Last update, July 17, 1997

This course is intended to demonstrate the state-of-the-art in motion synthesis for virtual humans. It covers the essential elements for interactive and real-time (synthesized, non-captured) animation via behavior, physics, signal processing, scripting, and reactive techniques. This course is intended to demonstrate the state-of-the-art in interactive and real-time motion and behavior synthesis for Virtual Humans. Applications of such human animation include simulation and training, intelligent agents, avatars, and realistic motion synthesis for entertainment characters. The course covers the essential elements for synthetic (primarily non-captured) animation via kinematics, inverse kinematics, dynamics, optimal and adaptive control theory, motion signal processing, and motion texture synthesis. In addition, the course covers the higher level behaviors which impart a sense of decision-making and reactivity to make Virtual Humans appear to act more human. These techniques include collision avoidance, postural transitions, parallel finite-state machine controls, intelligent locomotion, cultural and personality influences, and environmental sensing.

The course speakers represent three of the major research ``streams'' in real-time Virtual Humans: Badler and Metaxas with the Jack software and its extensions and derivatives; Perlin and Goldberg with the IMPROV software that was featured live at SIGGRAPH '95 and '96; and Bruderlin who contributed to the LifeForms software and now provides an international view from ATR, Japan. These groups collectively encompass the major issues and proposed solutions to real-time Virtual Human animation. This course will bring them together to share their approaches and experiences as well as their visions for the future.

1. (Badler) Virtual Humans
   • Behaviors for bodies: inverse kinematics, balance, climbing, collision avoidance, and optimal control
   • Planning, scripting, and acting
   • Attention and awareness
   • Multi-agent task simulation
     
2. (Bruderlin) Interactive, Procedural Motion Control
   • Walking and Running
   • Motion warping and signal processing
     
3. (Perlin and Goldberg) Interacting with Virtual Actors
   • Motion texture synthesis
   • Behavior engines
   • Actor scripting
   • Actor personality and reactivity
   • Live performance animation
     
4. (Metaxas) Physics-Based Models and Motions
   • Dynamics and constraint definition for rigid and flexible objects
   • Finite element techniques
   • Control theory techniques for low level behaviors such as: target tracking, trajectory following, walking under different loads
   • Transitions between walking and running
   • Collision Handling techniques for articulated objects
   • Video-based shape and motion capture for face and articulated segments
     
5. Panel (All speakers): The Future of Virtual Human Animation
   

This intermediate level course is intended to demonstrate the state-of-the-art in motion synthesis for virtual humans. It covers the essential elements for interactive and real-time (synthesized, non-captured) animation via behavior, physics, signal processing, scripting, and reactive techniques.

This course is intended for animators, managers, software developers, students and scientists interested in acquiring or synthesizing human motions, especially in real-time. Prerequisites are previous exposure to animation production or systems. Some mathematical background would be beneficial but not essential.

This course will describe the state-of-the-art in interactive and real-time human motion synthesis and actor behaviors. It will demonstrate the state-of-the-art in human animation generated by techniques such as inverse kinematics, dynamics, and video motion capture, and by higher-level approaches such as behaviorally-scripted agents, personality profiles, and interpersonal and environmental reactivity. Various applications illustrate real-time synthetic humans in virtual prototyping, team tasks, synthetic actors and avatars, and VE/VR training.

8:30 - 10:00 Badler (90 min.)
10:00 - 10:15 (break) (15 min.)
10:15 - 11:30 Bruderlin (75 min.)
11:30 - 12:00 Perlin/Goldberg (30 min.)
12:00 - 1:30 (lunch)
1:30 - 3:00 Perlin/Goldberg (90 min.)
3:00 - 3:15 (break) (15 min.)
3:15 - 4:45 Metaxas (90 min.)
4:45 - 5:00 Panel (all) (15 min.)