In 2003, I obtained my PhD in the field of 3D computer graphics from the CVSSP at the University of Surrey over the last 5 years.
The summary of the thesis is as follows:
Creation of 3D graphical content becomes ever harder, as both display capabilities and the demand for complex 3D content increase. In this thesis, we present a method of using densely scanned surface data from physical objects in interactive animation systems. By using a layered approach, incorporating skeletal animation and displacement mapping, we can realistically animate complex datasets with a minimum of manual intervention.
We propose a method using three layers; firstly, an articulated skeleton layer provides simple motion control of the object. Secondly, a low-polygon control layer, based on the scanned surface, is mapped to this skeleton, and animated using a novel geometric skeletal animation method. Finally, the densely sampled surface mesh is mapped to this control layer using a normal volume mapping, forming the detail layer of the system. This mapping allows animation of the dense mesh data based on deformation of the control layer beneath. The complete layered animation chain allows an animator to perform interactive animation using the control layer, the results of which can then be used to automatically animate a highly detailed surface for final rendering.
We also propose an extension to this method, in which the detail layer is replaced by a displacement map defined over the control layer. This enables dynamic level of detail rendering, allowing realtime rendering of the dense data, or an approximation thereof. This representation also supports such applications as simple surface editing and compression of surface data. We describe a novel displacement map creation technique based on normal volume mapping, and analyse the performance and accuracy of this method.
You can download the full thesis below.
H-Anim 2001
As part of my PhD research I worked on efficient skeletal animation techniques. One of the ways in which we tested those techniques was to extend the existing H-Anim 1.1 specification for VRML character animation to allow seamless animation using our technique. This was presented in the Seamless VRML Humans paper in 2000.
After SIGGRAPH 2001, the H-Anim group decided to create a new version of the specification, H-Anim 2001, to allow seamless models. I was involved in the creation of the new standard, which was a fusion of our method and a number of others.
Prometheus
I also wrote a character animation library for the Prometheus Project. The project was to create technology for virtual studios and actors between the BBC, BTExact, Avatar-Me, the CVSSP at Surrey, and more.
The library provided all the basic functionality required by the project, and formed a base on which the new technologies could be built. It included such functionality as plug-in character animation engines, as well as facial animation support and a basic renderer. I wasn't involved in the project after writing the library, but it continued to be used until the end of the project by many of the commercial partners.