Breathtaking 3-D animation technology that produced The Matrix and changed cinema forever is now available in Bradford.

The £200,000 computer graphics system, also used in Spiderman and Lord of the Rings, has been installed at Bradford university.

It occupies a studio at the headquarters of Simula, the agency dedicated to supporting the region's technology businesses which is supported by European funding and regeneration agency Yorkshire Forward.

Now, according to Simula project manager Andy Curtis, the best facility in the UK can be hired at a vast discount.

The system, called motion capture, is an advanced technique for capturing real movement in 3D.

Subjects are filmed using 12 cameras and their movement is accurately recorded and stored digitally. It can then be used to animate 3D computer models.

These can be used in many ways, from providing movement for a computer-generated character in a video game or film, or providing medical researchers with data to assess patients' disabilities.

The system is identical to that used by Peter Jackson to create the realistic battle sequences in Lord of The Rings and helped earn actor Andy Serkis a BAFTA nomination for the role of Gollum.

As the only commercial system in the north, a Simula spokesman said, the new studio will prove a huge benefit to animation, games and production companies in the region.

Mr Curtis commented: "Since it was founded in 1999, Simula has assisted over 250 businesses throughout the region. The opening of this motion capture suite will prove a huge boost to many of our clients enabling them to be much more competitive.

"The fact is we have the finest facility in the country - you just can't get a service of this quality anywhere."

Yorkshire Forward's digital cluster manager Jim Farmery said: "Local industry is set to benefit immensely from the opening of this facility.

"It not only provides the region's TV and film production companies, games developers and animation with cutting edge resources, but is exactly the sort of service that will attract external investors.

"It certainly makes the region much more attractive to external businesses in the sector."