Realistic Modeling and Animation of Human Body Based on Scanned Data

In this paper we propose a novel method for building animation model of real human body from surface scanned data. The human model is represented by a triangular mesh and described as a layered geometric model. The model consists of two layers: the control skeleton generating body animation from motion capture data, and the simplified surface model providing an efficient representation of the skin surface shape. The skeleton is generated automatically from surface scanned data using the feature extraction, and then a point-to-line mapping is used to map the surface model onto the underlying skeleton. The resulting model enables real-time and smooth animation by manipulation of the skeleton while maintaining the surface detail. Compared with earlier approach, the principal advantages of our approach are the automated generation of body control skeletons from the scanned data for real-time animation, and the automatic mapping and animation of the captured human surface shape. The human model constructed in this work can be used for applications of ergonomic design, garment CAD, real-time simulating humans in virtual reality environment and so on. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.60174023) and the National Research Foundation for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No.20010248008). Yong-You Ma received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Kunming University of Science and Technology in 2000. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Institute of Graphical Techniques & CAD, Shanghai Jiaotong University. His research interests include geometric modeling, reverse engineering computer graphics and animation. Hui Zhang received his M.S. degree from Gansu University of Technology in 2000. Now he is a Ph.D. candidate in the Institute of Graphical Techniques & CAD, Shanghai Jiaotong University. His main research interests include modern design methodology, visual design, CAD and graphics technology. Shou-Wei Jiang graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1960. He is now a professor and Ph.D. supervisor in the School of Mechanical Engineering in Shanghai Jiaotong University. His main research interests include modern design methodology, engineering graphics, CAD and visual design. He has published over 40 papers and 10 books in these fields.