Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6563504?dq=6,034,652
Timestamp: 2016-07-23 10:02:36
Document Index: 89490881

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US6563504 - System and method for creating 3D animated content for multiple playback ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA system and method facilitating the production, processing, and Internet distribution of 3D animated movies including 3D multipath movies. A key reduction algorithm reduces the keyframes associated with the 3D movie to facilitate the streaming of the data over the Internet. An animation optimization...http://www.google.com/patents/US6563504?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6563504 - System and method for creating 3D animated content for multiple playback platforms from a single production processAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6563504 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/471,212Publication dateMay 13, 2003Filing dateDec 23, 1999Priority dateDec 24, 1998Fee statusPaidPublication number09471212, 471212, US 6563504 B1, US 6563504B1, US-B1-6563504, US6563504 B1, US6563504B1InventorsAnthony Rose, Andrew D. Davie, Andrew Kevin ReidOriginal AssigneeB3D, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (15), Non-Patent Citations (22), Referenced by (48), Classifications (6), Legal Events (9) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSystem and method for creating 3D animated content for multiple playback platforms from a single production process
US 6563504 B1Abstract
What is claimed is: 1. A method for creating 3D animated content for multiple target machines from a single production process, the animated content including a plurality of scenes, each scene including a 3D object having a plurality of nodes, each node identifying a discrete piece of 3D geometry making up the 3D object, the method comprising:
creating a first version of a node of the 3D object identifying a first piece of 3D geometry data; creating a second version of the node identifying a second piece of 3D geometry data; tagging each version of the node with a tag identifier, the tag identifier identifying each version of the node as suitable for display in a particular type of machine; storing the first and second versions of the node in a library model file, the library model file residing in a storage location accessible to all the scenes of the animated content; and selecting either the first or second version of the node based on the tag identifier for creating an animation file targeted to a particular type of target machine. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag identifier identifies the second version of the node as an alternative to the first version.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag identifier identifies a CPU power of the particular type of machine on which each version of the node is to be displayed.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag identifier identifies a type of audience to whom each version of the node is to be displayed.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag identifier identifies a media platform on which each version of the node is to be displayed.
6. A system for creating 3D animated content for multiple target machines from a single production process, the animated content including a plurality of scenes, each scene including a 3D object having a plurality of nodes, each node identifying a discrete piece of 3D geometry making up the 3D object, the system comprising:
means for creating a first version of one of the nodes of the 3D object identifying a first piece of 3D geometry data; means for creating a second version of the node identifying a second piece of 3D geometry data; means for tagging each version of the node as suitable for display in a particular type of machine; means for storing the first and second versions of the node in a library model file, the library model file residing in a storage location accessible to all the scenes of the animated content; and mean for selecting either the first or second version of the node based on the tag identifier for automatically creating an animation file targeted to a particular type of target machine. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for tagging includes means for tagging a second version of the node as an alternative to the first version.
8. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for tagging includes means for tagging each version of the node with a CPU power of a machine on which the node is to be displayed.
9. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for tagging includes means for tagging each version of the node with a type of audience to whom the node is to be displayed.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein the means for tagging includes means for tagging each version of the node with a media platform on which each version of the node is to be displayed.
11. A system for creating 3D animated content for multiple target machines from a single production process, the animated content including a plurality of scenes, each scene including a 3D object having a plurality of nodes, each node identifying a discrete piece of 3D geometry making up the 3D object, the system comprising:
an animation module including an animation and modeling tool for creating a first version of a node of the 3D object identifying a first piece of 3D geometry data and a second version of the node identifying a second piece of 3D geometry data; an interface software in communication with the animation and modeling tool programmed to provide to each version of the node a tag identifier, the tag identifier identifying each version of the node as suitable for display in a particular type of machine; a mass storage device in communication with the animation module for storing the first and second versions of the node in a library model file, the library model file residing in a storage location accessible to all the scenes of the animated content; and a production module in communication with the mass storage device for selecting either the first or second version of the node based on the tag identifier for automatically creating an animation file targeted to a particular type of target machine. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the tag identifier identifies the second version of the node as an alternative to the first version.
13. The system claim 11, wherein the tag identifier identifies a CPU power of the particular type of machine on which each version of the node is to be displayed.
14. The system of claim 11 wherein the tag identifier identifies a type of audience to whom each version of the node is to be displayed.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the tag identifier identifies a media platform on which each version of the node is to be displayed.
16. A method for creating 3D animated content for multiple target machines, the method comprising:
creating a first set of nodes and a second set of nodes for a 3D object, each set of nodes including all geometry data needed for displaying the 3D object; tagging the first set of nodes with a first identifier, the first identifier identifying a first attribute associated with the first set of nodes; tagging the second set of nodes with a second identifier, the second identifier identifying a second attribute associated with the second set of nodes; selecting either the first set of nodes or the second nodes based on a desired attribute; distributing the selected set of nodes to a target device; and displaying the 3D object at the target device using the selected set of nodes.
This patent application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/114,146, filed Dec. 24, 1998, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/114,451, filed Dec. 28, 1998, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/114,026, filed Dec. 29, 1998, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/114,341, filed Dec. 28,1998, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/114,019, filed Dec. 29, 1998, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/137,130, filed May 28, 1999, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to 3D animated content, and more particularly, to a system and method for scaling the quality of the 3D graphics of the animated content based on detected Internet bandwidth and CPU speed of a host computer.
In accordance with a one aspect of the invention, the 3D animated content is created for multiple target platforms from a single production process. The 3D animated content may be created for different CPU speeds, audiences, media platforms, and the like, without having to start afresh each time a different target platform or audience is identified. Instead, the present system and method allows multiple versions of the 3D animated content to be created and tagged appropriately for being played at different target platforms.
The system and method according to this aspect of the invention includes creating a first version of a node of the 3D object identifying a first piece of 3D geometry data and tagging each version of the node with a tag identifier. The tag identifier identifies each version of the node as suitable for display in a particular type of machine. The system and method further includes storing the first and second versions of the node in a library model file where the library model file resides in a storage location accessible to all the scenes of the animated content, and packaging the 3D animated content for distribution to one of the target platforms. With all the versions of the node available, appropriate versions of the node may be selected based on the target platform in which the 3D animated content is to be played.
FIG. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of a directory structure of files stored in the multipath movie system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a software program for processing gesture animations for a scene of a multipath movie; and
FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a software program for creating audio and lip animation data for an actor of a mutipath movie;
The system further aids in the production of a multipath movie by maintaining a library of 3D objects (“library objects”) with their corresponding geometry information. An object's geometry information is accessed from the library for use in the various scenes of the movie in which the object appears. In this way, only the animation data for the library object need to be defined in the scenes themselyes, and the object's geometry information need not be replicated in the scenes.
In addition to the above, the system employs various techniques for effectively distributing multipath movies over the Internet. The system's optimization and key reduction techniques aid in the minimization of streaming animation data. The system further allows scalibility of 3D graphics data based on the detected Internet bandwidth and CPU speed of a target platform. The system's preloading, caching, and look-ahead mechanisms of Internet-streamed data further aid in effectively using the Internet to deliver multipath movies.
The server 5 further provides a lip-synching module 20 for aiding in the production of audio data and corresponding mouth animations for the actors in the movie. The lip-synching module allows the animator to create the audio data and store it in the mass storage device 12 as a conventional audio file (e.g. a.wav file).
The lip synching module further allows the animator to use 3D studio MAX to create mouth shape animations for each actor where the animations correspond to selected phoenomes. The system invokes any of the lip-synching algorithms known in the art to synchronize an actor's audio file with the appropriate mouth shapes created for the actor. The synchronical mouth movements are stored separate lip-synch file with a “sync” extension.
The host computer 55 is equipped with a modem 55 a, CD ROM 55 b, and/or DVD drive 55 c. The host computer also includes a conventional keyboard 55 d and mouse 55 e. A user of the host computer 55 accesses the second server 40 for viewing the multipath movie, over the Internet. The host computer 55 further includes a projector module 60 which allows the playing of the multipath movie. If the movie is distributed over the Internet 45, the host computer 55 downloads the projector module 60 and the upfront and streaming files from the second mass storage device 38 hosted by the second server 40 via the Internet connection 50. The upfront and streaming files include the data necessary for playing the movie. The Internet connection comprises conventional telephone lines, ISDN lines, ADSL lines, DSL lines, cable connection, satellite connection, and the like.
If the movie is distributed via CD or DVD 35, the projector module 60 is downloaded from the CD or DVD 35 using a CD ROM drive 55 b or DVD drive 55 c. All the files necessary for playing the movie are also accessed from the CD or DVD 35.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the steps undertaken by an animator via the animation module 15 for creating scenes and library object models. In step 70, the animator invokes 3D Studio MAX to create animation for a scene. As described above, a scene includes a hierarchy of nodes for each object appearing in the scene. Each node is associated with 3D geometry data as well as animation data. The animation data is stored in a series of keyframes. The geometry data may or may not be kept in the scene during exporting of the same based on whether the object is a library object. Once created, the animation module 15 stores each scene in a scene file with a “3DS” extension (e.g. “101.3DS”)
In step 74, the animator uses 3D Studio MAX to create a separate file for each library object in the scene. According to one embodiment of the invention, the animator creates a copy of a scene 3DS file in which library object appears, and deletes all geometry and animation data which is not part of the library object. The animator further deletes all keyframes associated the library object except for frame zero, where the library object appears at a default, resting position. The animator stores each library object file with a “3DS” extension (e.g. “Popeye.3DS”).
The library object's companion file is stored with a “CDS” extension (e.g. “Popeye.CDS”) . However, a separate CDS file may not be necessary if the third party tool used to create the library object allows the animator to specify additional information about the object within the library object's file itself.
In exporting the library object files, the animation module 15 merges a library object's 3DS file and CDS file into a master library model file. The master library model file is also stored with a “S3D” extension (e.g. “Popeye.S3D”) . The merged S3D file includes the library object's 3D geometry information and gesture animation data from the S3D file, and the object's root node name and gesture names from the CDS file.
The GUI provides an Add Files button 154 allowing the user to enter the name of a file to be exported into the Files to Export Section 152 a. A Remove Files button 152 b allows the user to remove the name of a file to export from the Files to Export section 152 a. The user invoices the export function by actuating an Export button 158. In exporting a 3DS file and its companion CDS file into an S3D file, the animation module 15 merges the data in the 3DS file with the data in its companion CDS file, and saves them into the S3D file. Thus, if the 101.3DS and 11. CDS files are exported, the animation module 15 creates a new 101. S3D with the merged data.
THRESH=master_rot_thresh*R/D According to this formula, the final rotation threshold value increases as the current node is closer to the bottom node, and decreases as the current node is closer to the top node.
To apply texture-maps to the scan lines, the program, in step 192, calculates the texture coordinates of the start and end points or the scan line. Texture coordinates are the position inside the source texture map. The application of the texture map to the pixels on the screen is not necessarily linear (that is, the ratio of pixel scaling values at the beginning and end of the line may differ. For example, the polygon represented by the rasterized line may be sloped away from the viewer. Solution of the non-linearity of texture mapping is well known and familiar to those in this field. For the purposes of optimization of texture data, only the scaling factor at the closest point to the viewer is required, and the non-linear mapping of textures is unimportant. This scaling factor is analogous to the texture step-value of a single onscreen pixel at the point on the rasterized scanline that is closest to the viewer. By selecting the closest point to the viewer, the step value is calculated to be the largest for the entire rasterized line.
In calculating the seep-value (i.e. the scaling value) of a scan line, the program, in step 194, considers the length in pixels of the scan line which is being rendered. In step 196, the program calculates the length (in pixels) of the conceptual line in the source texture-from the start point to the end point. In step 198, the program calculates the relative magnification required to display the texture on the polygon at the particular scan line being considered. Ignoring non-linearity (as it is only the closest point magnification that matters), a simple division of these two lengths gives the relative magnification. Typically, textures will be much larger than the screen representation of the polygons onto which they are being mapped.
The build process carried out in the publishing module 30 involves a selection of appropriate tagged data from the 3D object models, sound and text data, and the conversion of this data into a final (compressed) deliverable build. Builds can be created for multiple media including, but not limited to, delivery over the Internet, delivery via CD, or for viewing on video or film.
FIG. 14 is an illustration of a GUI displayed on the personal computer 8 allowing a user to place different tags on 3D objects. The GUI provides a last of scalability tags 200 that the user may select using the keyboard 8 b and/or mouse 8 c. A display in software tag 200 a indicates that the object is to be displayed only when not using 3D hardware, such as a 3D -accelerated graphics card. A display in hardware tag 200 b indicates that the object is to be displayed only when using 3D hardware.
A person skilled in the art should recognize that various other types of tags may also be used in alternative embodiments.
Thus, the listed tags and their functionalities are exemplary and not intended to be limiting in any sense.
In tagging 3D models, the user selects as many tags as are applicable for a node. For instance, if a node is to be displayed in both ‘G’ rated and ‘M’ rated movies, the user selects the display when ‘G’ rated tag 200 g as well as the display when ‘M’ rated tag 200 h. If a node is to be displayed in all types of situations, all the scalability tags 200 are selected.
Different type codes 232 c are used to identify different types of files. According to one embodiment of the invention, type “A01” indicates a bitmap file, type “A02” indicates a streaming sound file, type “A05” indicates a scene's preload file, type “A06” indicates a scene's message file, type “A07” indicates a streaming or non-streaming 3D data file, and type “A12” indicates a stream fale. The data following the type code 232 c is dependent on the location of the file as identified by the location code 232 b. The location code 232 identifies a file as being stored in the upfront file, on the Internet in a separate stream file, or both. According to one embodiment of the invention, the location code is represented in one byte. A location code of “A01” indicates that the file is stored in the upfront file and included in its header entry is an offset 232 g into the upfront file for the start of the data, as is illustrated in FIG. 16A. A location code of “A05” indicates that the file is stored as part of a separate stream file on the Internet. The Internet stream files themselves also have an entry in the header and have a location code of “05” or “07” A location code of “05” indicates that all of the streamed data is in the stream file.
A location code of “07” for a stream file indicates that some of the stream data that could not be fitted into the available bandwidth has been placed in the upfront download.
If the file is stored in a separate stream file, as indicated by location code “05” the header entry includes a stream number 232 h and stream file index 232 i. The stream file index 232 i is a reference to the header entry that points to the actual stream file. The stream number is used to reference a stream of data within the stream file. Stream files can contain multiple data streams such as animation data and sound data. Within the stream file, the different data streams are divided into blocks and interleaved throughout the file. Each block has a header that includes an identifying stream number and a size.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the publishing module 30 creates a stream file for each scene in the movie and stores it with a “dat” extension. Each stream file is chosen to be of a size which will allow the file to finish streaming before the scene is over.
If a stream file is not large enough to fit all the blocks of data to be streamed for the scene, the remaining blocks are taken off the stream and placed in the upfront file which is downloaded first prior to the playing of the movie.
As is also described above in conjunction with FIGS. 15A-5C, the user may also specify various scalability factors 214 when doing either a CD or an Internet build. Such scalability factors indicate, among other things, the CPU speed of the target platform. If the user has selected all of the scalability factors in doing the build, all of the objects tagged with different scalability tags are available to the projector module 60. At runtime, the projector module 60 selects the objects with the appropriate scalability tags.
F. DYNAMIC REPLACEMENT OF 3D OBJECTS IN A 3D PROJECT LIBRARY.
G. CONTROLLING 3D OBJECT GESTURES
The present system's library structure as described above in conjunction with FIGS. 2-4 also allows gesture animations to be defined within a master library object file. The gesture animations are overlaid on top of a scene's animation when triggered within the scene.
FIG. 17 is a flow process diagram of a software program for processing gesture animations for a scene. The program starts, and in step 280, inquires if there are any more messages to process in the scene's message file. If the answer is YES, the program asks in step 282 if the message is a gesture message. If the answer is again YES, the program, in step 284, searches the corresponding master library object file for the gesture tag corresponding to the gesture.
One type of gesture used in the system are lip-synch gestures. FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a software program for creating audio and lip animation data for an actor for lip-synching purposes. The program starts, and in step 300, it records generic phonemes for an actor. In step 302, the program stores the phonemes into -he sound subdirectory 207 of the project directory 205 (FIG. 5). In step 304, the animator uses 3D Studio MAX to create lip gestures to match the recorded phonemes.
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