Animating Characters Using Motion Capture and Simulation

Prof. Victor B. Zordan

Computer Science

UC Riverside

Date: Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
Place: Buchanan 1940
Time: 2:00 pm — 3:00 pm


Abstract:

Automatically creating humanlike animation for characters is difficult, especially in applications such as video games and online environments where the characters must move realistically, respond to unpredicted events, and remain controllable at a high level by the users of such virtual worlds. In this talk, I describe several techniques for generating realistic character motion using examples recorded from humans and physically based models, focusing primarily on controllable, responsive characters that combine dynamic simulation and recorded data. My research relies on human examples to dictate movement style and on simulation to create physically plausible motion including interactions with the environment and other simulated characters. Emphasis will be placed on generating believable unpredicted responses within a motion capture dependent animation system as well as on using both motion capture and simulation alone as mechanisms for generating high fidelity movement for humans. The talk will close with a brief discussion about the role of physics in generating games and online motion that is beyond the scope of applications seen today.

VICTOR ZORDAN is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at UC Riverside, having received his Ph.D. in computer science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002. Professor Zordan's research interests fall in several areas of computer animation including human motion, physically based modeling, interactive virtual environments, behavior control, and interface design. He has published numerous papers on the control of human and humanlike characters as well as on several other topics including anatomical modeling, procedural approaches, and video-based animation.

Host: Prof. Tobias Hollerer, Computer Science