An interactive data-driven driving simulator using motion blending

Compared to the motion equations the data-driven method can simulate reality from sampling of real motions but real-time interaction between a user and the simulator is problematic. Existing data-driven motion generation methods simply record and replay the motion of the vehicle. Character animation technology enables a user to control motions that are generated by a motion capture database and an appropriate motion control algorithm. We propose a data-driven motion generation method and implement a driving simulator by adapting the method of motion capture. The motion data sampled from a real vehicle are transformed into appropriate data structures called motion blocks, and then a series of motion blocks are saved into the motion database. During simulation, the driving simulator searches for and synthesizes optimal motion blocks from the motion database and generates motion streams that reflect the current simulation conditions and parameterized user demands. We demonstrate the proposed method through experiments with the driving simulator.     

基于优化的DTW算法的人体运动数据检索

随着大量三维人体运动数据库的建立,使得在数据库中实现基于内容的三维人体运动检索面临着诸多困难,文中提出一种分阶段的动态时间变形(DTW)优化算法的人体运动数据检索技术,可有效检索出逻辑上相似的运动。该算法首先对齐两个运动序列的坐标位置,基于窗口距离构造距离矩阵。其次采用基于全局和局部约束的DTW优化算法进行相似度匹配,得到两个运动间的对应关系。最后通过归一化相似度和DTW平均距离分阶段判断运动的相似性。实验结果表明,分阶段的DTW优化算法在提高效率的同时对长度不等的运动能取得较好的检索结果。     

Real-time arm motion imitation for human–robot tangible interface

In this paper we deal with a remote meeting system with tangible interface, in which a robot is used as tangible avatar instead of a remote meeting partner. For realizing such system, it is a critical issue how the robot imitates human motions with natural and exact. So, we suggested a new method that human arm motion is captured with a stereo vision system and transferred to the robotic avatar with real-time. For capturing 3D arm motions based on markerless method, we proposed a new metaball-based method which was designed in order to have some robust and efficient properties: a modified iso-surface equation of metaball for overcoming local minima and a downsizing method of 3D point cloud for improving time complexity. With our meeting system, we have implemented our new algorithm and run at approximately 12–16 Hz. Also, its accuracy in motion capturing could be acceptable for robot motion generation.     

Path planning directed motion control of virtual humans in complex environments

Natural motion synthesis of virtual humans have been studied extensively, however, motion control of virtual characters actively responding to complex dynamic environments is still a challenging task in computer animation. It is a labor and cost intensive animator-driven work to create realistic human motions of character animations in a dynamically varying environment in movies, television and video games. To solve this problem, in this paper we propose a novel approach of motion synthesis that applies the optimal path planning to direct motion synthesis for generating realistic character motions in response to complex dynamic environment. In our framework, SIPP (Safe Interval Path Planning) search is implemented to plan a globally optimal path in complex dynamic environments. Three types of control anchors to motion synthesis are for the first time defined and extracted on the obtained planning path, including turning anchors, height anchors and time anchors. Directed by these control anchors, highly interactive motions of virtual character are synthesized by motion field which produces a wide variety of natural motions and has high control agility to handle complex dynamic environments. Experimental results have proven that our framework is capable of synthesizing motions of virtual humans naturally adapted to the complex dynamic environments which guarantee both the optimal path and the realistic motion simultaneously.     

基于一维标定物的多摄像机标定

一维标定物是由三个或三个以上彼此距离已知的共线点构成的. 现有文献指出只有当一维标定物做平面运动或者绕固定点转动时，才能实现摄像机的标定. 本文的研究结果表明，当多个摄像机同时观察作任意刚体运动的一维标定物时，则该摄像机组能被线性地标定. 本文给出一种线性标定算法，并使用最大似然准则对线性算法结果进行精化. 模拟实验和真实图像实验都表明本文的算法是有效可行的.     

Motion planning for tree climbing with inchworm‐like robots

This paper proposes a global path‐ and motion‐planning algorithm that enables inchworm‐like robots to navigate their way up tree branches. The intuitive climbing space representation method proposed here greatly simplifies the path‐planning problem. The dynamic programming algorithm can be used to identify the optimal path leading to the target position in the target direction according to the constraints and requirements specified. The planned path can be applied in any tree‐climbing robot that utilizes the nonenclosure gripping method. An efficient motion‐planning algorithm for continuum inchworm‐like robots is then developed to enable them to climb along the planned path with a high degree of accuracy. In comparison with the method proposed in our previous study, the method proposed herein significantly improves consistency between the planned path and the motions of the robot, and therefore makes it more practical to implement the motion‐planning algorithm in trees of different shapes. The paper also describes hardware experiments in which the proposed planning algorithm is applied to enable inchworm‐like robots to climb real trees, thus validating the proposed planning algorithm in practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于Java 3D的虚拟人仿真方法

提出一种将3DS MAX、MS3D与Java 3D编程技术相结合的虚拟人仿真方法,可使虚拟人达到相对逼真且交互性强的效果。该方法首先采用3DS MAX角色动画技术进行人体静态建模和动作建模;然后通过将底层基本动作片段转化为MS3D格式,供Java 3D的骨骼动画模型接口调用;最后利用Java 3D编程来控制虚拟人的高层行为活动。该方法有利于角色建模、运动仿真和行为控制等设计工作的分工协作,适合于网络环境下多角色、复杂动作的虚拟人仿真。     

Generating 3D architectural models based on hand motion and gesture

This paper presents a novel method for rapidly generating 3D architectural models based on hand motion and design gestures captured by a motion capture system. A set of sign language-based gestures, architectural hand signs (AHS), has been developed. AHS is performed on the left hand to define various “components of architecture”, while “location, size and shape” information is defined by the motion of Marker-Pen on the right hand. The hand gestures and motions are recognized by the system and then transferred into 3D curves and surfaces correspondingly. This paper demonstrates the hand gesture-aided architectural modeling method with some case studies.     

An articulated limb motion planner for optimized movement

Task level animation of articulated figures, such as the human body, requires the ability to generate collision-free goal-directed motion of individual limbs in the presence of obstacles. This paper describes a new articulated limb motion planner for goal-directed point-to-point reaching motions. The produced motion avoids obstacles while optimizing an objective function. This two-phase algorithm uses heuristic guided Monte Carlo techniques to create a consistent underlying paradigm. The first phase consists of an existing potential field based random path planner which generates a population of candidate paths. This initial population is fed into the second phase, a genetic algorithm, which iteratively refines the population as it optimizes with respect to the objective function. The refinement process works on the principle of path coherency, the idea that a family of closely related collision-free paths lies in the vicinity of a given collision-free path. This paper focuses on seven different optimization functions. Optimized trajectories produced by the new motion planner are compared to those generated solely by the random path planner. The presented algorithm is flexible in that a wide range of objective functions can be optimized. Applications of the algorithm include task level animation, ergonomics and robotics.     

基于多分辨率模型的快速运动过渡生成算法

运动捕获技术可以记录人体关节运动的细节,是当前最有前景的计算机动画技术.然而,运动数据的重用性一直是个难点,为此,多种运动编辑手段被提出.运动过渡是一种常见的编辑技术,它可以将输入的两端运动序列拼接,形成新的运动序列.其中,过渡点选择的合理与否直接影响着结果运动的质量.在两运动间选择过渡点,需要对输入运动的每一对帧之间分别计算帧间的距离,其计算复杂度是O(n2)的,通过引入多分辨率模型,文中将该复杂度降低到O(nlog2n),同时试验结果表明,此方法并未损害到结果运动的质量.     

基于视频的运动捕获

现有的运动捕获方法大都存在运动捕获设备昂贵、演员运动受限等缺点，为此，提出了一种利用视觉技术从视频中提取人体运动的方法，并对其中的特片跟踪和三维运动序列恢复等关键技术进行了深入研究。基于人体模型的特征跟踪算法利用卡尔曼滤波和极线方程，能精确地跟踪比较大的人体运动；采用不共面的非线性定标模型和考虑运动不确定性的三维重建方法，能恢复逼真的三维人体骨架模型，实验结果验证了基于视频的运动捕获方法的可行性和有效性。     

Reconstructing whole-body motions with wrist trajectories

Reconstructing whole-body motions using only a low-dimensional input reduces the cost of and efforts for performance capture significantly, and yet remains a challenging problem. We introduce a novel technique that synthesizes whole-body motion using the two wrist trajectories. Given the wrist trajectories, we first determine the optimal ankle trajectories from a large number of candidate ankle paths obtained from example poses in the motion database. The optimal trajectory is efficiently achieved by solving for the shortest path problem in a directed acyclic graph. Next, we use both the wrist and ankle trajectories as the low-dimensional control signals to achieve the whole-body pose at each time step. We show that our method can reconstruct various whole-body motions that can be recognized by arm motions, such as walking, stepping, and in-place upper-body motions. Comparisons with ground truth motions and with other methods are provided.     

3D head tracking under partial occlusion

A new algorithm for 3D head tracking under partial occlusion from 2D monocular image sequences is proposed. The extended superquadric (ESQ) is used to generate a geometric 3D face model in order to reduce the shape ambiguity during tracking. Optical flow is then regularized by this model to estimate the 3D rigid motion. To deal with occlusion, a new motion segmentation algorithm using motion residual error analysis is developed. The occluded areas are successfully detected and discarded as noise. Furthermore, accumulation error is heavily reduced by a new post-regularization process based on edge flow. This makes the algorithm more stable over long image sequences. The algorithm is applied to both synthetic occlusion sequence and real image sequences. Comparisons with the ground truth indicate that our method is effective and is not sensitive to occlusion during head tracking.     

Motion segmentation of multiple translating objects from line correspondences

This paper presents an analytic approach to motion segmentation of multiple translating objects from line correspondences in three perspective views. The basic idea of our algorithm is to view the estimation of multiple translational motions as the estimation of a single, though more complex, multibody motion model that is then factored into the original models by polynomial differentiation. Experimental results on synthetic and real scenes are presented.     

A discrete event approach to the command sequence replanning and control in a teleprogramming system

A command sequence replanning and control method, which enables the slave system to autonomously recover from error conditions, is proposed in a telerobot system. A task model described as a form of the controlled Petri net (CPN) is used as a prior knowledge for the slave system to carry out the given task successfully without the operator's aid even in unexpected error conditions. The CPN model incorporates the contact states and transitional motions between them that possibly exist in the task execution process. The motion command is automatically generated from the master system and transmitted to the slave whenever the contact state changes in the master model. Referring to the CPN model and the given motion commands, the slave system detects if the actual contact state is unexpected and then plans the recovery path from the unexpected state. The feasibility of the command sequence replanning and control algorithm is verified through an example to perform a simple part‐mating task. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Minimum-Jerk Speed-Planning Algorithm for Coordinated Planning and Control of Automated Assembly Manufacturing

We previously proposed a general algorithm for coordinating the motions among multiple machines in a shared assembly environment based on a constant-speed motion model. In this paper, we extend this work to a minimum-jerk polynomial motion model and describe a new speed-planning algorithm to plan automated assembly machines' motions. Machines are planned sequentially, based on their priorities, by mapping the motions of higher-priority machines into forbidden regions in two-dimensional space-time graphs. Collision-free minimum-jerk motions are then planned between the forbidden regions in the graphs. The new speed-planning algorithm is evaluated on a dual-robot surface-mount technology assembly machine in which both robots share a common workspace. Note to Practitioners—Automated assembly processes, especially surface-mount technology manufacturing, require a high degree of precision when placing certain components. This motivated us to find a way of maintaining good positional accuracy by planning smooth motions for the machines that perform these tasks. Since many of these machines have two or more robots, their motions must also be coordinated. We developed an algorithm that combines coordinated motion concepts with a minimum-jerk motion model that can solve these problems. The algorithm plans segmented paths for the robots and then sequentially plans their speeds to prevent collisions between them. The planned speeds ensure position, velocity, and acceleration continuity between path segments. The smooth motions resulting from this method enable high-accuracy component placement. The tradeoff for this improvement is increased cycle time compared to other speed-planning methods.     

六自由度机械手三维运动仿真研究

以六自由度机械手三维运动仿真为背景,介绍了利用OpenGL实现机械手运动仿真的有效方法,重点分析了机械手运动学模型的构建以及运动轨迹规划的实现。对于一般的机械手运动仿真系统,该实例具有一般普遍性。     

基于小波变换的运动分析及其应用

对捕获的运动数据进行编辑处理 ,是生成新的复杂人体动画和提高运动捕获数据重用性的关键 ,但目前大多数运动编辑技术不具备对运动进行高层控制处理的能力 ,为此 ,提出了一种基于小波变换的运动编辑新算法 ,即将小波变换引入运动编辑 ,并对运动信号进行多分辨率分析 ,从而实现了运动特征增强、运动融合及运动特征提取与综合 .实验结果表明 ,该算法非常适合对运动特征进行处理 ,由于其能够在高层次上对运动进行有效的编辑 ,因而提高了动画师的工作效率 .     

Computing collision-free motions for a team of robots using formation and non-holonomic constraints

This paper focuses on the collision-free motion of a team of robots moving in a 2D environment with formation and non-holonomic constraints. With the proposed approach one can simultaneously control the formation of the team and generate a safe path for each individual robot. The computed paths satisfy the non-holonomic constraints, avoid collisions, and minimize the task-completion time. The proposed approach, which combines techniques from mathematical programming and CAD, consists of two main steps: first, a global team path is computed and, second, individual motions are determined for each unit. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using several simulation experiments.