REAL TIME RETARGETING OF SKELETAL DATA TO GAME AVATAR

• US 20100302253A1
• Filed: 08/26/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sims, Scott W., Tsunoda, Kudo, Kipman, Alex A., Wilson, Andrew, Burton, Nicholas D., Margolis, Jeffrey N.
• Application Number:
  US12/548,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20100302253A1
• 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

Techniques for generating an avatar model during the runtime of an application are herein disclosed. The avatar model can be generated from an image captured by a capture device. End-effectors can be positioned an inverse kinematics can be used to determine positions of other nodes in the avatar model.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

circuitry for receiving, during real time execution of an application, positions of avatar end-effectors, the avatar end-effectors set to positions that are calculated using positions of user end-effectors, the positions of the user end-effectors being previously generated from an image of a user; and

circuitry for determining, during the real time execution of the application, positions of avatar model joints to obtain an anatomically possible pose for an avatar model, the positions of the avatar model joints determined from at least the positions of the avatar end-effectors.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining the positions of the avatar model joints further comprises:

circuitry for determining an orientation of a specific avatar model joint to at least approximate an orientation of a user joint, the orientation of the user joint obtained from the data generated from an image of the user.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for generating a user model from the image of a user, the user model including the positions of the user end-effectors.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for generating an animation stream, the animation stream including the positions of the model joints and the positions of the end-effectors; and

circuitry for sending the animation stream to a graphics processor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry for determining the positions of the avatar model joints further comprises:

circuitry for determining that a specific avatar model joint is unassociated with a specific user joint, wherein a specific avatar model joint is unassociated with a specific user joint when the data does not include position information for the specific user joint; and

circuitry for setting a position of the specific avatar model joint to approximate a default position.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for receiving, during execution of the application, a request for an avatar model from the application; and

circuitry for selecting, during execution of the application, the avatar model from a library of models.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for generating a relationship between a specific user joint and a specific model joint; and

circuitry for generating interconnects that couple user end-effectors to user joints to fit the size of the avatar model.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for mapping user end-effectors to an avatar model that has a different skeletal architecture than the user.

9. A method, comprising:

executing a videogame;

loading an avatar model based on information received from the videogame, the avatar model including an avatar end-effector and a plurality of avatar nodes;

receiving position information for a user end-effector;

determining, during real time execution of the videogame, a position of an avatar end-effector, wherein the position of the avatar end-effector is calculated using the position information for the user end-effector;

receiving second position information for the user end-effector;

updating, during the real time execution of the videogame, the position of the avatar end-effector to a second position, wherein the position of the avatar end-effector is calculated using the second position information for the user end-effector; and

determining, during the real time execution of the videogame, positions of the avatar nodes to obtain an anatomically possible pose for the avatar model, wherein the pose maintains the updated position of the avatar end-effector.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

capturing, by a camera, an image of a user;

generating a user model that includes the user end-effector; and

determining, from the user model, the position information for the user end-effector.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the avatar model includes a non-human avatar model.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

setting an orientation of a specific model joint to at least approximate an orientation of a user joint, the orientation of the user joint determined from a generated user model.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating an animation stream from the avatar model; and

blending the animation stream with a predefined animation.

14. A computer readable storage medium including processor executable instructions, the computer readable storage medium, comprising:

instructions for generating a user model from an image, wherein the user model includes user end-effectors;

instructions for mapping, during runtime execution of an application, the user end-effectors to an avatar model;

instructions for setting, during runtime execution of an application, positions of avatar joints to obtain an anatomically possible pose for the model; and

instructions for modifying, during runtime execution of the application, the position of the avatar end-effectors and avatar joints based on changes to the user model.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for setting positions of avatar joints further comprise:

instructions for setting an orientation of a specific avatar joint to approximate an orientation of a user joint, the orientation of the user joint obtained from the user model.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising:

instructions for generating an animation stream from the avatar model; and

instructions for blending the animation stream with a predefined animation.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for setting positions of avatar joints further comprise:

instructions for determining that a specific avatar joint is unassociated with a specific user joint, wherein a specific avatar joint is unassociated with a specific user joint when the user model does not include position information for the specific user joint; and

instructions for setting a position of the specific avatar joint to a default position.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising:

instructions for receiving information that defines a type of avatar used by the application; and

instructions for selecting, during execution of the application, the avatar model from a library of avatar models based on the information that defines a type of avatar used by the application.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for mapping the user end-effectors to an avatar model further comprise:

instructions for resizing interconnects that couple the user end-effectors to joints to fit the size of the avatar model.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein mapping the user end-effectors to an avatar model further comprise:

instructions for mapping user end-effectors to an avatar model that has a different skeletal architecture than the user model.