Facial animation method
First Claim
1. A method of animating, by use of modelled facial muscles, a head imaged in three dimensions and acquired in a data processing arrangement in the form of sets of meshes including a set of lips, said method including the steps of:
- distinguishing a lower lip and an upper lip in said set of lips as a function of mesh nodes at the level of a lip corner and mouth opening boundary,the distinguishing step including;
(a) identifying mesh nodes at the periphery of said set of lips to define an interior contour and an exterior contour of said lips,(b) detecting laterally outermost mesh nodes on said interior contour and exterior contour,(c) marking mesh nodes below one of lip corner segments defined by the nodes previously detected as belonging to said lower lip,(d) recursively marking all the unmarked mesh nodes, starting with nodes near a lower node of said lower lip, as belonging to said lower lip, and(e) marking all the other unmarked nodes in said set of lips not belonging to said lower lip as belonging to said upper lip,determining an upper zone and a lower zone of said head substantially shared by at least a lip corner and mouth opening boundary between the mesh nodes belonging to said lower lip and the mesh nodes belonging to said upper lip, andproviding a first group of modelled muscles extending toward said upper lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said upper zone for displacing mesh nodes in said upper lip and under a nose of said head, a second group of modelled muscles extending toward said lower lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said lower zone for displacing mesh nodes in said lower lip and in a chin of said head, and a last group of modelled muscles having zones of influence for displacing each of the mesh nodes in said upper zone and lower zone in order to stretch and contract said lips.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A 3D imaged head consisting of a set of meshes is animated by modelled facial muscles. For natural animation of the lips in speech, the lower and upper lips are distinguished in a set of lip mesh based on the nodes of the mesh on a boundary of the lip corner and mouth opening, and lower and upper zones of the head are divided by the boundary. Modelled muscles attached to the upper lip, with intersecting zones of influence in the upper zone, and attached to the lower lip, with intersecting zones of influence in the lower zone, displace nodes of mesh respectively in the upper lip and under the nose and in the lower lip and the chin. Other muscles have zones of influence in the lower and upper zones.
21 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of animating, by use of modelled facial muscles, a head imaged in three dimensions and acquired in a data processing arrangement in the form of sets of meshes including a set of lips, said method including the steps of:
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distinguishing a lower lip and an upper lip in said set of lips as a function of mesh nodes at the level of a lip corner and mouth opening boundary, the distinguishing step including; (a) identifying mesh nodes at the periphery of said set of lips to define an interior contour and an exterior contour of said lips, (b) detecting laterally outermost mesh nodes on said interior contour and exterior contour, (c) marking mesh nodes below one of lip corner segments defined by the nodes previously detected as belonging to said lower lip, (d) recursively marking all the unmarked mesh nodes, starting with nodes near a lower node of said lower lip, as belonging to said lower lip, and (e) marking all the other unmarked nodes in said set of lips not belonging to said lower lip as belonging to said upper lip, determining an upper zone and a lower zone of said head substantially shared by at least a lip corner and mouth opening boundary between the mesh nodes belonging to said lower lip and the mesh nodes belonging to said upper lip, and providing a first group of modelled muscles extending toward said upper lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said upper zone for displacing mesh nodes in said upper lip and under a nose of said head, a second group of modelled muscles extending toward said lower lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said lower zone for displacing mesh nodes in said lower lip and in a chin of said head, and a last group of modelled muscles having zones of influence for displacing each of the mesh nodes in said upper zone and lower zone in order to stretch and contract said lips. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A client-server system, comprising a client data processing arrangement having a three-dimensional model of a head in the form of sets of meshes including a set of lips and parameters, and a processing server for converting responses read in a database addressed by requests corresponding to messages transmitted by the client into messages and animation commands transmitted to the client for thereby animating said head as a function of said animation commands in said client data processing arrangement,
said client data processing arrangement being arranged for: -
(a) distinguishing a lower lip and an upper lip in said set of lips as a function of mesh nodes at the level of a lip corner and mouth opening boundary, the client data processing arrangement being arranged for distinguishing the lower and upper lip by steps including; (i) identifying mesh nodes at the periphery of said set of lips to define an interior contour and an exterior contour of said lips, (ii) detecting laterally outermost mesh nodes on said interior contour and exterior contour, (iii) marking mesh nodes below one of lip corner segments defined by the nodes previously detected as belonging to said lower lip, (iv) recursively marking all the unmarked mesh nodes, starting with nodes near a lower node of said lower lip, as belonging to said lower lip, and (v) marking all the other unmarked nodes in said set of lips not belonging to said lower lip as belonging to said upper lip, (b) determining an upper zone and a lower zone of said head substantially shared by at least a lip corner and mouth opening boundary between the mesh nodes belonging to said lower lip and the mesh nodes belonging to said upper lip, and (c) providing a first group of modelled muscles extending toward said upper lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said upper zone for displacing mesh nodes in said upper lip and under a nose of said head, a second group of modelled muscles extending toward said lower lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said lower zone for displacing mesh nodes in said lower lip and in a chin of said head, and a last group of modelled muscles having zones of influence for displacing each of the mesh nodes in said upper zone and lower zone in order to stretch and contract said lips. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A client-server system comprising a database server and a client data processing arrangement having a head modelled in three dimensions in the form of sets of meshes including a set of lips and parameters for thereby animating said head as a function of animation commands,
said client data processing arrangement being arranged to provide head animation and simulated conversation, said simulated conversation being arranged for converting responses read in said database server addressed by requests of said simulated conversation corresponding to messages transmitted by said head animation into messages and animation commands transmitted to said head animation, said head animation being arranged for: -
(a) distinguishing a lower lip and an upper lip in said set of lips as a function of mesh nodes at the level of a lip corner and mouth opening boundary, the head animation being arranged for distinguishing the lower lip from upper lip by steps including; (i) identifying mesh nodes at the periphery of said set of lips to define an interior contour and an exterior contour of said lips, (ii) detecting laterally outermost mesh nodes on said interior contour and exterior contour, (iii) marking mesh nodes below one of lip corner segments defined by the nodes previously detected as belonging to said lower lip, (iv) recursively marking all the unmarked mesh nodes, starting with nodes near a lower node of said lower lip, as belonging to said lower lip, and (v) marking all the other unmarked nodes in said set of lips not belonging to said lower lip as belonging to said upper lip, (b) determining an upper zone and a lower zone of said head substantially shared by at least a lip corner and mouth opening boundary between the mesh nodes belonging to said lower lip and the mesh nodes belonging to said upper lip, and (c) providing a first group of modelled muscles extending toward said upper lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said upper zone for displacing mesh nodes in said upper lip and under a nose of said head, a second group of modelled muscles extending toward said lower lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said lower zone for displacing mesh nodes in said lower lip and in a chin of said head, and a last group of modelled muscles having zones of influence for displacing each of the mesh nodes in said upper zone and lower zone in order to stretch and contract said lips. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A memory for a client-server system including a database server and a client data processing arrangement having a head modelled in three dimensions in the form of sets of meshes including a set of lips and parameters for thereby animating said head as a function of animation commands, the memory being arranged to cause the client data processing arrangement to provide head animation and simulated conversation, said simulated conversation being arranged for converting responses read in said database server addressed by requests of said simulated conversation corresponding to messages transmitted by said head animation into messages and animation commands transmitted to said head animation,
said head animation being arranged for: -
(a) distinguishing a lower lip and an upper lip in said set of lips as a function of mesh nodes at the level of a lip corner and mouth opening boundary, the head animation being arranged for distinguishing the lower lip from upper lip by steps including; (i) identifying mesh nodes at the periphery of said set of lips to define an interior contour and an exterior contour of said lips, (ii) detecting laterally outermost mesh nodes on said interior contour and exterior contour, (iii) marking mesh nodes below one of lip corner segments defined by the nodes previously detected as belonging to said lower lip, (iv) recursively marking all the unmarked mesh nodes, starting with nodes near a lower node of said lower lip, as belonging to said lower lip, and (v) marking all the other unmarked nodes in said set of lips not belonging to said lower lip as belonging to said upper lip, (b) determining an upper zone and a lower zone of said head substantially shared by at least a lip corner and mount opening boundary between the mesh nodes belonging to said lower lip and the mesh nodes belonging to said upper lip, and (c) providing a first group of modelled muscles extending toward said upper lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said upper zone for displacing mesh nodes in said upper lip and under a nose of said head, a second group of modelled muscles extending toward said lower lip and having zones of influence intersecting at least two by two situated in said lower zone for displacing mesh nodes in said lower lip and in a chin of said head, and a last group of modelled muscles having zones of influence for displacing each of the mesh nodes in said upper zone and lower zone in order to stretch and contract said lips. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification