Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080204457 | Rig Baking - Model components can be used to pose character models to create a variety of realistic and artistic effects. An embodiment of the invention analyzes the behavior of a model component to determine a statistical representation of the model component that closely approximates the output of the model component. As the statistical representation of model components execute faster than the original model components, the model components used to pose a character model can be replaced at animation time by equivalent statistical representations of model components to improve animation performance. The statistical representation of the model component is derived from an analysis of the character model manipulated through a set of representative training poses. The statistical representation of the model component is comprised of a weighted combination of posed frame positions added to a set of posing errors controlled by nonlinear combinations of the animation variables. | 08-28-2008 |
20090153565 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DESIGNING ANIMATRONICS UNITS FROM ARTICULATED COMPUTER GENERATED CHARACTERS - A method for specifying a design for an animatronics unit includes receiving motion data comprising artistically determined motions, determining a design for construction of at least a portion of the animatronics unit in response to the motion data, and outputting the design for construction of the animatronics unit. | 06-18-2009 |
20090153566 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ESTIMATING AND CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR OF ANIMATRONICS UNITS - A method for determining behavior of an animatronics unit includes receiving animation data comprising artistically determined motions for at least a portion of an animated character, determining a plurality of control signals to be applied to at least the portion of the animatronics unit in response to the animation data, estimating the behavior of at least the portion of the animatronics unit in response to the plurality of control signals by driving a software simulation of at least the portion of the animatronics unit with the plurality of control signals, and outputting a representation of the behavior of at least the portion of the animatronics unit to a user. | 06-18-2009 |
20090179900 | Methods and Apparatus for Export of Animation Data to Non-Native Articulation Schemes - A method for exporting animation data from a native animation environment to a non-native animation environment includes determining first object poses in response to a first object model in the native environment and animation variables, determining a second object model including a geometric object model, determining second object poses in response to the second object model and animation variables, determining surface errors between the first object poses and the second object poses, determining a corrective object offsets in response to the surface errors, determining actuation values associated with the corrective object offsets in response to the surface errors, determining a third object model compatible with the non-native animation environment in response to the second object of poses, the corrective offsets, and the actuation values, and storing the third object model in a memory. | 07-16-2009 |
20100302252 | MULTIPLE PERSONALITY ARTICULATION FOR ANIMATED CHARACTERS - A method for a computer system includes determining a model for a first personality of a component of an object, wherein the model for the first personality of the component is associated with a component name and a first personality indicia, determining a model for a second personality of the component of the object, wherein the model for the second personality of the component is associated with the component name and the second personality indicia, determining a multiple personality model of the object, wherein the model of the object includes the model for the first personality of the component, the model of the second personality of the component, the first personality indicia, and the second personality indicia, and storing the multiple personality model of the object in a single file. | 12-02-2010 |
20110216070 | SCALE SEPARATION IN HAIR DYNAMICS - Techniques are disclosed for accounting for features of computer-generated dynamic or simulation models being at different scales. Some examples of dynamic or simulation models may include models representing hair, fur, strings, vines, tails, or the like. In various embodiments, features at different scales in a complex dynamic or simulation model can be treated differently when rendered and/or simulated. | 09-08-2011 |
20110216074 | REORIENTING PROPERTIES IN HAIR DYNAMICS - Techniques are disclosed for orienting (or reorienting) properties of computer-generated models, such as those associated with dynamic models or simulation models. Properties (e.g., material or physical properties) that influence the behavior of a dynamic or simulation model (e.g., a complex curve model representing a curly hair) may be oriented or re-oriented as desired using readily available reference frames. These references frame may be obtained using a proxy model that corresponds to the dynamic or simulation model in a less computationally expensive manner in some embodiments than some techniques for determining reference frames directly using the dynamic or simulation model. In some embodiments, the proxy model may include a smoothed version of the dynamic or simulation model. In other embodiments, the proxy model may include a filtered or simplified version of the dynamic or simulation model. | 09-08-2011 |
20130173242 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ESTIMATING AND CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR OF ANIMATRONICS UNITS - A method for determining behavior of an animatronics unit includes receiving animation data comprising artistically determined motions for at least a portion of an animated character, determining a plurality of control signals to be applied to at least the portion of the animatronics unit in response to the animation data, estimating the behavior of at least the portion of the animatronics unit in response to the plurality of control signals by driving a software simulation of at least the portion of the animatronics unit with the plurality of control signals, and outputting a representation of the behavior of at least the portion of the animatronics unit to a user. | 07-04-2013 |