CHAINING ANIMATIONS

• US 20150154782A1
• Filed: 02/09/2015
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Geisner, Kevin, Markovic, Relja, Latta, Stephen Gilchrist
• Granted Patent: US 9,478,057 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/23 Recognition of whole body movements, e.g. for sport training

Abstract

In applications that display a representation of a user, it may be reasonable to insert a pre-canned animation rather than animating a user'"'"'s captured motion. For example, in a tennis swing, the ball toss and take back in a serve could be a pre-canned animation, whereas the actual forward swing may be mapped from the user'"'"'s gestures. An animation of a user'"'"'s gestures can be chained together into sequences with pre-canned animations, where animation blending techniques can provide for a smoother transition between the animation types. Techniques for blending animations, that may comprise determining boundaries and transition points between pre-canned animations and animations based on captured motion, may improve animation efficiency. Gesture history, including joint position, velocity, and acceleration, can be used to determine user intent, seed parameters for subsequent animations and game control, and determine the subsequent gestures to initiate.

Claims

1. A method for chaining animations, the method comprising:

receiving image data that is representative of captured motion;

selecting a pre-canned animation; and

chaining an animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation by at least displaying the captured motion and the pre-canned animation in sequence, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending the animation of the captured motion to the pre-canned animation or blending the pre-canned animation to the animation of the captured motion.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein selecting a pre-canned animation comprises selecting a pre-canned animation from a plurality of pre-canned animations.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending parameters of the captured motion to at least one of initial parameters of the pre-canned animation or ending parameters of the pre-canned animation.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising identifying at least one parameter that is indicative of a transition point, wherein satisfying the at least one parameter triggers the chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation.

5. The method in accordance with claim 4, wherein a parameter of the transition point is set based on at least one of an application type, a user skill, a gesture history, a gesture difficulty, a gesture redundancy, an environment context, or a cultural context.

6. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising modifying parameters of the pre-canned animation in response to history data associated with a user.

7. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising selecting multiple pre-canned animations and blending the multiple pre-canned animations to generate a new pre-canned animation, and selecting the new pre-canned animation for chaining with the animation of the captured motion.

8. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein an amount of blending used to blend the animation of the captured motion to the animation of the pre-canned animation corresponds to a level of success in an application.

9. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising instructions for predicting an intent of the captured motion, wherein the pre-canned animation is selected based on the predicted intent.

10. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the captured motion is live motion of a target in a physical space.

11. A system for animation blending, the system comprising:

a capture device, wherein the capture device is configured to receive image data that is representative of captured motion;

memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions; and

a processor, wherein the processor is operable to execute the computer-executable instructions, and wherein the computer-executable instructions comprise instructions for;

selecting a pre-canned animation; and

chaining an animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation by at least displaying the captured motion and the pre-canned animation in sequence, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending the animation of the captured motion to the pre-canned animation or blending the pre-canned animation to the animation of the captured motion.

12. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein selecting a pre-canned animation comprises selecting a pre-canned animation from a plurality of pre-canned animations.

13. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending parameters of the captured motion to at least one of initial parameters of the pre-canned animation or ending parameters of the pre-canned animation.

14. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise instructions for identifying at least one parameter that is indicative of a transition point, wherein satisfying the at least one parameter triggers the chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation.

15. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise instructions for modifying parameters of the pre-canned animation in response to history data associated with a user.

16. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving image data that is representative of captured motion;

selecting a pre-canned animation; and

chaining an animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation by at least displaying the captured motion and the pre-canned animation in sequence, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending the animation of the captured motion to the pre-canned animation or blending the pre-canned animation to the animation of the captured motion.

17. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein selecting a pre-canned animation comprises selecting a pre-canned animation from a plurality of pre-canned animations.

18. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation comprises blending parameters of the captured motion to at least one of initial parameters of the pre-canned animation or ending parameters of the pre-canned animation.

19. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise instructions for identifying at least one parameter that is indicative of a transition point, wherein satisfying the at least one parameter triggers the chaining the animation of the captured motion and the pre-canned animation.

20. The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 16, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise instructions for modifying parameters of the pre-canned animation in response to history data associated with a user.