EG UK Theory and Practice of Computer Graphics

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Browsing EG UK Theory and Practice of Computer Graphics by Subject "Animation"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Breathing Life into Statues Using Augmented Reality
    (The Eurographics Association, 2020) Ioannou, Eleftherios; Maddock, Steve; Ritsos, Panagiotis D. and Xu, Kai
    AR art is a relatively recent phenomenon, one that brings innovation in the way that artworks can be produced and presented in real-world locations and environments. We present an AR art app, running in real time on a smartphone, that can be used to bring to life inanimate objects such as statues. The work relies on a virtual copy of the real object, which is produced using photogrammetry, as well as a skeleton rig for subsequent animation. As part of the work, we present a new diminishing reality technique, based on the use of particle systems, to make the real object 'disappear' and be replaced by the animating virtual copy, effectively animating the inanimate. The approach is demonstrated on two objects: a juice carton and a small giraffe sculpture.
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    GPU Simulation of Finite Element Facial Soft-Tissue Models
    (The Eurographics Association, 2013) Warburton, Mark; Maddock, Steve; Silvester Czanner and Wen Tang
    Physically-based animation techniques enable more realistic and accurate animation to be created. We present a GPU-based finite element (FE) simulation and interactive visualisation system for efficiently producing realisticlooking animations of facial movement, including expressive wrinkles. It is optimised for simulating multi-layered voxel-based models using the total Lagrangian explicit dynamic (TLED) FE method. The flexibility of our system enables detailed animations of gross and fine-scale soft-tissue movement to be easily produced with different muscle structures and material parameters. While we focus on the forehead, the system can be used to animate any multi-material soft body.
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    PED: Pedestrian Environment Designer
    (The Eurographics Association, 2016) McIlveen, James; Maddock, Steve; Heywood, Peter; Richmond, Paul; Cagatay Turkay and Tao Ruan Wan
    Pedestrian simulations have many uses, from pedestrian planning for architecture design through to games and entertainment. However, it is still challenging to efficiently author such simulations, especially for non-technical users. Direct pedestrian control is usually laborious, and, while indirect, environment-level control is often faster, it currently lacks the necessary tools to create complex environments easily and without extensive prior technical knowledge. This paper describes an indirect, environment-level control system in which pedestrians' behaviour can be specified efficiently and then interactively tuned. With the Pedestrian Environment Designer (PED) interface, authors can define environments using tools similar to those found in raster graphics editing software such as PhotoshopTM. Users paint on two-dimensional bitmap layers to control the behaviour of pedestrians in a three-dimensional simulation. The layers are then compiled to produce a live, agent-based pedestrian simulation using the FLAME GPU framework. Entrances and exits can be inserted, collision boundaries defined, and areas of attraction and avoidance added. The system also offers dynamic simulation updates at runtime giving immediate author feedback and enabling authors to simulate scenarios with dynamic elements such as barriers, or dynamic circumstances such as temporary areas of avoidance. As a result, authors are able to create complex crowd simulations more effectively and with minimal training.
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    Physically-based Sticky Lips
    (The Eurographics Association, 2018) Leach, Matthew; Maddock, Steve; {Tam, Gary K. L. and Vidal, Franck
    Abstract In this paper, a novel solution is provided for the sticky lip problem in computer facial animation, recreating the way the lips stick together when drawn apart in speech or in the formation of facial expressions. Traditional approaches to modelling this rely on an artist estimating the correct behaviour. In contrast, this paper presents a physically-based model. The mouth is modelled using the total Lagrangian explicit dynamics finite element method, with a new breaking element modelling the saliva between the lips. With this approach, subtle yet complex behaviours are recreated implicitly, giving rise to more realistic movements of the lips. The model is capable of reproducing varying degrees of stickiness between the lips, as well as asymmetric effects.
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    Projectional Radiography Simulator: an Interactive Teaching Tool
    (The Eurographics Association, 2019) Sujar, Aaron; Kelly, Graham; García, Marcos; Vidal, Franck; Vidal, Franck P. and Tam, Gary K. L. and Roberts, Jonathan C.
    Radiographers need to know a broad range of knowledge about X-ray radiography, which can be specific to each part of the body. Due to the harmfulness of the ionising radiation used, teaching and training using real patients is not ethical. Students have limited access to real X-ray rooms and anatomic phantoms during their studies. Books, and now web apps, containing a set of static pictures are then often used to illustrate clinical cases. In this study, we have built an Interactive X-ray Projectional Simulator using a deformation algorithm with a real-time X-ray image simulator. Users can load various anatomic models and the tool enables virtual model positioning in order to set a specific position and see the corresponding X-ray image. It allows teachers to simulate any particular X-ray projection in a lecturing environment without using real patients and avoiding any kind of radiation risk. This tool also allows the students to reproduce the important parameters of a real X-ray machine in a safe environment. We have performed a face and content validation in which our tool proves to be realistic (72% of the participants agreed that the simulations are visually realistic), useful (67%) and suitable (78%) for teaching X-ray radiography.
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    Sketching for Real-time Control of Crowd Simulations
    (The Eurographics Association, 2017) Gonzalez, Luis Rene Montana; Maddock, Steve; Tao Ruan Wan and Franck Vidal
    Crowd simulations are used in various fields such as entertainment, training systems and city planning. However, controlling the behaviour of the pedestrians typically involves tuning of the system parameters through trial and error, a time-consuming process relying on knowledge of a potentially complex parameter set. This paper presents an interactive graphical approach to control the simulation by sketching in the simulation environment. The user is able to sketch obstacles to block pedestrians and lines to force pedestrians to follow a specific path, as well as define spawn and exit locations for pedestrians. The obstacles and lines modify the underlying navigation representation and pedestrian trajectories are recalculated in real time. The FLAMEGPU framework is used for the simulation and the game engine Unreal is used for visualisation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach using a range of scenarios, producing interactive editing and frame rates for tens of thousands of pedestrians. A comparison with the commercial software MassMotion is also given.
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    Using Sketching to Control Heterogeneous Groups
    (The Eurographics Association, 2015) Allen, Thomas; Parvanov, Aleksandar; Knight, Sam; Maddock, Steve; Rita Borgo and Cagatay Turkay
    The basic methods of interaction in strategy games with regards to controlling groups of units has largely remained the same since the first strategy games were released. Although the control systems in games today are effective and intuitive, they are somewhat limiting for the user in terms of achieving more complex goals. Recently, there has been research into using sketch-based systems as an alternate means of controlling a crowd, granting a higher level of control to the user while maintaining an easy to use and intuitive interface. So far, however, this has only been implemented for homogeneous groups. This paper describes the implementation of a sketch-based crowd control system for strategy games, which allows the user to exert a greater level of control over their armies by giving them the ability to control heterogeneous groups by using sub-group sketching to distinguish formations and paths for groups and sub-groups to adhere to.