Brekel Hands
Hand and finger motion capture with an Ultraleap (Leap Motion) sensor
Works with MotionBuilder
Brekel Hands is a Windows application for real-time markerless finger and hand motion capture with an Ultraleap (Leap Motion) sensor. Put the sensor on your desk (or strap it to your head or chest), act with your hands, and record the result straight to disk as skeleton animation or stream it live into MotionBuilder.
Supported sensors are the classic Leap Motion Controller, the Leap Motion Controller 2 and the Ultraleap Stereo IR 170, one per machine because the Ultraleap drivers expose only one. Depth sensors are not supported here: those are the Body and PointCloud apps.
This is one of the older Brekel apps and it is feature-complete, but it still gets maintenance updates: recent versions added MotionBuilder 2024 through 2026 plugins and support for current Ultraleap drivers and sensors, including the Leap Motion Controller 2. The classic Leap Motion sensor is no longer sold new but works fine and is easy to find second-hand.
Installs like any other app. No subscription, no cloud processing, no login. All data stays on your machine.
Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · from $149 (excl tax)
Tracking
Hand and finger tracking itself runs in Ultraleap’s tracking software, based on computer vision and a trained hand model. The app builds recording and export tooling on top of that.
So Ultraleap’s tracking software (Gemini) has to be installed alongside it. That is the one real requirement: the app checks your drivers at startup and can download and install them for you if they are missing.
- Works in real time, no post processing
- Smoothing and filtering with real-time feedback to tame jittery finger motion
- Bone axes are configurable, so exported rotations line up with your character rig
- HMD mode optimizes tracking for a head-mounted sensor (attached to a VR headset for example)
- Shows the sensor’s stereo infrared video and the tracked hands live in 2D and 3D viewports
- Preview option to review data after recording
Recording and export
Recordings export to FBX, BVH, TXT and CSV. FBX options include an optional static body skeleton (so the hands come attached to a full hierarchy), resampling to custom frame rates, older FBX file formats, and an Unreal Engine compatibility option for importing the files there. BVH comes in Generic, 3ds Max Biped and Poser / DAZ flavors. Audio can record in sync to WAV, and the raw sensor video can be saved to movie files.
Recording can be synced with other Brekel apps on the same machine or across machines on the same network, for capturing hands together with body or face data.
Want to see the output before buying? Grab the sample data.
Live streaming
The app comes with plugins for Autodesk MotionBuilder (2009 up to 2026) for live streaming and recording directly in MotionBuilder. Joint data can also stream over OSC (Open Sound Control) to other applications.
Licensing
The free trial is the full application with three limits: recordings stop at 10 seconds, the MotionBuilder plugins are not included, and network and OSC streaming are disabled. Tracking, recording and every export format work, so you can check how the finger data lands on your rig before buying.
A license is perpetual: it never expires and updates are free. There is no maintenance plan for Hands. How trials, evaluations and licenses work in general: see licensing.
Videos
More videos
Supported sensors
- Leap Motion Controller (the classic sensor)
- Leap Motion Controller 2
- Ultraleap Stereo IR 170
- One sensor per machine, an Ultraleap driver restriction
Full specs for these, and 91 sensors in all: depth sensor comparison.
Exports
- Recording: FBX, BVH, TXT, CSV, WAV
Requirements
- Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
- Ultraleap tracking software (Gemini); the app checks your drivers at startup and can download and install them for you
Trial / Buy
Free trial
Trial restrictions Limited to 10 seconds of recording, no MotionBuilder plugins, no network/OSC streaming.
The documentation PDF ships inside the installer, and is also a separate download (zip).
Buy a license
- License $149 Shop
prices excl tax · perpetual license · free updates
How licensing works (trials, evaluation licenses, delivery).