allow you to export 3 minutes of movement. While they have other plans, the costs add up quickly when you’re just experimenting.
I also looked into a few open-source projects for Blender, but they either required you to draw dots on your face with a sharpie (not going to happen) or required chaining eight different pieces of software together just to get something usable. Then, I found the link to Epic’s Live Link Face app.
It allows you to simply point your phone at your face, and the tracking info from the TrueDepth front-facing cameras (or even rear cameras on newer devices) is sent to Unreal Engine, where the face is animated in real-time.
What's New & Getting Started
Since I first looked into this, the app has evolved significantly:
- MetaHuman Animator: This is now a core feature. You can capture performances, and the app processes the high-fidelity facial data to drive MetaHuman characters with incredible precision.
- Wider Support: The app has been updated repeatedly to support newer iPhone series and iPads, and as of mid-2025, it’s even available on compatible Android devices (typically those with specific Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets).
- Real-Time & Recording: You can stream data live over a network or record raw ARKit data and video reference footage to process later in the Unreal Editor.
I’m still excited to play with this. Even after learning the techniques, I know it will take some time to "iron out the creases" and create something clean enough to share. I’m looking forward to the challenge of what is becoming one of my favorite weekend projects.
Recommendations for Body Tracking
If you are looking for free or low-cost body tracking to complement your facial capture, here are two excellent open-source or free options:
- FreeMoCap: A research-grade, markerless motion capture project that is completely free and open-source. You can use two or more webcams/smartphones to capture full-body 3D movement. It’s designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of technical background.
- Rokoko Vision: This uses AI to capture body motion via a single webcam or uploaded video. It’s a very quick way to pre-visualize ideas and export data directly to formats like FBX, which you can use in Blender or Unreal.
What would you create with the Live Link Face app and Unreal Engine? Are you planning to dive into MetaHumans or stick with custom characters? Let me know in the comments below!