This paper presents an intuitive, easy-to-use approach to controlling simulated human figures for the purpose of animation. The animator writes an algorithm to control the object and runs this algorithm on a physical simulator. The control algorithm can interact with the simulator by adding or removing algebraic constraints from the simulator's system of motion equations as the algorithm observes changes in the simulator's world state.
For human locomotion, the use of algebraic constraints allows the algorithm to control intuitive variables, like the acceleration of the centre of mass or the sum of the forces between the human figure and the ground. We have applied this approach to control a simulated biped which can walk up and down stairs and on a level surface. The resulting animation is realistic, and the control algorithms are conceptually simple.
89 Kb compressed Postscript file
@inproceedings{SC-ewas92,
author = "A. James Stewart and James F. Cremer",
title = "Animation of 3D human locomotion: climbing stairs and descending stairs",
booktitle = "Eurographics Workshop on Animation and Simulation",
year = "1992",
month = "September",
pages = "152--168"
}