Criteria and Goals

 

In light of the preceding discussion, we seek an approach to animating natural ecosystems that is capable of achieving realistic visual effects through an automatic process. The desired properties of such an approach are as follows:

1. The appearance, locomotion and behavior of the animated creatures should be visually convincing.
2. The creatures should have a high degree of autonomy so that this can be achieved with minimal animator intervention. The level of autonomy in the animated animals should, however, permit and support the necessary degree of high-level animator control:
   • The animator should be able to alter the initial conditions of the animation, such as the number and positions of immobile and mobile objects in the virtual habitat.
   • The animator should be able to influence or direct the behaviors of the animated characters to some degree.

The research reported in this thesis develops a highly automatic approach to creating life-like animations and validates it through implementation. Realism is achieved through advanced modeling of animals and their habitats.

Xiaoyuan Tu

January 1996