Motion graphs

Abstract

In this paper we present a novel method for creating realistic, controllable motion. Given a corpus of motion capture data, we automatically construct a directed graph called a motion graph that encapsulates connections among the database. The motion graph consists both of pieces of original motion and automatically generated transitions. Motion can be generated simply by building walks on the graph. We present a general framework for extracting particular graph walks that meet a user's specifications. We then show how this framework can be applied to the specific problem of generating different styles of locomotion along arbitrary paths.

Automating Expressive Locomotion Generation

“…For concatenation of motion segments, a motion graph [1,7,9] is typically constructed to represent an output motion sequence as a valid graph path, satisfying edge and node constraints specified by an animator. Coupled with motion blending techniques, this type of approach can provide online locomotion generation [8,12,14], where control parameters such as speed, turning angles, or emotional values can be continuously fed into the system.…”

Fluid Simulation with Articulated Bodies

“…A major benefit of motion capture is that it provides many of the details and nuances of live motion. The usability of motion capture for animation has been further enhanced by some practical approaches for the adaptation and reuse of already captured data (see [5] [6], [7], [8]). However only a few efforts make the data of character motion interact with the surrounding physical environment, especially a complex simulated environment with fluids.…”

Complex character animation that combines kinematic and dynamic control

“…Within our framework, controllers are now black boxes that can encapsulate any kind of animation technique. For example, they can be based on the direct application of motion capture, elaborate motion graph structures [Kovar et al 2002;Li et al 2002] or dynamic controllers [Hodgins et al 1995;Faloutsos et al 2001].Our system can switch between kinematic animation and physical simulation for any number of characters in the environment and determines which effects will be placed on which characters. For example, it may be desirable to fully animate one character hitting another by motion captured data and only simulate the impact of the force of the hit on the second character.…”