3,988 research outputs found
Using image morphing for memory-efficient impostor rendering on GPU
Real-time rendering of large animated crowds consisting thousands of virtual humans is important for several applications including simulations, games and interactive walkthroughs; but cannot be performed using complex polygonal models at interactive frame rates. For that reason, several methods using large numbers of pre-computed image-based representations, which are called as impostors, have been proposed. These methods take the advantage of existing programmable graphics hardware to compensate the computational expense while maintaining the visual fidelity. Making the number of different virtual humans, which can be rendered in real-time, not restricted anymore by the required computational power but by the texture memory consumed for the variety and discretization of their animations. In this work, we proposed an alternative method that reduces the memory consumption by generating compelling intermediate textures using image-morphing techniques. In order to demonstrate the preserved perceptual quality of animations, where half of the key-frames were rendered using the proposed methodology, we have implemented the system using the graphical processing unit and obtained promising results at interactive frame rates
Automatically Controlled Morphing of 2D Shapes with Textures
This paper deals with 2D image transformations from a perspective of a 3D heterogeneous shape modeling and computer animation. Shape and image morphing techniques have attracted a lot of attention in artistic design, computer animation, and interactive and streaming applications. We present a novel method for morphing between two topologically arbitrary 2D shapes with sophisticated textures (raster color attributes) using a metamorphosis technique called space-time blending (STB) coupled with space-time transfinite interpolation. The method allows for a smooth transition between source and target objects by generating in-between shapes and associated textures without setting any correspondences between boundary points or features. The method requires no preprocessing and can be applied in 2D animation when position and topology of source and target objects are significantly different. With the conversion of given 2D shapes to signed distance fields, we have detected a number of problems with directly applying STB to them. We propose a set of novel and mathematically substantiated techniques, providing automatic control of the morphing process with STB and an algorithm of applying those techniques in combination. We illustrate our method with applications in 2D animation and interactive applications
Controlled metamorphosis between skeleton-driven animated polyhedral meshes of arbitrary topologies
Enabling animators to smoothly transform between animated meshes of differing topologies is a long-standing problem in geometric modelling and computer animation. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid approach built upon the advantages of scalar field-based models (often called implicit surfaces) which can easily change their topology by changing their defining scalar field. Given two meshes, animated by their rigging-skeletons, we associate each mesh with its own approximating implicit surface. This implicit surface moves synchronously with the mesh. The shape-metamorphosis process is performed in several steps: first, we collapse the two meshes to their corresponding approximating implicit surfaces, then we transform between the two implicit surfaces and finally we inverse transition from the resulting metamorphosed implicit surface to the target mesh. The examples presented in this paper demonstrating the results of the proposed technique were implemented using an in-house plug-in for Maya™. © 2013 The Authors Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
3D mesh metamorphosis from spherical parameterization for conceptual design
Engineering product design is an information intensive decision-making
process that consists of several phases including design specification
definition, design concepts generation, detailed design and analysis,
and manufacturing. Usually, generating geometry models for
visualization is a big challenge for early stage conceptual design.
Complexity of existing computer aided design packages constrains
participation of people with various backgrounds in the design
process. In addition, many design processes do not take advantage of
the rich amount of legacy information available for new concepts
creation.
The research presented here explores the use of advanced graphical
techniques to quickly and efficiently merge legacy information with
new design concepts to rapidly create new conceptual product designs.
3D mesh metamorphosis framework 3DMeshMorpher was created to
construct new models by navigating in a shape-space of registered
design models. The framework is composed of: i) a fast spherical
parameterization method to map a geometric model (genus-0) onto a unit
sphere; ii) a geometric feature identification and picking technique
based on 3D skeleton extraction; and iii) a LOD controllable 3D
remeshing scheme with spherical mesh subdivision based on the
developedspherical parameterization. This efficient software framework
enables designers to create numerous geometric concepts in real time
with a simple graphical user interface.
The spherical parameterization method is focused on closed genus-zero
meshes. It is based upon barycentric coordinates with convex boundary.
Unlike most existing similar approaches which deal with each vertex in
the mesh equally, the method developed in this research focuses
primarily on resolving overlapping areas, which helps speed the
parameterization process. The algorithm starts by normalizing the
source mesh onto a unit sphere and followed by some initial relaxation
via Gauss-Seidel iterations. Due to its emphasis on solving only
challenging overlapping regions, this parameterization process is much
faster than existing spherical mapping methods.
To ensure the correspondence of features from different models, we
introduce a skeleton based feature identification and picking method
for features alignment. Unlike traditional methods that align single
point for each feature, this method can provide alignments for
complete feature areas. This could help users to create more
reasonable intermediate morphing results with preserved topological
features. This skeleton featuring framework could potentially be
extended to automatic features alignment for geometries with similar
topologies. The skeleton extracted could also be applied for other
applications such as skeleton-based animations.
The 3D remeshing algorithm with spherical mesh subdivision is
developed to generate a common connectivity for different mesh models.
This method is derived from the concept of spherical mesh subdivision.
The local recursive subdivision can be set to match the desired LOD
(level of details) for source spherical mesh. Such LOD is controllable
and this allows various outputs with different resolutions. Such
recursive subdivision then follows by a triangular correction process
which ensures valid triangulations for the remeshing. And the final
mesh merging and reconstruction process produces the remeshing model
with desired LOD specified from user. Usually the final merged model
contains all the geometric details from each model with reasonable
amount of vertices, unlike other existing methods that result in big
amount of vertices in the merged model. Such multi-resolution outputs
with controllable LOD could also be applied in various other computer
graphics applications such as computer games
What determines growth potential and juvenile quality of farmed fish species?
Enhanced production of high quality and healthy fry is a key target for a successful and competitive expansion of the aquaculture industry. Although large quantities of fish larvae are produced, survival rates are often low or highly variable and growth potential is in most cases not fully exploited, indicating significant gaps in our knowledge concerning optimal nutritional and culture conditions. Understanding the mechanisms that control early development and muscle growth are critical for the identification of time windows in development that introduce growth variation, and improve the viability and quality of juveniles. This literature review of the current state of knowledge aims to provide a framework for a better understanding of fish skeletal muscle ontogeny, and its impact on larval and juvenile quality as broadly defined. It focuses on fundamental biological knowledge relevant to larval phenotype and quality and, in particular, on the factors affecting the development of skeletal muscle. It also discusses the available methodologies to assess growth and larvae/juvenile quality, identifies gaps in knowledge and suggests future research directions. The focus is primarily on the major farmed non-salmonid fish species in Europe that include gilthead sea bream, European sea bass, turbot, Atlantic cod, Senegalese sole and Atlantic halibut
Indirect Image Registration with Large Diffeomorphic Deformations
The paper adapts the large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping framework
for image registration to the indirect setting where a template is registered
against a target that is given through indirect noisy observations. The
registration uses diffeomorphisms that transform the template through a (group)
action. These diffeomorphisms are generated by solving a flow equation that is
defined by a velocity field with certain regularity. The theoretical analysis
includes a proof that indirect image registration has solutions (existence)
that are stable and that converge as the data error tends so zero, so it
becomes a well-defined regularization method. The paper concludes with examples
of indirect image registration in 2D tomography with very sparse and/or highly
noisy data.Comment: 43 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; revise
Approximation of Splines in Wasserstein Spaces
This paper investigates a time discrete variational model for splines in
Wasserstein spaces to interpolate probability measures. Cubic splines in
Euclidean space are known to minimize the integrated squared acceleration
subject to a set of interpolation constraints. As generalization on the space
of probability measures the integral over the squared acceleration is
considered as a spline energy and regularized by addition of the usual action
functional. Both energies are then discretized in time using local
Wasserstein-2 distances and the generalized Wasserstein barycenter. The
existence of time discrete regularized splines for given interpolation
conditions is established. On the subspace of Gaussian distributions, the
spline interpolation problem is solved explicitly and consistency in the
discrete to continuous limit is shown. The computation of time discrete splines
is implemented numerically, based on entropy regularization and the Sinkhorn
algorithm. A variant of the iPALM method is applied for the minimization of the
fully discrete functional. A variety of numerical examples demonstrate the
robustness of the approach and show striking characteristics of the method. As
a particular application the spline interpolation for synthesized textures is
presented.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure
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