HeadOn: Real-time Reenactment of Human Portrait Videos

We propose HeadOn, the first real-time source-to-target reenactment approach for complete human portrait videos that enables transfer of torso and head motion, face expression, and eye gaze. Given a short RGB-D video of the target actor, we automatically construct a personalized geometry proxy that embeds a parametric head, eye, and kinematic torso model. A novel real-time reenactment algorithm employs this proxy to photo-realistically map the captured motion from the source actor to the target actor. On top of the coarse geometric proxy, we propose a video-based rendering technique that composites the modified target portrait video via view- and pose-dependent texturing, and creates photo-realistic imagery of the target actor under novel torso and head poses, facial expressions, and gaze directions. To this end, we propose a robust tracking of the face and torso of the source actor. We extensively evaluate our approach and show significant improvements in enabling much greater flexibility in creating realistic reenacted output videos.Comment: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dg49wv2c_g Presented at Siggraph'1

HairBrush for Immersive Data-Driven Hair Modeling

International audienceWhile hair is an essential component of virtual humans, it is also one of the most challenging digital assets to create. Existing automatic techniques lack the generality and flexibility to create rich hair variations, while manual authoring interfaces often require considerable artistic skills and efforts, especially for intricate 3D hair structures that can be difficult to navigate. We propose an interactive hair modeling system that can help create complex hairstyles in minutes or hours that would otherwise take much longer with existing tools. Modelers, including novice users, can focus on the overall hairstyles and local hair deformations, as our system intelligently suggests the desired hair parts. Our method combines the flexibility of manual authoring and the convenience of data-driven automation. Since hair contains intricate 3D structures such as buns, knots, and strands, they are inherently challenging to create using traditional 2D interfaces. Our system provides a new 3D hair author-ing interface for immersive interaction in virtual reality (VR). Users can draw high-level guide strips, from which our system predicts the most plausible hairstyles via a deep neural network trained from a professionally curated dataset. Each hairstyle in our dataset is composed of multiple variations, serving as blend-shapes to fit the user drawings via global blending and local deformation. The fitted hair models are visualized as interactive suggestions that the user can select, modify, or ignore. We conducted a user study to confirm that our system can significantly reduce manual labor while improve the output quality for modeling a variety of head and facial hairstyles that are challenging to create via existing techniques

Computer-assisted animation creation techniques for hair animation and shade, highlight, and shadow

制度:新 ; 報告番号:甲3062号 ; 学位の種類:博士(工学) ; 授与年月日:2010/2/25 ; 早大学位記番号:新532

A Novel Forensic DNA Profiling Method Based On Molecular Beacons Without Dna Purification

Analysis of polymorphisms in nucleic acid sequences provides the basis for identification of individuals and their genetic deficiencies. Currently, the accepted method of analysis for profiling is Short Tandem Repeat (STR) profiling. This is a lengthy process, typically taking up to 3 days. The time necessary to generate an STR profile, along with the ever-increasing reliance on DNA to solve crimes, has led to a large DNA sample backlog, with violent crime turnaround taking an average of 103 days. The time and resource investment required for STR analysis is significant, and not all samples generate useful profiles. The current methods for use of STR technologies require an isolated template sample. This isolation typically requires hours of extractions and incubations, followed by still more time for analysis. The considerable length of time necessary for this process makes it inherently expensive, while also increasing the backlog. A universal protocol allowing amplification from various, frequently used samples would allow extremely rapid sampling and results. Further, these templates are faster and easier to amplify than standard STRs, which reduces the risk of resources and time on a sample which may not amplify. Common forensic samples include blood, hair, saliva, and buccal swabs. Using a single, universal protocol to prepare these samples for analysis without extensive isolation allows the simultaneous preparation of multiple samples. Accordingly, this work explores the development of a preparatory method for multiple forensic samples coupled with the optimization of polymerase chain reaction conditions to facilitate the real-time monitoring of the interaction of molecular beacons (MBs) with the template. These MBs can then be used to identify the presence or absence of specific nucleotide polymorphisms. This increase in throughput has extensive application in forensic and medical applications

mtDNA Heteroplasmy in Hair Shafts versus Buccal Swabs for Forensic Applications

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis has several forensic applications such as criminal investigations, identification of human remains, and missing person investigations. It is also the only type of DNA that is available from certain sample types such as hair shafts. The presence of mtDNA heteroplasmy within and between tissue types can lead to mtDNA sequence differences when comparing samples originating from the same individual. Studies on mtDNA heteroplasmy are increasingly being carried out for their implications in forensic interpretation of mtDNA sequences. Specifically, mtDNA in buccal swabs compared to hair samples from one individual may show differences in sequence due to heteroplasmy, and casework samples compared to reference swabs may exhibit differences that must be correctly interpreted to prevent faulty conclusions made by investigators and scientists alike. Establishing expected rates of heteroplasmy in mtDNA extracted from hair shaft samples and comparison to mtDNA extracted from buccal swab samples will lead to increased confidence in mtDNA interpretation. The goals of this study were to (1) successfully sequence the entire mtDNA control region from buccal swab samples from 5 volunteers using Sanger sequencing, (2) amplify smaller (\u3c300bp) sections of overlapping regions of the mtDNA control region from 15-20 hair shafts collected from three areas of the scalp using three methods of DNA extraction, and (3) evaluate mtDNA sequences from hair shafts and buccal swabs to identify heteroplasmy within and between samples. Overall, only 20% of the extracted hair samples resulted in half of Hypervariable Region 1 (HV1) being successfully sequenced from either the 5´ or 3´ end. Two out of five participants showed length heteroplasmy in the poly-cytosine region beginning at position 303 within the HV2 region. Point heteroplasmy was observed in one participant at one position in the buccal swab (nucleotide position 16093) as well as at two different positions in a hair sample (nucleotide positions 16258 and 16288) that did not show heteroplasmy in the buccal swab. The heteroplasmy seen in the buccal swab could not be compared to the hair sample as position 16093 did not fall within the successfully sequenced region in the hair. Although only a small subset of hair shafts were successfully sequenced, this study has succeeded in showing that mtDNA heteroplasmy seen in a hair shaft may not be present in buccal swab mtDNA. Further research into rates of heteroplasmy in hair shafts vs. buccal swabs is paramount to bettering the interpretative abilities of forensic scientists working with mtDNA and preventing false exclusions

DNA Fingerprinting

The aim of this IQP was to research different DNA fingerprinting technologies and study their effect on todays\u27 society. Early chapters focused on the two main methods for obtaining DNA fingerprints, and the way DNA samples are collected and stored. Later chapters focused on an analysis of landmark DNA court cases as examples for allowing complex technology into U.S. courts, and discussed the purpose of various kinds of DNA databases and their privacy rights. Lastly, the authors determined their own conclusions about this new technology including whose DNA should be entered into databases