Volume xx (200y), Number z, pp. 1–8 Levels of Detail for Crowds and Groups..pdf

Volume xx (200y), Number z, pp. 1–8 Levels of Detail for Crowds and Groups. C. O’Sullivan , J. Cassell , H. Vilhjálmsson , J. Dingliana. , S. Dobbyn , B. McNamee , C. Peters and T. Giang Trinity College Dublin, MIT Media Lab. Abstract Work on levels of detail for human simulation has occurred mainly on a geometrical level, either by reducing the numbers of polygons representing a virtual human, or replacing them with a two-dimensional imposter. Ap- proaches that reduce the complexity of motions generated have also been proposed. In this paper, we describe ongoing development of a framework for Adaptive Level Of Detail for Human Animation (ALOHA), which in- corporates levels of detail for not only geometry and motion, but also includes a complexity gradient for natural behaviour, both conversational and social. Keywords: crowd animation, group animation, real-time animation, human simulation, collision handling Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): I.3.7 [Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism]: Animation 1. Introduction Crowd and group simulations are becoming increasingly im- portant in the entertainment industry. In movies, they can be used to simulate the presence of real humans. For example, in the movie Titanic, extensive use was made of virtual peo- ple, whose movements were generated from a library of pre- captured motions. Such technology can be used in situations where it is dangerous for real people to perform the actions, such as falling over 50 feet off a ship, or to reduce the com- plexity and expense of handling large numbers of human ex- tras. In animated movies, crowd simulation re