Patent · US Expired

Creature animation and simulation technique

US6141019A · kind A · utility

34Cited by
0References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignees

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 25, 1998
Grant dateOct 31, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 25, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA63F2300/6607
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A synthetic creature (10) in which links (26), representing limbs, are loosely connected by joints (28) to independently interact and implement the physics of everyday life-like actions (18) in a character (16). Elements of mass, positive weight (46), and negative weight (48) are independently handled to mimic the closed-loop control characteristics of real animals. The synthetic creature (10) uses intelligent appearing behaviors (20) built up out of the actions (18) and recursively arranged in a hierarchical behavior tree (72) to cooperate and compete in a run-time computer (202) to give a feeling of autonomy and awareness. Further taught is an authoring environment (200) of tools used to author the character (16), actions (18), and behaviors (20) of the synthetic creature (10), which provide author feedback and simulation testing capability at the various layers (12) of the synthetic creature (10).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.