Method of rendering an image and a method of animating a graphics character

• US 20090284533A1
• Filed: 05/18/2009
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stephen John Regelous, Stephen Noel Regelous
• Original Assignee: Stephen John Regelous, Stephen Noel Regelous
• Inventors: Regelous, Stephen John
• Granted Patent: US 7,697,004 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings

Abstract

A computer implemented method of generating behavior of a graphics character within an environment including a selected graphics character and one or more graphics elements, the method comprising: generating an image of the environment from a perspective of the selected graphics character; processing the image using an artificial intelligence engine with one or more layers to determine an activation value for the graphics character wherein at least one of the layers is a fuzzy processing layer, and generating the behavior of the graphics character based on the activation value.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of generating behavior of a graphics character within an environment including a selected graphics character and one or more graphics elements, the method comprising:

generating pixel values to form an image of the environment from a perspective of the selected graphics character;

processing the image using an artificial intelligence engine with one or more layers to determine an activation value for the graphics character wherein at least one of the layers is a fuzzy processing layer, directly applying pixel values to the fuzzy processing layer to generate the activation value, and generating the behavior of the graphics character based on the activation value, wherein the image comprises pixels and each pixel is processed by the fuzzy processing layer according to a fuzzy membership function to obtain fuzzy logic values to be used to determine the activation value.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein fuzzy rules are applied by a second fuzzy processing layer to the fuzzy logic values for each pixel to obtain output values.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a neural network utilizes the fuzzy logic values to obtain output values.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein processing further comprises using middle layer to process input values to obtain activation values.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the fuzzy logic values are the input values processed by the middle layer.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the middle layer is a fuzzy logic network.

8. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the middle layer is a neural network.

9. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the middle layer is a binary logic network.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein a defuzzifying output layer is utilised to provide activation values.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein image and sound information is processed to determine the activation value for the graphics character.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the image is rendered using a scanline rendering technique.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the image is generated by rendering images for a plurality of adjacent sub space areas, wherein the images are rendered as viewed from a common viewpoint and different orientations.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixel values are applied pixel by pixel.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuzzy processing layer applies fuzzy membership functions to each pixel value to obtain fuzzy weightings.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the fuzzy weightings are according to one of the group consisting of:

the pixel'"'"'s leftness;

the pixel'"'"'s centreness;

the pixel'"'"'s rightness;

the pixel'"'"'s very nearness;

the pixel'"'"'s nearness;

the pixel'"'"'s farness.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the fuzzy processing layer applies fuzzy membership functions to each pixel value in parallel.

2. (canceled)

14. A computer implemented method of rendering an image from three dimensional graphical information including pixel values that control the behavior of an artificially intelligent entity, the method comprising:

rendering images for a plurality of adjacent image sub space regions, wherein the images are rendered as viewed from a common view point and different viewing orientations of the artificially intelligent entity.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the images rendered are derived from a plurality of adjacent image sub space regions and combined to form a single image.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein a scanline rendering technique is employed.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the image sub space regions are vertically or horizontally subdivided.

18-19. -19. (canceled)

20. A computer implemented method of rendering an image from graphic information of image space as viewed from a perspective of a graphics character, the method comprising:

determining the position of a graphics primitive in the image space, projecting the graphics primitive into sub images, ordering the sub images according to their polar positioning relative to the graphics character to form pseudo polar sub images, and combining and rendering the pseudo polar sub images to form an image of the image space as viewed from the perspective of the graphics character.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising clipping the graphics primitives against the sub images to form clipped primitives as part of a clipped image, and interpolating across the surface of the clipped primitives to form the pseudo polar sub images.

22. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the sub images are in the form of rectangular images of the image space as viewed from the perspective of the graphics character.

23. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the image formed is rendered in image space utilising the two polar angles as axes.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprising rendering the sub images using a scanline rendering technique.