Method and apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object, and program product for producing the operation signals

• US 20030060932A1
• Filed: 09/16/2002
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Original Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Inventors: Nakata, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 6,879,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/004 Artificial life, i.e. computing arrangements simulating life

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing a motion object with psychological and emotional expressions characterized by simplified processing and reduced control data associated with controlling a series of motions for body groups of the motion object including a fundamental control signal made up of an oscillating numerical value signal representing a psychological state, and a signal representing a body-group motion sequence.

Claims

1. A method of producing operation signals to control body actions of a motion object comprising a plurality of body components connected through joints with multi-degrees of freedom, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a fundamental control signal for controlling a series of motions of body groups defined corresponding to the plural body components of said motion object; and

distributing the fundamental control signal to produce operation signals for controlling the respective body components.

2. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 1, wherein, in response to a signal for setting a predetermined body action, one or more body groups to be operated are selected.

3. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation signal is produced by combining plural kinds of fundamental control signals with each other.

4. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fundamental control signal is at least one of a first fundamental control signal representing tonus rhythm of the whole body of said motion object and a second fundamental control signal representing selection of predetermined transfer function for distribution of motion over the body components of said motion object.

5. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 1, wherein said first fundamental control signal representing the tonus rhythm is an oscillating numerical value signal, and said second fundamental control signal representing selection of the predetermined transfer function for distribution of motion over the body components of said motion object is a signal of a body-group motion sequence, said first fundamental control signal and said second fundamental control signal being combined with each other and distributed at a distribution ratio in accordance with the body-group motion sequence, whereby the operation signals are outputted to the respective body components.

6. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 5, wherein said second fundamental control signal is a predetermined body-group motion sequence signal set depending on a degree of imaginary evolution or imaginary growth of said motion object in a role of a living thing and corresponding to a imaginary psychological state of said motion object.

7. A method of producing operation signals for a motion object, the method comprising the steps of:

for controlling actions of a motion object presented as a two- or three-dimensional image, preparing at least one image of said motion object, creating an image having visual features changed from visual features of said one image, and providing a series of action images of said motion object to a display; and

employing, as a control signal for changing figure feature parameters of an image, at least one operation command signal common to the whole of said motion object or a signal resulting from synthesizing the at least one common operation command signal by a modification signal.

8. An apparatus for producing operation signals to control body actions of a motion object comprising a plurality of body components with multi-degrees of freedom connected through joints, the apparatus comprising:

body action setting means for setting data of command on selection of predetermined body actions;

fundamental control signal generating means for generating a fundamental control signal to perform the predetermined body action with body groups defined corresponding to the plural body components of said motion object; and

distributing means for distributing the fundamental control signal at a distribution ratio depending on the body action corresponding to a setting signal from said body action setting means, thereby producing signals to control the respective body components.

9. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 8, wherein said fundamental control signal generating means includes a memory storing a plurality of fundamental control signals corresponding to body action signals set in response to respective setting signals from said body action setting means, and serves as means for reading and outputting the fundamental control signal corresponding to the set body action signal.

10. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said distributing means includes a memory storing distribution ratios of respective signals for controlling the body components related to body group motions for performing a set body action, and serves as means for reading the distribution ratio corresponding to the set body action signal and distributing the fundamental control signal to the respective body components.

11. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object, the apparatus comprising:

first body action setting means for setting at least one parameter representing imaginary emotion of said motion object;

second body action setting means for setting at least one parameter representing imaginary state of development of said motion object;

first fundamental control signal generating means for receiving a setting signal from said first body action setting means and generating a corresponding oscillating numerical value signal;

means for distributing the first fundamental control signal to body groups;

second fundamental control signal generating means for receiving a setting signal from said second body action setting means and generating a second fundamental control signal representing a body-group motion sequence to perform a corresponding action;

means for combining said first fundamental control signal and said second fundamental control signal distributed to the body groups; and

distributing means for distributing a combined fundamental control signal to body components related to an action set by said second body action setting means at a corresponding distribution transfer function of said second fundamental control signal.

12. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 11, wherein said first fundamental control signal is a signal in the form of a trigonometric wave, triangular wave or random-walk drift wave, or a signal resulting from multiplying any of those waves by an appropriate time function.

13. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said second fundamental control signal is a predetermined body-group motion sequence signal for setting a body action determined depending on a degree of imaginary evolution or imaginary growth of said motion object.

14. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein said second fundamental control signal is a predetermined body-group motion sequence signal for setting one of “

Breath”

, “

Core-Support”

, “

Spinal”

, “

Upper-Lower”

, “

Homo-Lateral”

, and “

Contra-Lateral”

actions based on classifications of action patterns according to the Bartenieff theory.

15. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the distribution set by said distributing means is expressed by a function in the time domain.

16. An apparatus for producing operation signals for a motion object, the apparatus comprising a CPU and a storage,

said storage storing an action setting database, an action pattern database, and processing result history data,

said CPU including an action information processing unit for executing the steps of:

for controlling actions of said motion object presented as a two- or three-dimensional image, preparing at least one image of said motion object, creating an image having visual features changed from visual features of said one image, and storing the created image as the processing result history data; and

employing, as a control signal for changing figure feature parameters of an image, at least one operation command signal common to the whole of said motion object or a signal resulting from multiplying the at least one common operation command signal by a modification signal,

said CPU further including an image information processing unit for creating and outputting a video image to present an image on a display.

17. A program product containing a program for producing operation signals for a motion object, the program being read by a computer and causing the computer to function as:

means for generating a fundamental control signal for controlling a series of motions of body groups defined corresponding to plural body components of a motion object; and

means for distributing the fundamental control signal to produce operation signals for controlling the respective body components.

18. A program product for producing operation signals for a motion object according to claim 17, wherein a first fundamental control signal representing tonus rhythm is an oscillating numerical value signal, and a second fundamental control signal representing predetermined distributions of motion data over the body components of said motion object is a signal of a body-group motion sequence, said first fundamental control signal and said second fundamental control signal being combined with each other and distributed through numerical process in accordance with the body-group motion sequence.

19. A program product for producing operation signals for a motion object, the program being read by a computer and causing the computer to function as:

means for preparing at least one image of said motion object;

means for creating an image having figure feature parameters changed from figure feature parameters of said one image, and storing the created image as processing result history data;

means for creating one operation command signal common to the whole of said motion object or a signal resulting from modifying the one common operation command signal;

means for numerical process of those signals and creating a modified signal; and

means for outputting the combined signal as a video signal.