Sketching-out virtual humans: From 2d storyboarding to immediate 3d character animation

Virtual beings are playing a remarkable role in today’s public entertainment, while ordinary users are still treated as audiences due to the lack of appropriate expertise, equipment, and computer skills. In this paper, we present a fast and intuitive storyboarding interface, which enables users to sketch-out 3D virtual humans, 2D/3D animations, and character intercommunication. We devised an intuitive “stick figurefleshing-outskin mapping” graphical animation pipeline, which realises the whole process of key framing, 3D pose reconstruction, virtual human modelling, motion path/timing control, and the final animation synthesis by almost pure 2D sketching. A “creative model-based method” is developed, which emulates a human perception process, to generate the 3D human bodies of variational sizes, shapes, and fat distributions. Meanwhile, our current system also supports the sketch-based crowd animation and the storyboarding of the 3D multiple character intercommunication. This system has been formally tested by various users on Tablet PC. After minimal training, even a beginner can create vivid virtual humans and animate them within minutes

Sketching-out virtual humans: A smart interface for human modelling and animation

In this paper, we present a fast and intuitive interface for sketching out 3D virtual humans and animation. The user draws stick figure key frames first and chooses one for “fleshing-out” with freehand body contours. The system automatically constructs a plausible 3D skin surface from the rendered figure, and maps it onto the posed stick figures to produce the 3D character animation. A “creative model-based method” is developed, which performs a human perception process to generate 3D human bodies of various body sizes, shapes and fat distributions. In this approach, an anatomical 3D generic model has been created with three distinct layers: skeleton, fat tissue, and skin. It can be transformed sequentially through rigid morphing, fatness morphing, and surface fitting to match the original 2D sketch. An auto-beautification function is also offered to regularise the 3D asymmetrical bodies from users’ imperfect figure sketches. Our current system delivers character animation in various forms, including articulated figure animation, 3D mesh model animation, 2D contour figure animation, and even 2D NPR animation with personalised drawing styles. The system has been formally tested by various users on Tablet PC. After minimal training, even a beginner can create vivid virtual humans and animate them within minutes

Data mining technology for the evaluation of learning content interaction

Interactivity is central for the success of learning. In e-learning and other educational multimedia environments, the evaluation of interaction and behaviour is particularly crucial. Data mining – a non-intrusive, objective analysis technology – shall be proposed as the central evaluation technology for the analysis of the usage of computer-based educational environments and in particular of the interaction with educational content. Basic mining techniques are reviewed and their application in a Web-based third-level course environment is illustrated. Analytic models capturing interaction aspects from the application domain (learning) and the software infrastructure (interactive multimedia) are required for the meaningful interpretation of mining results

Mobile learning: benefits of augmented reality in geometry teaching

As a consequence of the technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and communication in the last decades, mobile learning has become a spontaneous learning model, providing a more flexible and collaborative technology-based learning. Thus, mobile technologies can create new opportunities for enhancing the pupils’ learning experiences. This paper presents the development of a game to assist teaching and learning, aiming to help students acquire knowledge in the field of geometry. The game was intended to develop the following competences in primary school learners (8-10 years): a better visualization of geometric objects on a plane and in space; understanding of the properties of geometric solids; and familiarization with the vocabulary of geometry. Findings show that by using the game, students have improved around 35% the hits of correct responses to the classification and differentiation between edge, vertex and face in 3D solids.This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Design Star CDT (AH/L503770/1), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) projects LARSyS (UID/EEA/50009/2013) and CIAC-Research Centre for Arts and Communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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Multimedia Sotho-English E-dictionary for Undergraduate Students in Design and Studio Art

Published ThesisWhen students study at tertiary institutions they are often confronted with disciplines that are unfamiliar to them. Many of these disciplines are rich in terminology and concepts that students have never been confronted with in their past. In most South African tertiary institutions the language of instruction is English, making it difficult for second language speaking students to grasp the meaning of these terms and concepts. Research has shown that e-dictionaries with multimedia enhancements have greatly facilitated the comprehension of difficult terms and concepts. The inclusion of pictures, videos, animations, cartoons and audio clips into e-dictionaries have been proven to aid students in learning and comprehending new terms and concepts. Aim: Undergraduate students at the Department of Design and Studio Art, CUT-FS could greatly benefit from the development of a multimedia enhanced Sotho-English e-dictionary. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a multimedia enhanced Sotho-English e-dictionary that can be used by undergraduate students from the Department of Design and Studio Art, Central University of Technology, Free State. Methods: The study was divided into five phases in order to meet the aims and objectives. Firstly, English art and design terms and concepts were sourced from the relevant literature. The English art and design terms and concepts were for first year students at the Department of Design and Studio Art at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT-FS). Secondly, Sotho equivalents of the sourced English art and design terms and concepts were devised. Thirdly, the instructional multimedia aids for the multimedia e-dictionary were designed. Fourthly, the user interface of the e-dictionary was developed. Lastly, the multimedia e-dictionary was tested by undergraduate students at the Department of Design and Studio Art at the CUT-FS. The students were randomly divided into two groups. The control group, Group A, did not have access to a multimedia enhanced e-dictionary while studying art and design terms and concepts. The multimedia group, Group B, had access to a multimedia e-dictionary while studying art and design terms and concepts. Furthermore, purposeful semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Sotho speaking participants of the multimedia group to gather qualitative data about their experience with the multimedia e-dictionary application. Results: The results of the online comprehension test revealed that the multimedia e-dictionary application successfully facilitated learning amongst the multimedia group students. The group of students that had access to the multimedia e-dictionary application significantly outperformed the group of students that did not have access to the multimedia e-dictionary application (p = 0.0007). The semi-structured interviews that were conducted with a few Sotho speaking students that had access to the application also supported the success of the SEADD application

Life sciences on-line: A study in hypermedia application

The main objective was to determine the feasibility of using a computer-based interactive information recall module for the Life Sciences Project Division (LSPD) at NASA, Johnson Space Center. LSPD personnel prepare payload experiments to test and monitor physiological functions in zero gravity. Training refreshers and other types of online help are needed to support personnel in their tasks during mission testing and in flight. Results of a survey of other hypermedia and multimedia developers and lessons learned by the developer of the LSPD prototype module are presented. Related issues and future applications are also discussed and further hypermedia development within the LSPD is recommended