Method for animating motor-driven puppets and the like and apparatus implementing the method
First Claim
1. An animation method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a figure to be animated, said figure having at least one drive unit for driving a part or segment of the figure;
(b) providing a control system and manually causing the control system to emit control signals for controlling said at least one drive unit;
(c) digitizing the control signals;
(d) feeding the digitized control signals to a processor and processing them individually or in sets;
(e) storing the processed control signals in a memory;
(f) transmitting the stored control signals to said at least one drive unit after converting said signals to analog form in order to animate the figure;
(g) modifying said control signals by superimposing sub-control signals on them during animation of the figure, wherein life-like and spontaneous movements of the figure can be obtained under direct control of an animator even as the stored control signals control basic animation functions to relieve the animator of the need to control said basic animation functions.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for animating motor-driven puppets includes drive units for individual parts or segments of the puppets, a manual input control system for controlling the drive units and generating control signals, and a computer having a memory in which the control signals can be stored for controlling the drive units. Further sub-control signals are superimposed on the control signals for modifying them in order to refine the movements and expressions of the puppet and to generate automatically controlled sequences of movements which form expressions and lifelike behaviors. Certain behaviors and expressions can be pre-stored for superpositioning on the movements of the puppet during a performance.
30 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An animation method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a figure to be animated, said figure having at least one drive unit for driving a part or segment of the figure; (b) providing a control system and manually causing the control system to emit control signals for controlling said at least one drive unit; (c) digitizing the control signals; (d) feeding the digitized control signals to a processor and processing them individually or in sets; (e) storing the processed control signals in a memory; (f) transmitting the stored control signals to said at least one drive unit after converting said signals to analog form in order to animate the figure; (g) modifying said control signals by superimposing sub-control signals on them during animation of the figure, wherein life-like and spontaneous movements of the figure can be obtained under direct control of an animator even as the stored control signals control basic animation functions to relieve the animator of the need to control said basic animation functions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Animation apparatus, comprising:
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a figure to be animated and means including at least one drive unit for driving a part or segment of the figure to be animated; control means for directly transmitting electrical control signals to control said at least one drive unit in response to manual activation; a processor; a memory connected to the processor for storing control signals and issuing the control signals to said at least one drive unit for automated activation of the figure; and a digital to analog converter for converting signals output by said processor into digital form and an analog digital converter for converting signals input to said processor into analog form, and further comprising a superposition system for superimposing sub-control signals on said control signals, said sub-control signals being either manually generated via the control means or read-out from sub-routines made up of said control signals stored in said memory in order to modify the manner in which the figure is animated by the control signals which are directly transmitted to said drive unit from said control means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification