Creating “Baseball Motion Graphs”

During 2013, I worked with a college baseball player from Oregon to create a video presentation using baseball statistics – RBIs, ERA, and payrolls. We were inspired by the videos of Hans Rosling to create “Baseball Motion Graphs”, using a free data visualization tool from Google. In this talk, I will explain how to use this tool to create animated data graphs. The baseball video can be found here: gvsu.edu/s/AP

Automatic analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) sequences for the diagnosis of ligament lesions

To date the diagnosis of carpal instabilities due to ligament lesions relies upon a qualitative examination of the patient's wrist. This paper presents a novel system where sequences of magnetic resonance images (MRI) are automatically analysed to measure the motion of several wrist bones. Resulting motion graphs provide a quantitative basis for diagnostic as well as scientific purposes. As the imaging method is non-invasive up to twelve different wrist positions can be measured giving a detailed insight into the motion of the bone

Behavioural facial animation using motion graphs and mind maps

We present a new behavioural animation method that combines motion graphs for synthesis of animation and mind maps as behaviour controllers for the choice of motions, significantly reducing the cost of animating secondary characters. Motion graphs are created for each facial region from the analysis of a motion database, while synthesis occurs by minimizing the path distance that connects automatically chosen nodes. A Mind map is a hierarchical graph built on top of the motion graphs, where the user visually chooses how a stimulus affects the character's mood, which in turn will trigger motion synthesis. Different personality traits add more emotional complexity to the chosen reactions. Combining behaviour simulation and procedural animation leads to more emphatic and autonomous characters that react differently in each interaction, shifting the task of animating a character to one of defining its behaviour.</p

Synthesizing Human Motion From Intuitive Constraints

Many compelling applications would become feasible if novice users had the ability to synthesize high quality human motion based only on a simple sketch and a few easily specified constraints. Motion graphs and their variations have proven to be a powerful tool for synthesizing human motion when only a rough sketch is given. Motion graphs are simple to implement, and the synthesis can be fully automatic. When unrolled into the environment, motion graphs, however, grow drastically in size. The major challenge is then searching these large graphs for motions that satisfy user constraints. A number of sub-optimal algorithms that do not provide guarantees on the optimality of the solution have been proposed. In this paper, we argue that in many situations to get natural results an optimal or nearly-optimal search is required. We show how to use the well-known A* search to find solutions that are optimal or of bounded sub-optimality. We achieve this goal for large motion graphs by performing a lossless compression of the motion graph and implementing a heuristic function that significantly accelerates the search for the domain of human motion. We demonstrate the power of this approach by synthesizing optimal or near optimal motions that include a variety of behaviors in a single motion. These experiments show that motions become more natural as the optimality improves

Human motion modeling and simulation by anatomical approach

To instantly generate desired infinite realistic human motion is still a great challenge in virtual human simulation. In this paper, the novel emotion effected motion classification and anatomical motion classification are presented, as well as motion capture and parameterization methods. The framework for a novel anatomical approach to model human motion in a HTR (Hierarchical Translations and Rotations) file format is also described. This novel anatomical approach in human motion modelling has the potential to generate desired infinite human motion from a compact motion database. An architecture for the real-time generation of new motions is also propose

Assessment of a 100 m sprint performance

Problem Title: Assessment of a 100 m sprint performance Course Level: Undergraduate Introductory Learning Outcomes: Qualitatively identify and describe the phases of sprinting through observation Interpret time-motion graphs to identify and explain sprinting performance Analyse sprint timing data to calculate velocity and acceleration to illustrate difference between sprint performance

Real Time Animation of Virtual Humans: A Trade-off Between Naturalness and Control

Virtual humans are employed in many interactive applications using 3D virtual environments, including (serious) games. The motion of such virtual humans should look realistic (or ‘natural’) and allow interaction with the surroundings and other (virtual) humans. Current animation techniques differ in the trade-off they offer between motion naturalness and the control that can be exerted over the motion. We show mechanisms to parametrize, combine (on different body parts) and concatenate motions generated by different animation techniques. We discuss several aspects of motion naturalness and show how it can be evaluated. We conclude by showing the promise of combinations of different animation paradigms to enhance both naturalness and control

Data-driven synthesis of realistic human motion using motion graphs

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2014.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2014.Includes bibliographical references leaves 53-56.Realistic human motions is an essential part of diverse range of media, such as feature films, video games and virtual environments. Motion capture provides realistic human motion data using sensor technology. However, motion capture data is not flexible. This drawback limits the utility of motion capture in practice. In this thesis, we propose a two-stage approach that makes the motion captured data reusable to synthesize new motions in real-time via motion graphs. Starting from a dataset of various motions, we construct a motion graph of similar motion segments and calculate the parameters, such as blending parameters, needed in the second stage. In the second stage, we synthesize a new human motion in realtime, depending on the blending techniques selected. Three different blending techniques, namely linear blending, cubic blending and anticipation-based blending, are provided to the user. In addition, motion clip preference approach, which is applied to the motion search algorithm, enable users to control the motion clip types in the result motion.Dirican, HüseyinM.S

Representational task formats and problem solving strategies in kinematics and work

Previous studies have reported that students employed different problem solving approaches when presented with the same task structured with different representations. In this study, we explored and compared students’ strategies as they attempted tasks from two topical areas, kinematics and work. Our participants were 19 engineering students taking a calculus-based physics course. The tasks were presented in linguistic, graphical, and symbolic forms and requested either a qualitative solution or a value. The analysis was both qualitative and quantitative in nature focusing principally on the characteristics of the strategies employed as well as the underlying reasoning for their applications. A comparison was also made for the same student’s approach with the same kind of representation across the two topics. Additionally, the participants’ overall strategies across the different tasks, in each topic, were considered. On the whole, we found that the students prefer manipulating equations irrespective of the representational format of the task. They rarely recognized the applicability of a ‘‘qualitative’’ approach to solve the problem although they were aware of the concepts involved. Even when the students included visual representations in their solutions, they seldom used these representations in conjunction with the mathematical part of the problem. Additionally, the students were not consistent in their approach for interpreting and solving problems with the same kind of representation across the two topical areas. The representational format, level of prior knowledge, and familiarity with a topic appeared to influence their strategies, their written responses, and their ability to recognize qualitative ways to attempt a problem. The nature of the solution does not seem to impact the strategies employed to handle the problem