Emotion from motion
© Image courtesy of Hao Li - ILM
Over thirty universities from Switzerland and abroad will be represented at the ACM SIGGRAPH / Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation, which will take place from 29-31 July 2012. Renowned companies such as Disney Research, NVIDIA PhysX Research, Adobe or OLM Digital will also take part.
The School of Computer and Communication Sciences is hosting the 11th edition of the renowned Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation. The symposium is intended for anyone interested in simulation, particularly realistic visualization of phenomena unfolding over time.
Simulation is every bit as vast as the phenomena to be replicated, whether it be physical states (e.g. solid, liquid or gaseous states) or the deformation of inanimate objects. Living creatures and their interactions are also subject to simulation.
Several factors are considered, namely the plausibility of these simulations. "By plausibility, we mean that the visual simulation must be credible and realistic enough for viewers. Living creatures are particularly complex subjects to simulate, as you can imagine", explains co-organizer Dr. Boulic.
Two families of methods coexist. The mathematical approach uses systems of equations to simulate inert physical phenomena (e.g. liquid and gaseous states, etc.). However, this approach does not work very well when it comes to simulating living creatures. In such cases, the data-based approach is used instead: movements are pre-recorded and the resulting data used to generate models with the help of the machine learning method.
Bringing objects to life through movement and emotions
"Animation means bringing objects to life through movement. We try to 'breathe life' or 'reinforce the realism effect' through movement. In a way, movement is a guarantee of realism. This realism is essential because it can have an enormous impact on the success of a film or video game at the box office," states Dr. Boulic.
In addition to the realism factor associated with movement, a second factor is just as essential in creating this realism effect: emotion. This factor is much more difficult to reproduce. Simulating emotions on the basis of facial expressions, for instance, is a major challenge. Will the audience be moved by (i.e. believe) the emotions expressed? Will the simulated movement and emotions create a sufficient degree of realism? A third, and complementary, factor is how human beings perceive movement and emotions. Do the movements and emotions successfully create the illusion? Are they credible in the eyes of viewers? Does the simulation convince the audience?
Analysis of human perception is therefore crucial for this type of simulation because it allows calculation resources to be concentrated on what we truly perceive.
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Event at a glance:
- 29-31 July 2012 at the Polydome of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
- 38 articles devoted to specific themes
- 32 universities represented
- Participation of main companies that work in the field of computer animation (Disney Research Zurich, Disney Research Pittsburgh, NVIDIA PhysX Research, Adobe, OLM Digital)
>> Registration
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