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

A Minimal Object Oriented Real-Time Operating System in C++

Most embedded software is currently developed using the C programming language, even though its low level of abstrac- tion requires a lot of effort to the programmer. The C++ language is a better choice because: it raises the level of abstraction; it is strongly typed, so it prevents many com- mon programming mistakes; it can be made as efficient as C through fine-grained customisation of memory mechanisms; it can be easily adapted to domain-specific needs. In ad- dition, recent compilers have grown in maturity and per- formance, and the new standard considerably improves the language by introducing new concepts and an easier syntax. In this paper we present ADOK, a minimal Real-Time Op- erating System entirely written in C++ with the exception of a few lines of assembler code. It directly offers a C++ interface to the developer, and it provides a flexible schedul- ing framework which allows the developer to customise the scheduling to its needs. In particular, we implement a two- level scheduler based on Earliest Deadline First, the Stack Resource Policy protocol for sharing resources and support for mode changes. We demonstrate through examples and a small case-study that ADOK can substantially improve productivity without sacrificing on performance

Memory Mangement in the PoSSo Solver

AbstractA uniform general purpose garbage collector may not always provide optimal performance. Sometimes an algorithm exhibits a predictable pattern of memory usage that could be exploited, delaying as much as possible the intervention of the collector. This requires a collector whose strategy can be customized to the need of an algorithm. We present a dynamic memory management framework which allows such customization, while preserving the convenience of automatic collection in the normal case. The Customizable Memory Management (CMM) organizes memory in multiple heaps, each one encapsulating a particular storage discipline. The default heap for collectable objects uses the technique of mostly copying garbage collection, providing good performance and memory compaction. Customization of the collector is achieved through object orientation by specialising the collector methods for each heap class. We describe how the CMM has been exploited in the implementation of the Buchberger algorithm, by using a special heap for temporary objects created during polynomial reduction. The solution drastically reduces the overall cost of memory allocation in the algorithm

Reusable e-learning development: Case studies, practices and issues of awareness for knowledge-based organisations

Reusable e-learning development (RED) is defined as the cloning, modification and customisation of existing files or source codes for developing another website or another web-based application. RED does not imply just copying and changing existing files or source codes but rather, it provides a practical technique for time-saving, improving efficiency and maximising utility of existing resources for creating another website or another web-based application. RED is particularly useful for a large-scale web development, where there is an extremely high degree of overlapping of information, resources and web designs. Therefore, RED has been widely adopted by many knowledge-based organisations (KBO). In order to investigate the impacts of RED on KBO, various case studies, practices and issues of awareness for KBO are presented and analysed. This paper particularly focuses on studies and recommended practices from the University of Cambridge. Results from these case studies reveal a number of outcomes

Customising agent based analysis towards analysis of disaster management knowledge

© 2016 Dedi Iskandar Inan, Ghassan Beydoun and Simon Opper. In developed countries such as Australia, for recurring disasters (e.g. floods), there are dedicated document repositories of Disaster Management Plans (DISPLANs), and supporting doctrine and processes that are used to prepare organisations and communities for disasters. They are maintained on an ongoing cyclical basis and form a key information source for community education, engagement and awareness programme in the preparation for and mitigation of disasters. DISPLANS, generally in semi-structured text document format, are then accessed and activated during the response and recovery to incidents to coordinate emergency service and community safety actions. However, accessing the appropriate plan and the specific knowledge within the text document from across its conceptual areas in a timely manner and sharing activities between stakeholders requires intimate domain knowledge of the plan contents and its development. This paper describes progress on an ongoing project with NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) to convert DISPLANs into a collection of knowledge units that can be stored in a unified repository with the goal to form the basis of a future knowledge sharing capability. All Australian emergency services covering a wide range of hazards develop DISPLANs of various structure and intent, in general the plans are created as instances of a template, for example those which are developed centrally by the NSW and Victorian SES’s State planning policies. In this paper, we illustrate how by using selected templates as part of an elaborate agent-based process, we can apply agent-oriented analysis more efficiently to convert extant DISPLANs into a centralised repository. The repository is structured as a layered abstraction according to Meta Object Facility (MOF). The work is illustrated using DISPLANs along the flood-prone Murrumbidgee River in central NSW

DL.org Digital Library Manifesto

This booklet is abstracted and abridged from “The Digital Library Reference Model”, D3.2b DL.org Project Deliverable, April 2011. This work has been partially supported by DL.org (December 2008-February 2011), a Coordination and support action, received funding from the Commission of the European Union (EC) under the 7th Framework Programme ICT Thematic Area “Digital libraries and technology-enhanced learning” through the EC’s Cultural Heritage and Technology Enhanced Learning Unit

Systematicity of students' independent work in operating systems classes

The research investigates the systematicity of students' learning activity as a parameter of the student's model, as well as the influence of systematicity on learning outcomes in the course "Operating Systems." As a theoretical framework, the importance of equipping the student himself as the subject of the educational process with the abilities and proper pedagogical forecasting tools for independent choice of the right variation of educational activity is demonstrated. Model parameters in such a pedagogical diagnostics system are proposed and analyzed. Empirical work has been completed on the basis of the learning management system Moodle and allows for the analysis of the association between students' timeliness in completing learning tasks and their educational achievements, as well as the structure of students' time planning at homework. Recommendations to improve the educational process have been suggested.The research investigates the systematicity of students' learning activity as a parameter of the student's model, as well as the influence of systematicity on learning outcomes in the course "Operating Systems." As a theoretical framework, the importance of equipping the student himself as the subject of the educational process with the abilities and proper pedagogical forecasting tools for independent choice of the right variation of educational activity is demonstrated. Model parameters in such a pedagogical diagnostics system are proposed and analyzed. Empirical work has been completed on the basis of the learning management system Moodle and allows for the analysis of the association between students' timeliness in completing learning tasks and their educational achievements, as well as the structure of students' time planning at homework. Recommendations to improve the educational process have been suggested

CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT AND VALUE ENHANCEMENT THROUGH PRODUCT INDIVIDUALISATION

Product customisation has always been a regular practice as a form of self or group identification. Previous studies have demonstrated that when investing time and effort to customise a product, an emotional attachment to that product develops. Since the 1980s, new technologies in design, manufacturing and communications have facilitated customisation practices for mass manufacturers as well as for individual consumers. For example, computer algorithms can now automate customisation (i.e. individualise), meaning that the investment of time and effort can be significantly lower than in other customisation processes. Such novel automated practices have, however, not considered the effects on emotional attachment to products, which occurs when the consumer personally engages in the process. This research investigates individualisation as a form of customisation by looking at the relationship between an individualised product and the consumers’ attribution of value and emotional attachment to the end result. This was achieved through a mixed methods approach: following a literature review, in-depth interviews, observation and experiments were carried out. Four pilot studies were conducted, involving 42 respondents (designers, company directors, and consumers). The main study engaged a further 44 respondents, profiled as one of two types of consumers depending on their critical engagement with customisation processes, namely Active Consumers (AC) that Passive Consumers (PC). Data was collected through five Action Research cycles and incorporated key features of Design-Based Research. It was then processed, coded and analysed using thematic analysis. This study makes contributions to knowledge in the area of product customisation and individualisation, as well as in the research methods developed, applied and refined over the four pilot iterations and in the main study. Results suggest that despite limiting freedom of choice, individualisation is a valuable approach to product customisation, particularly for PCs willing to relinquish part of the decision making to an automated process, in order to obtain a customised and unique design. ACs, on the other hand, value their freedom to customise their own products and see individualisation as a limitation to the customisation experience and as a hindrance to developing emotional attachment to the product. These findings have the potential to inform entrepreneurs’ and designers’ decisions to better understand and exploit the benefits associated to individualisation processes. Offering specific consumer groups opportunities to engage with the individualisation process can trigger a strong emotional product attachment and potentially generate new business opportunities