Other

Paolo Costabel

Scott Ernest Anderson

Alan L Davidson

Brian Steiner

Allen Clifford Ruilova

Francisco Xavier DeJesus

Jeff Wolverton

A process for generating animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension includes the steps of: defining an array of objects; defining a start position, an end position, and an advancement path associated with each of the objects, each advancement path extending from the associated start position to the associated end position; defining an associated rate of advancement for each of the objects along the associated path; defining a manifold surface including a locus of points each being defined in a three dimensional coordinate system and having an associated height coordinate value, each of the objects being associated with one of the points on the manifold surface; determining an associated advancement start time for each of the objects based on the associated rate of advancement and an associated height coordinate value of an associated point on the manifold surface; and defining animated images of the array of objects advancing along the associated advancement paths in accordance with the associated rates of advancement and the associated advancement start times. The manifold surface provides an animator with a means for controlling a resulting animation in order to achieve a desired animated effect without the need to perform a cumbersome trial and error process.

System and method for designing computer generated imagery of a two dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension

A process for generating animated graphical images of a vascular structure attached to an anatomical structure includes the steps of: generating and arranging a plurality of anatomical patches in rest positions to form an anatomical patch surface representing an anatomical structure disposed in a rest position; and generating and arranging at least one vascular patch over the anatomical structure in the rest position, the vascular patch having an associated array of control points configured to form a closed surface of a vascular structure having a closed transverse cross section; and establishing a binding positional relationship between at least a portion of the control points and the anatomical patch surface by determining binding points on the surface of at least one selected anatomical patch in a rest position. The control points of each vascular patch include at least one transverse cross-sectional subset of control points that are disposed proximate an associated transverse cross-section of the vascular structure, each control point of the subset having a common binding point. The common binding point is located at a closest point on the surface of the selected anatomical patch to a selected one of the control points of the transverse cross-sectional subset. The process provides for generating images of a vascular structure attached to an animated anatomical structure, wherein the vascular structure is modeled by parametric surface patches, wherein the vascular layer may have an elastic quality, and wherein the transverse cross section of the vascular structure is not flattened during animation.

System and method for generating computer animated graphical images of a vascular structure attached to an anatomical structure

A process for generating animated graphical images of an exterior patch surface of an exterior layer disposed over an animated underlying structure includes the steps of: generating and arranging a plurality of underlying patches each being in a rest position to form an underlying patch surface representing an underlying structure disposed in a rest position; generating and arranging a plurality of exterior patches to form an exterior patch surface superimposed over the underlying structure in the rest position, each of the exterior patches having an associated array of control points; transforming the control points of the exterior patches into a polygonal mesh of vertex points each being coincident with at least one of the control points; establishing a binding positional relationship between each of the vertex points and an associated closest one of the underlying patches to the vertex point; animating the underlying structure causing a displacement in the position of at least one of the underlying patches relative to the rest positions of the underlying patches, and resulting in a deformed underlying structure; moving at least a portion of the vertex points based on the associated binding positional relationships and displacements in the positions of the associated closest underlying patches; and generating a plurality of reconstructed exterior patches each having an array of control points at least some of which are coincident with relaxed positions of associated ones of the vertex points of the polygonal mesh, the reconstructed exterior patches defining a deformed exterior patch surface superimposed over the deformed underlying structure.

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Culver City, CA, United States of America

Paolo Costabel