Brekel Hands changelog - full release history

v1.63

added plugins for MotionBuilder 2024, 2025 & 2026
switched to a new crash detection & logging system
improved, streamlined, styled and updated installer

v1.62

updated to new build environment
installer and app are now signed by a new EV code certificate

v1.61

fixed issue with resample rate did not work properly on trial version

v1.60

updated internal libraries to latest versions
updated to FBX 2020.3.1
updated to FFmpeg 5.0.1
updated to Visual Studio 2022 with all the latest compiler optimizations

v1.59

updated to latest UltraLeap 5.2 & 6.0 drivers/SDK

v1.58

updated internal libraries to latest versions
fixed error not being able to load cudart64 dll on some machines

v1.57

fixed issue with left/right images both being the left one
fixed issue with missing ffmpeg dll files in trial installer

v1.56

added functionality to save raw sensor video data to movie file
- left and right are stacked on top of another and saved in a single file
- several video codec options are available
- hardware acceleration for encoding available depending on GPU and selected codec
- bitrate can be specified
- note that these can be very high frame rate video files
added option for Unreal Engine compatability in FBX export
- this adds a (tiny) cube mesh to the hierarchy so that UE can load the FBX file
- note that you may need to enable the following option in the FBX Import Options window: “Animation > Snap to Closest Frame Boundary”
added option to save in FBX 2019 file format
added option to save in FBX 2020 file format
updated to latest FBX SDK 2020.3.4
updated to latest UltraLeap 5.12.0 drivers/SDK

v1.55

updated internal libraries to latest versions
updated to latest UltraLeap 5.5.3 drivers/SDK

v1.54

Added MotionBuilder 2023 plugin

v1.53

updated to latest UltraLeap 5.2 drivers/SDK

v1.52

fixed issue where network stream wasn’t initialized automatically on startup and required user to enable it manually
updated internal libraries

v1.51

Added MotionBuilder 2022 plugin

v1.50

added image brightness measurement to the video stream data
- allows for use cases where a user wants to synchronize events with a light flash for example
- exported to FBX, TXT and CSV file formats (on the hand objects)
- the value itself is a sum of the pixel brightness values divided by the number of pixels so should only be used as a relative number between frames
- note that these devices only detect infrared light!
speed and reliability improvement in smoothing/filtering code
lots of small bugfixes, prevention measures, optimizations and potential memory leaks based on static code analysis

v1.49

rewrote internal engine to use the latest C based SDK (instead of the older C++ SDK) for better efficiency and future support
now compiled against and tested with the latest Gemini v5 developer preview drivers/SDK
- better performance with two-hand interactions
- improved hand initialization
- better overall tracking stability
- v4 drivers are still supported
implemented driver management functionality
- manually accessible from the top menu under File > Drivers
- automatically pops up at startup when no drivers or older drivers are found
- offers direct link to UltraLeap site
- offers direct download/install option
- offers to ignore warnings (until manually invoked)
- UltraLeap installers will automatically remove existing drivers
- allows for easy switching between v4 & v5 drivers
- GUI will display which drivers are currently used (at the top of the settings panel)

v1.48

fixed issue with audio recorder producing empty files during recording when no audio source was specified
improved compatability with more audio devices
updated code signing certificate

v1.47

internally now forces the use of desktop OpenGL drivers (which was the default on almost all machines anyway)
- overruling a QT_OPENGL environment setting that a user or other program may have set
- a QT_OpenGL setting of “angle” could prevent some GUI widgets from being drawn
updated internal libraries

v1.46

added option to playback an audio file at the start of a recording
added option to record audio to WAV file
last message log file is now moved to a _old folder at startup so we always keep the current and previous log for debugging / crash reporting purposes
updated 2D & 3D OpenGL windows and drawing internals to a more modern widget class
updated to new compiler profiting from new optimizations
updated a bunch of internal libraries to the latest versions

v1.45

fixed an issue with “opencv_world430.dll” not loading on some machines in previous version

v1.44

small update to Remote Triggering

v1.43

fixed issue with crash report generation/upload

v1.42

moved all licensing options to their own menu in the top menu bar
added functionality to the top menu to remove license file (so you can install it on a different machine)

v1.41

updated the GUI stylesheet
added MotionBuilder 2020 plugin
trial now records up to 10 seconds
consolidated some cross application code
added option to directly upload a crash report to the Brekel server
added toggle option to Settings menu at the top for turning High DPI Scaling On/Off on next application start
started digitally signing executable to help alleviate anti-virus false positives

v1.40

added error message popup window when a file cannot be written to alert the user more vigorously
internally switched to a different library packaging system
updated internal libraries to latest versions
cleaned up dll files

v1.39

added MotionBuilder 2019 plugin
rearranged MotionBuilder plugins page in the installer
moved log and all other user settings file to Brekel folder in Documents folder
- to avoid clutter when using multiple Brekel apps on a machine

v1.38

updated to latest Leap Motion v4 sdk/drivers
- fixed video windows
updated to Qt 5.12.0
added warning if video is not supported by drivers
switched to latest FBX SDK
added extra options for writing older FBX formats
changed FBX file type naming to 2006-2018 naming convention, with internal file format (v6.1 - v7.5) in parentheses

v1.37

maintenance release
upgraded internal libraries for latest security and performance updates
now compiled with visual studio 2017
dropped support for 32bit version

v1.36

fixed an issue with recording not starting when using Remote Triggering

v1.35

fixed crash log files as some filetypes were giving issues with the new mail server
when using “Record Triggering” the “Append Date/Time” is now respected when it’s enabled on the Master

v1.34

updated internal libraries to latest version to take advantage of latest
- performance updates
- security updates

v1.33

fixed a problem where recording button could get stuck in “Processing data…” mode

v1.32

fixed problem where preview stopped working

v1.31

added logger window
- the info from the black console window is now displayed in a logging window in the GUI of the app
- logging info is also saved to a log file (in your My Documents folder)
Added crash reporting feature
- when a crash is detected log files and debugging info is collected
- a zip file will be placed on your desktop
- and a dialog box will ask you to send this file by email so the cause can be debugged

v1.30

fixed a bug where record time could be inaccurate with fluctuating tracking fps
fixed issue where timestamps could be wrong resulting in erratic FBX files on longer recordings
file export process now runs in a separate thread so the GUI remains responsive
“Auto Filename” is now renamed to “Append Data/Time”
- it will now always respect the manually set filename
- and when turned ON simply append the date/time to it

v1.29

added MotionBuilder 2018 plugins
2D and 3D openGL drawing should be a bit more efficient now
increased size of font in black console window
file browser windows now handle symbolic links correctly
fixed a bug where camera could get too close to it’s target
updated libraries to latest versions

v1.28

“new version available” window now shows full changelog, not just the last change
license installer should now warn if no license key file was found in a zip archive

v1.27

added option to stream OSC (Open Sound Control) data out to other applications (see documentation on available OSC messages)

v1.26

fixed problem where reported number of frames was incorrect when tracking was lost during recording
fixed problem with preview window not showing show frames with no tracked hands
fixed possible multi threading race condition in recorder
fixed small issue with video widgets sometimes not being visible
fixed console font size for Win10 anniversary update
added option to resample FBX framerate
fixed console font size for Win10 anniversary update
updated internal libraries
upgraded C++ 2015 redistributable installer to SP3 to avoid problems for fresh installs

v1.25

updated internal libraries
added support for for MotionBuilder 2017

v1.24

better support for high DPI screens
maintenance release, updated Visual Studio 2015, Qt 5.6 and FBX SDK 2016.1.2

v1.23

fixed some issues with drawing of video frames
fixed some issues with hand flickering
fixed a crash that could happen when a hand was visible at application startup

v1.22

timestamps in CSV files were invalid when Left hand was invisible, fixed now
improved timestamp accuracy

v1.21

maintenance release, updates to internal libraries

v1.20

maintenance update with some small change to update mechanism
C++ redistributable libraries (vc_redist) are now installed in a different way

v1.19

fixed small but crucial bug for checking if update is available

v1.18

small modification on checking if update is available

v1.17

added option to menu to help with manual license installation
a Network Triggered recording will now create a folder if it has to
recompiled for drivers 2.2.7
updated to Qt 5.5

v1.16

fixed bug where Remote Trigger could fire record start signals for formats that were disabled

v1.15

now includes plugin for MotionBuilder 2016

v1.14

license installation is now done with elevated administrator privileges to avoid problems on certain machines

v1.13

now provides some additional help when license extraction/copy fails
tips and documentation are now displayed in the statusbar when you mouse-over buttons/settings
recompiled for drivers 2.2.3

v1.12

recompiled for drivers 2.2.2

v1.11

fixed bug with mangled torso when exporting FBX with Include Body and only a single hand visible during take
FBX with Include Body now uses reasonable defaults when a hand is never seen during the take

v1.10

small change to updating mechanism

v1.09

recompiled for drivers 2.2.0

v1.08

recompiled for drivers 2.1.5

v1.07

recompiled for drivers 2.1.4

v1.06

added option to optimize tracker for HMD (Head Mounted Display) mode, for example when mounted to an Oculus Rift

v1.05

needs drivers 2.1.2 (not compatible with older version)
should now work with HP embedded devices, as well as standalone sensor
moved video into it’s own docking widget so it can be docked in the GUI, or floated as like

v1.04

MotionBuilder plugin should now record correctly when only the Right hand is visible
FBX exporter now correctly sets frames per second in the file header to 115 fps

v1.03

added support for display of raw video images for reference
- make sure you use drivers v2.10 or higher
- enable “Use Images” in the Leap Motion Control Panel
slight speed improvements on drawing 3D viewport
draw fps is now correctly saved/loaded on exit/startup
draw Memory/CPU usage is now correctly saved/loaded on exit/startup
icon now contains multiple resolutions so it’s nicely anti-aliased on smaller sizes

v1.02

FBX with just hands, and only 1 hand visible didn’t export correctly, fixed now
camera navigation should be more intuitive now
use CTRL-A on the 3D view to frame the full interaction volume
use CTRL-F on the 3D view to frame the visible hand(s)

v1.01

hands that have been not tracked for longer than half a second now automatically disappear
BVH exporter had wrong thumb end bones in certain cases, fixed now
several fixes for Biped BVH, should now use correct axis orientations adjusted for needed non-standard basepose
Poser/DAZ and Biped BVH files now always include a body, since those programs need it

v1.00

if tracking is lost hands now stay in the last known position
no longer accidentally displays ghost hands, only a single Left and single Right one
number of recorded frames wasn’t always correct after recording stopped
Preview window now correctly draws forearms when available
Play preview didn’t always work
“Delete Take” button now has a slightly red tint
“Keep Take” button now has a slightly green tint
a constant key reducer filter is now applied to all curves in recorded FBX files, to produce smaller files and cleaner data
MotionBuilder plugin should now work correctly when using driver v2.02 (without forearms)
now using Qt 5.3.1

v0.92

will now auto detect between driver v2.03 (with forearms) and v2.02 (better stability) and automatically switch forearm usage ON/OFF internally
slightly stronger default settings for palm filtering

v0.91

compiled against SDK v2.0.3 17004
now supports wrist and forearm tracking (not supported for BVH)
recording countdown is now displayed in the middle of the screen
“check for new versions at startup” setting wasn’t being saved/loaded
when new version is available the changelog will now be displayed

v0.90

Release Candidate version
includes 32bit version now (and trial versions)
recorded amount of seconds is correct now
changing axis while smoothing is enabled now works immediately
tracking confidence (per hand) is now displayed
device type is now printed to the console at startup (Peripheral/Laptop/Keyboard)
tracking/drawing FPS now displayed at the bottom of the 3D window (toggle in top menu)
memory/cpu usage is now displayed at the bottom of the 3D window (toggle in top menu)
added tooltips for GUI elements
changed the icon to something more in style with the rest of the apps
added higher resolution MotionBuilder device icon

v0.70

added “Include Body” option for FBX when ON: saves a full body skeleton with only the fingers moving when OFF: saves palm position/rotation and fingers but no static body
BVH basepose now has straight fingers
BVH Biped is with arms down, others are now in T-pose
added “Preview after record” functionality when enabled it allows you to replay the last recorded take and delete/keep the files
cleaned up console messages some mroe when recording is succesfully saved to a file

v0.61

added the ability to flip forward & up axis individually so you can match your character rig setup perfectly

v0.60

BVH files should be usefull now (basepose may not be correct yet as it was based on feedback from a single user)
TXT file exporter was only saving 2 decimals, now 6
CSV file exporter was only saving 2 decimals, now 6
increased palm filtering defaults a little bit
thumb roll axis should now be a bit more stable when hyper extended
cleaned up console messages when recording is succesfully saved to a file
updated to driver/SDK version 2.0.1 build 15831
only the first left & right hands are now drawn fully opaque subsequent hands will be drawn transparently as only the first pair of left/right hands are exported

v0.53

now includes MotionBuilder plugins
fixed a bug where it could crash when starting recording with FBX selected
cleaned up hand info drawing a bit
uninstaller now correctly removes documentation folder
now compiled with Visual Studio 2013 with the latest & greatest optimizations
now using Qt 5.3.0
now using FBX SDK 2015.1

v0.52

added smoothing functionality to filter jittery hand & finger motion if needed
palm circles now draw correctly when using non default axis configurations
axis flipping setting is now correctly saved/loaded
record triggering setting is now correctly saved/loaded
did a bunch of internal work for BVH saving (not finished yet)
- should internally always use Forward Axis: Y and Up Axis: X now
- started implementing option for saving a static body in the file to help certain 3D apps

v0.51

added Visual Studio 2013 Redistributable to the installer (since apparently Leap Motion drivers need it)
online checking for new version now works properly
added link to “Driver Installation” to help menu
added link to “Downloads Page: to help menu
added link to “Forum” to help menu
installer now displays driver installation at the end

v0.50

Initial public beta release