Rig Animation with a Tangible and Modular Input Device

摘要

We propose a novel approach to digital character animation, combiningrnthe benefits of tangible input devices and sophisticated rigrnanimation algorithms. A symbiotic software and hardware approachrnfacilitates the animation process for novice and expert usersrnalike. We overcome limitations inherent to all previous tangible devicesrnby allowing users to directly control complex rigs using only arnsmall set (5-10) of physical controls. This avoids oversimplificationrnof the pose space and excessively bulky device configurations. Ourrnalgorithm derives a small device configuration from complex characterrnrigs, often containing hundreds of degrees of freedom, and arnset of sparse sample poses. Importantly, only the most influentialrndegrees of freedom are controlled directly, yet detailed motion isrnpreserved based on a pose interpolation technique. We designed arnmodular collection of joints and splitters, which can be assembledrnto represent a wide variety of skeletons. Each joint piece combinesrna universal joint and two twisting elements, allowing to accuratelyrnsense its configuration. The mechanical design provides a smoothrninverse kinematics-like user experience and is not prone to gimbalrnlocking. We integrate our method with the professional 3D softwarernAutodesk Maya® and discuss a variety of results created withrncharacters available online. Comparative user experiments showrnsignificant improvements over the closest state-of-the-art in termsrnof accuracy and time in a keyframe posing task.