Sketch-based virtual human modelling and animation

Animated virtual humans created by skilled artists play a remarkable role in today’s public entertainment. However, ordinary users are still treated as audiences due to the lack of appropriate expertise, equipment, and computer skills. We developed a new method and a novel sketching interface, which enable anyone who can draw to “sketch-out” 3D virtual humans and animation. We devised a “Stick FigureFleshing-outSkin Mapping” graphical pipeline, which decomposes the complexity of figure drawing and considerably boosts the modelling and animation efficiency. We developed a gesture-based method for 3D pose reconstruction from 2D stick figure drawings. We investigated a “Creative Model-based Method”, which performs a human perception process to transfer users’ 2D freehand sketches into 3D human bodies of various body sizes, shapes and fat distributions. Our current system supports character animation in various forms including articulated figure animation, 3D mesh model animation, and 2D contour/NPR animation with personalised drawing styles. Moreover, this interface also supports sketch-based crowd animation and 2D storyboarding of 3D multiple character interactions. A preliminary user study was conducted to support the overall system design. Our 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: 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

Maximizing the Probability of Delivery of Multipoint Relay Broadcast Protocol in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks with a Realistic Physical Layer

It is now commonly accepted that the unit disk graph used to model the physical layer in wireless networks does not reflect real radio transmissions, and that the lognormal shadowing model better suits to experimental simulations. Previous work on realistic scenarios focused on unicast, while broadcast requirements are fundamentally different and cannot be derived from unicast case. Therefore, broadcast protocols must be adapted in order to still be efficient under realistic assumptions. In this paper, we study the well-known multipoint relay protocol (MPR). In the latter, each node has to choose a set of neighbors to act as relays in order to cover the whole 2-hop neighborhood. We give experimental results showing that the original method provided to select the set of relays does not give good results with the realistic model. We also provide three new heuristics in replacement and their performances which demonstrate that they better suit to the considered model. The first one maximizes the probability of correct reception between the node and the considered relays multiplied by their coverage in the 2-hop neighborhood. The second one replaces the coverage by the average of the probabilities of correct reception between the considered neighbor and the 2-hop neighbors it covers. Finally, the third heuristic keeps the same concept as the second one, but tries to maximize the coverage level of the 2-hop neighborhood: 2-hop neighbors are still being considered as uncovered while their coverage level is not higher than a given coverage threshold, many neighbors may thus be selected to cover the same 2-hop neighbors

Cryptanalysis of the Hillery-Buzek-Berthiaume quantum secret-sharing protocol

The participant attack is the most serious threat for quantum secret-sharing protocols. We present a method to analyze the security of quantum secret-sharing protocols against this kind of attack taking the scheme of Hillery, Buzek, and Berthiaume (HBB) [Phys. Rev. A 59 1829 (1999)] as an example. By distinguishing between two mixed states, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a dishonest participant can attain all the information without introducing any error, which shows that the HBB protocol is insecure against dishonest participants. It is easy to verify that the attack scheme of Karlsson, Koashi, and Imoto [Phys. Rev. A 59, 162 (1999)] is a special example of our results. To demonstrate our results further, we construct an explicit attack scheme according to the necessary and sufficient conditions. Our work completes the security analysis of the HBB protocol, and the method presented may be useful for the analysis of other similar protocols.Comment: Revtex, 7 pages, 3 figures; Introduction modifie

Multiplication and excess noise characteristics of thin 4H-SiC UV avalanche photodiodes

The avalanche multiplication and excess noise characteristics of thin 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes with an i-region width of 0.1 µm have been investigated. The diodes are found to exhibit multiplication characteristics which change significantly when the wavelength of the illuminating light changes from 230 to 365 nm. These multiplication characteristics show unambiguously that β > α in 4H-SiC and that the β/α ratio remains large even in thin 4H-SiC diodes. Low excess noise, corresponding to k=0.1 in the local model where k=α/β for hole injection, was measured using 325-nm light. The results indicate that 4H-SiC is a suitable material for realizing low-noise UV avalanche photodiodes requiring good visible-blind performance

A Consumer-Centric Open Innovation Framework for Food and Packaging Manufacturing

This article has been archived following written permission from IGI Global.Closed innovation approaches have been employed for many years in the food industry. But, this sector recently perceives its end-user to be wary of radically new products and changes in consumption patterns. However, new product development involves not only the product itself but also the entire manufacturing and distribution network. In this paper, we present a new ICT based framework that embraces open innovation to place customers in the product development loop but at the same time assesses and eventually coordinates the entire manufacturing and supply chain. The aim is to design new food products that consumers will buy and at the same time ensure that these products will reach the consumer in time and at adequate quantity. On the product development side, our framework enables new food products that offer an integrated sensory experience of food and packaging, which encompass customization, healthy eating, and sustainability

Nanopillar Arrays on Semiconductor Membranes as Electron Emission Amplifiers

A new transmission-type electron multiplier was fabricated from silicon-on-insulator (SOI) material by integrating an array of one dimensional (1D) silicon nanopillars onto a two dimensional (2D) silicon membrane. Primary electrons are injected into the nanopillar-membrane system from the flat surface of the membrane, while electron emission from the other side is probed by an anode. The secondary electron yield (SEY) from nanopillars is found to be about 1.8 times that of plane silicon membrane. This gain in electron number is slightly enhanced by the electric field applied from the anode. Further optimization of the dimensions of nanopillars and membrane and application of field emission promise an even higher gain for detector applications and allow for probing of electronic/mechanical excitations in nanopillar-membrane system excited by incident particles or radiation.Comment: 4 figure

Hadronic Rapidity Spectra in Heavy Ion Collisions at SPS and AGS energies in a Quark Combination Model

The quark combination mechanism of hadron production is applied to nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) and BNL Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS). The rapidity spectra of identified hadrons and their spectrum widths are studied. The data of $\pi^{-}$, $K^{\pm}$, $\phi$, $\Lambda$, $\bar{\Lambda}$, $\Xi^{-}$, and $\bar{\Xi}^{+}$ at 80 and 40 AGeV, in particular at 30 and 20 AGeV where the onset of deconfinement is suggested to happen, are consistently described by the quark combination model. However at AGS 11.6 AGeV below the onset the spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$ and $\Lambda$ can not be simultaneously explained, indicating the disappearance of intrinsic correlation of their production in the constituent quark level. The collision-energy dependence of the rapidity spectrum widths of constituent quarks and the strangeness of the hot and dense quark matter produced in heavy ion collisions are obtained and discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure