Events Calendar

CS Colloquium: Ari Shapiro (ICT) - Models of Motion, Movement and Interaction for Digital Characters

Speaker: Ari Shapiro, USC Institute for Creative Technologies

Talk Title: Models of Motion, Movement and Interaction for Digital Characters

Series: CS Colloquium

Abstract: Research in animation has progressed where capture technologies have allowed recording and playback of human motion. For example, a human face can be recorded speaking an utterance, then accurately modeled in 3D. However, making the 3D face produce an utterance that has not previously been recorded requires an understanding of how the face reacts to the speech that is generated, how the head and neck must move to accommodate that sound as well as that expression, and how the other parts of the face and eyes act during the speech. Similarly, motion capture techniques allow the capture and replication of human walking or running as performed by the original actor, but arbitrary movement through uneven terrain with obstacles cannot be synthesized accurately, since the complexity of the human balance and structure is not accurately modeled using only kinematic points in space over time.

Thus, while motion replication into a 3D environment is fairly well understood across a number of areas, the fundamental question of how to synthesize movement through a controllable model of humans remains elusive. The human body is extremely complex, and models of movement for high energy activities such as running differ greatly from other complex phenomena such as talking or gesturing. Thus, while it is possible to replicate a recorded motion, generating a controllable model of movement for a virtual human remains an open research problem for many different areas, ranging from facial expression to speech to gross movement. In addition, the motivations for human movement and motion are often driven by cognitive functions, so a better understanding of human movement requires a similar understanding of the cognitive aspects that motivate it.

In this talk, I will describe my research in generating various controllable models of motion and movement for animated 3D characters. My objective is to better understand how people physically move, interact and respond to people and objects in their environment By better understanding how people move about and the motivations for doing so, we can create models of human movement and behavior that can be controlled within a virtual or digital space, thus enabling convincing virtual characters that can be used for various types of training and simulation. The embodiment of movement and behavior of a person into a controllable, digital model allows for the creation of complicated scenarios that can be effective substitutes and training environments for real-world experiences.

The lecture will be available to stream HERE. (Right Click, New Tab for optimal results.)

Biography: Ari Shapiro currently works as a Research Scientist at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, where his focus is on synthesizing realistic animation for virtual characters as lead of the Character Animation and Simulation research group. Shapiro has published many academic articles in the field of computer graphics and animation for virtual characters, and is a seven-time SIGGRAPH speaker.
For several years, he worked on character animation tools and algorithms in the research and development departments of visual effects and video games companies such as Industrial Light and Magic, LucasArts and Rhythm and Hues Studios. He has worked on many feature-length films, and holds film credits in The Incredible Hulk and Alvin and the Chipmunks 2. In addition, he holds video games credits in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series.
He completed his Ph.D. in computer science at UCLA in 2007 in the field of computer graphics with a dissertation on character animation using motion capture, physics and machine learning. He also holds an M.S. in computer science from UCLA, and a B.A. in computer science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.


Host: CS Department

Webcast: https://bluejeans.com/577232541

Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 108

WebCast Link: https://bluejeans.com/577232541

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Assistant to CS chair