Controllers for 3D scene descriptions

Abstract

Example embodiments provide for the structure and processing of a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene. A method according to some embodiments includes obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene. The file includes a first syntax structure associating at least a first transformation and a second transformation with a node in the scene. The file further includes a first set of weight information including at least first weight information associated with the first transformation and second weight information associated with the second transformation. An animation of the node is generated by applying the first transformation to the node according to the first weight information and applying the second transformation to the node according to the second weight information. Example embodiments allow for transformations to be reused and recombined with different weights to give different effects, allowing for a more efficient representation of complex animations.

Description

CONTROLLERS FOR 3D SCENE DESCRIPTIONSCROSS-REFERENCE

[0001] This application claims priority of European Patent Application No. 23306167.0 filed 10 July 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Various technologies are available for generating, processing, and rendering virtual three-dimensional (3D) scenes. The information characterizing a 3D scene, referred to as a scene description, can be time-dependent, allowing a 3D scene to change in a manner analogous to playback of a video. This kind of behavior can be achieved by relying on the framework defined in the Scene Description for MPEG media document, Information technology - Coded representation of immersive media - Parti 4: Scene Description for MPEG media, ISO / IEC DIS 23090-14 :2021 (E). A scene update mechanism based on the JSON Patch protocol as defined in IETF RFC 6902 may be used to synchronize virtual content to MPEG media streams.SUMMARY

[0003] A method according to some embodiments comprises obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, where the file includes: a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures. For each of the first syntax structures, an output transformation is determined using the associated weight value as the input; and the output transformations are applied to the corresponding nodes.

[0004] In some embodiments, the second syntax structure defines an order associated with the first syntax structures, and the output transformations are applied to the corresponding nodes in the defined order.

[0005] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value. In some such embodiments, the output transformationof the at least one first syntax structure is determined by using the associated weight as an input to the animation and using the minimum value as an offset.

[0006] Some embodiments further include animating the scene by modifying the weight values associated with the first syntax structures.

[0007] In various embodiments, one or more of the output transformations may be a rotation, a translation, a change to a morph target weight, or a change in a perspective, among other options.

[0008] A method according to some embodiments comprises: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0009] An apparatus according to some embodiments comprises one or more processors configured to perform at least: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0010] Some embodiments further include encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

[0011] A signal according to some embodiments comprises a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the runtime asset delivery file including: a plurality of nodes in the scene; a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0012] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes: at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

[0013] Some embodiments include an apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0014] Some embodiments include a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform any of the methods described herein. The medium may be a non-transitory medium.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIGs. 1A-1C illustrate effects of operating the first controller (controller 0). FIGs. 1A-1C illustrate the effect of controller 0 moving the eye gaze from right to left. FIG. 1A illustrates a mesh representation of a character in which the eyes are looking to the right. FIG. 1 B illustrates the character with the eyes looking forward. FIG. 1C illustrates the character with the eyes looking to the left.

[0016] FIGs. 2A-2C illustrate effects of operating the second controller (controller 1). FIGs. 2A- 2C illustrate the effect of controller 1 moving the eye gaze from bottom to top. FIG. 2A illustrates a mesh representation of a character in which the eyes are looking down. FIG. 2B illustrates the character with the eyes looking forward. FIG. 2C illustrates the character with the eyes looking up.

[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates values of morph target weights used for example controller 0.

[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates a mesh from a gITF file according to an example embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of parsing a controllers object.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example parsing method according to some embodiments.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the operation of an example embodiment.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a system used in some embodiments described herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In some 3D applications, a scene description is used to combine explicit and easy-to- parse description of a scene structure and some binary representations of media content.

[0024] In time-based media streaming, the scene description itself can be time-evolving to provide the relevant virtual content for each sequence of a media stream. For instance, for advertising purposes, a virtual bottle can be displayed during a video sequence where people are drinking.

[0025] This kind of behavior can be achieved by relying on the framework defined in the Scene Description for MPEG media document, Information technology - Coded representation of immersive media - Part14: Scene Description for MPEG media, ISO / IEC DIS 23090-14 :2021 (E). A scene update mechanism based on the JSON Patch protocol as defined in IETF RFC 6902 may be used to synchronize virtual content to MPEG media streams.

[0026] The current MPEG-I Scene Description (SD) format allows the storage of animations in “animations” assets in the gITF file. Each animation defines a named function that can modify a mesh given a time between zero and a maximum. A common use of these animations is to provide different actions for a mesh, for instance a character with walk, run and idle animations. Another is to provide animations that lead to different cinematics (e.g., like little movies, but rendered in real time).

[0027] In gITF, animations are conventionally structured in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format as follows. An “animations” array includes one or more “animation” objects. Each “animation” object includes information identifying the component to be animated, called the “target,” and information identifying the corresponding data used to perform the animation, called a “sampler.” This connection between the target of the animation and the sampler is made in a “channel” object. The channel object further includes information indicating how the data affects the target of the animation. For example, where the target of the animation is a mesh, the channel object may indicate whether the animation data is used to translate the mesh, to rotate the mesh, or to change the displacement of certain vertices of the mesh using “morph target weights” that have been defined for the mesh.

[0028] The “sampler” object that provides the data for the animation has “input” and “output” properties. Data associated with the “output” property indicates the transformation to be applied to the component of the scene. For example, where the transformation is a translation, the “output” data may provide the components of different vectors representing different displacements. Where the transformation is a rotation, the “output” data may provide the components of different rotation matrices. Where the transformation is applied to a morph target, the “output” data may provide different weights. The “input” property is used to help determine which of these output vectors, matrices, or weights is to be applied to the relevant component of the scene. The input property may correspond to a list of times. As an example, a sampler may identify an input with five different time values and an output with five different rotation matrices. Heuristically, these may be thought of as the columns of a table, in which a system performing an animation looks up the current time (e.g. the time since the beginning of the animation) in the “input” column and finds the appropriate rotation matrix in the “output” column. The times that are explicitly listed in the “input” column are referred to as the times of animation key frames. Interpolation is used when the current time is not one of the times listed explicitly in the “input,” with the type of interpolation (e.g. “step,” “linear,” or “cubicspline”) being indicated in the sampler object. The attributes of the “input” and “output” properties of a “sampler” object are not necessarily the relevant input or output data itself; instead, the attributes may be indices of objects called “accessors” that are used to access the relevant data, possibly through one or more additional layers of abstraction.

[0029] The current animation encoding allows functions that modify one or more properties of a mesh, like the translation, rotation, or mesh target weights. More properties can be changedusing extensions like KHR_animation_pointers. Each animation can have a name, but there is no standard to define the meaning of these names.

[0030] The current format does not define clearly how animations can be combined. For instance, if one wishes to use two animations at a time, it is not clear how the properties they change should be updated, starting with the order of animations.

[0031] Furthermore, it is not generally feasible to combine animations with different time ranges, such as a combination of animation 1 in range [1 , 2] with animation 2 in range [2, 3],

[0032] Example embodiments relate to controllers encoding for 3D scene representations. Examples of controllers include named functions that change a mesh given a weight. The present disclosure provides examples in which these controllers are encoded in an MPEG-I Scene Description.

[0033] In general, animation combination can be performed before the creation of the gITF file or other runtime asset delivery file. During these pre-processing steps, one computes the combination following any custom rules and stores the resulting new animation in the runtime asset delivery file. This allows for the transportation and rendering of the final scene. However, this does not allow for any subsequent changes to the animation.

[0034] In the current description, the proposed format follows the gITF format and is compatible with the recent MPEG-I SD effort to extend gITF with MPEG-I SD extensions. However, the concepts described herein are not limited to use with gITF and can be coded in other formats such as XML, USD, or other schema for the delivery of runtime assets.

[0035] Example embodiments make use of controllers, where each controller defines a function that changes mesh properties given a weight between a minimum and maximum value. Example embodiments further make use of controller weights, with each value providing the weight of a respective controller.

[0036] In some embodiments that are implemented using gITF, at the root of the gITF file, in the "extensions" property, an "MPEG_controllers" property is defined with the attributes shown in Table 1. The column “required” indicates attributes that are required to be included in at least some implementations of the "MPEG_controllers" property, though the same attributes may not be required in other implementations.

[0037] In example embodiments, the number of items in "controllers" and "weights" is constrained to be the same.

[0038] In example embodiments, each controller in the "controllers" list of MPEG_controllers defines a function that changes one or more properties of a mesh. For example, in some embodiments, a controller changes the positions of the mesh vertices and thus models a deformation of the mesh.

[0039] The shape of the function associated to the controller is defined by a set of (input weight, output property change) values. The encoding of these values may be performed for compatibility with the keyframing scheme used in the corresponding animations (e.g. gITF animations). The keyframe timings pointed to by the samplers input attributes are mapped to the function input weights. The animated values pointed to by the channels target attributes are mapped to the output property change values. Thus, the animation framework (e.g. the gITF animation framework) is leveraged to shape up each controller as a possibly non-linear function of input weight control values.

[0040] In some embodiments, a controller is defined in a runtime asset delivery file. A controller is defined by an instance of the “controller” property. The controller property may include one or more of the attributes. The column “required” indicates attributes that are required to be included in at least some implementations of the controller property, though the same attributes may not be required in other implementations.Table 2 - The Controller property

[0041] In some embodiments, the Controller property has the same attributes as the standard Animation property of gITF, plus two additional ones: "animation" and "min".

[0042] In some embodiments, there are two modes for this property that depend on the definition of the "animation" property. If this one does not exist, then the controller directly definesthe function, otherwise, it uses the one of an existing animation. In some implementations, the definition of a controller is constrained to be in one of the two modes, with other combinations leading to an error. In all modes, the "name" property can define the name of the controller. If it is not defined, the application may choose a name based on the index of the controller, like "controller_23" or "controller_0023"

[0043] In some embodiments, the "animation" property is not defined in the controller, in which case the controller directly defines its function. In this case, the "min" property is ignored. All the other properties ("channels", "samplers", "name", "extensions", "extras") may be used according to those of a standard Animation property. A usual animation parser can be run, except that time is considered as input weight values, and its minimum value can be negative.

[0044] In other embodiments, the "animation" property is defined in the controller. In such embodiments, the controller may not define its function but uses the one of an animation. In this case, the following properties may be ignored: "channels", "samplers", "name", "extensions", "extras".

[0045] The "animation" property defines the index of an animation in the “animations” asset. In this case, the function defined by the animation is used as a controller, except that time is considered as input weight values, and its minimum is shifted by the value of the "min" property. For instance, if "min" is -1.3, then animation time is decreased by -1.3, as if the animation was starting at -1.3 seconds. This property allows the definition of controllers with negative input weight values while referencing a gITF animation for which time cannot be negative.

[0046] In some embodiments, the "weights" attribute of MPEG_controllers contains an array of numbers (e.g. floating values) that define the weight associated to each controller. The weights may be provided in the same order as the order of the controllers in the "controllers" list: weights[0] is for controllers[0], weights[1] for controllers^], and so on.

[0047] These weights provide information regarding how the nodes targeted by the controllers change. In some embodiments, each weight is used to apply its corresponding controller, proceeding iteratively from the first one to the last one. For example, the function of controllers[0] may first be applied with weights[0] to update the nodes. Then, these updated nodes are modified by the function of controllers^] with weights[1], and so on. One can express these updates in the following way: sceneout= fn-i(wn-,fn-2yvn-2, ... f0(w0, scenein)')') where ft is the function of controllers^], wtis weights[i], sceneinis the initial nodes and sceneoutis the updated nodes using the controllers and the weights.

[0048] In some embodiments, the controller changes happen at the same step as animations: they are applied on the initial nodes content, and before any transform in the other gITF properties (like the one in the “nodes” assets).

[0049] In some embodiments, controllers are not activated when gITF parsing is done; like animations, the application chooses whether or not to enable the controllers.

[0050] In some embodiments, controllers are not used with animations; the application may choose whether it enables controllers or one of the animations.

[0051] In some embodiments, controllers are animated using an extension such as KHR_animation_pointer, in which case an animation is defined with this extension to animate the controller weights (analogous to the use of morph target weights).

[0052] Example uses of controllers in a runtime asset delivery file are described below. For the sake of clarity, these examples only show parts of the file (e.g. the gITF file) related to controllers. Information describing a scene with one or more meshes used by the controllers is not described explicitly. Consequently, the following only describes the controllers loading procedure.

[0053] In one example, the eyes of a character are controlled using two controllers: the first one (index 0) controls the horizontal movement and the second one (index 1) controls the vertical movement. The controllers change the eyes rotations and the weights of two morph targets corresponding to eyelid movements.

[0054] FIGs. 1A-1C illustrate effects of operating the first controller (controller 0). FIGs. 1A-1C illustrate the effect of controller 0 moving the eye gaze from right to left. FIG. 1A illustrates a mesh representation of a character in which the eyes are looking to the right. FIG. 1 B illustrates the character with the eyes looking forward. FIG. 1C illustrates the character with the eyes looking to the left.

[0055] FIGs. 2A-2C illustrate effects of operating the second controller (controller 1). FIGs. 2A- 2C illustrate the effect of controller 1 moving the eye gaze from bottom to top. FIG. 2A illustrates a mesh representation of a character in which the eyes are looking down. FIG. 2B illustrates the character with the eyes looking forward. FIG. 2C illustrates the character with the eyes looking up.

[0056] In this example, the runtime asset delivery file (e.g. gITF file) includes• A head mesh (index 0) with four morph targets: o AU61_Eyes_turn_L: this morph target defines an animation for eyelids with a movement to the left. o AU61_Eyes_turn_R: this morph target defines an animation for eyelids with a movement to the right. o AU63_eyeUp: this morph target defines an animation for eyelids with a movement to the top. o AU63_eyeDown: this morph target defines an animation for eyelids with a movement to the bottom.• An eye mesh (index 1) for the left eye, centered around the origin.• An eye mesh (index 2) for the right eye, centered around the origin.

[0057] In this example, the controllers are encoded in the following way using an example of the proposed extension:{"node" : 3"path" : "rotation"}} b" samplers" : [{" input" : 14," interpolation" : "CUBICSPLINE" ,"output" : 15 b {" input" : 14," interpolation" : " LINEAR""output" : 16}]} b"weights" : [1.0, -1.0]} b"nodes" : [{"children" : [1, 2, 3] b {"mesh" : 0 b {"mesh" : 1,"translation" : [ -2.53, 150. 54, 9.70] b {"mesh" : 2,"translation" : [2.78, 150. 54, 9.76]}]}

[0058] The scene loader first parses the "nodes" list and finds a scene with a root node with three children: the head (mesh 0), the left eye (mesh 1) and the right eye (mesh 2). The three meshes are loaded alongside their properties (not shown in the gITF file above). Note the "translation" property in the last two nodes: it will be applied after any transformation on the meshes, such as the one the controllers will perform.

[0059] Then, the loader parses the "MPEG_controllers" extension data and finds two controllers: one called "gazeRightLeft" (index 0) and one called "gazeBottomUp" (index 1).

[0060] Since there is no "animation" property in the controllers data, each one embeds the function that changes the scene given a weight. The following procedure loads this data as if it was a standard animation, except that time values are weight values and can be negative.

[0061] The first controller has three channels and three samplers.

[0062] The first channel (index 0) updates the morph target weights ("path" property) of node 1 ("target" property), which corresponds to the head (mesh 0). It uses the first sampler (index 0), which has the following values (not shown in the gITF above):• "input": it has three values, corresponding to three key weights: [-1 , 0, 1], This indicates that weight values go from -1 to 1 , with a step at 0.• "interpolation" is "CUBICSPLINE". This indicates that the values between keys weights are interpolated using a cubic spline. For that, three value sets are required for key weight: input tangent, value, output tangent. Because there are four morph targets in mesh 0, the result will be 3 x 4 values per key weight.• "output": it has 36 values, which can be represented as a 3 x 3 x 4 tensor:[ [ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 1 , 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ],[ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ],[ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [1 , 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ] ]Each triplet of four values corresponds to the one weight key value, e.g.: o Weight key value -1 : [ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 1 , 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ]: everything is zero, except for the value of the second morph target weight, e.g. AU61_Eyes_turn_R o Weight key value -1 : [ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ]: everything is zero o Weight key value -1 : [ [ 0, 0, 0, 0], [1 , 0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 0, 0] ]: everything is zero, except for the value of the second morph target weight, e.g. AU61_Eyes_turn_L

[0063] The values of the two first morph target weights (eyelids movements from right to left) according to the controller weight (from -1 to 1) are presented in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates values of morph target weights used for example controller 0.

[0064] The second channel (index 1) of the first controller (index 0) rotates the left eye (node 2 => mesh 1). It uses the second sampler (index 1), which has the following values (not shown in the gITF above):• "input": same as the first channel, [-1 , 0, 1],• "interpolation": "LINEAR", so linear interpolation, in which case one quaternion per key weight is used.• "output": has 12 values, which can be represented as a 3 x 4 matrix:[ [0.00000, -0.38268, 0.00000, 0.92388][0.00000, 0.00000, 0.00000, 1.00000][0.00000, 0.38268, 0.00000, 0.92388] ]Each tuple of four values corresponds to a quaternion used to rotate at a key weight: o Weight key value -1 : [0.00000, -0.38268, 0.00000, 0.92388], rotation around Y axis, angle -45°. o Weight key value -1 : [0.00000, 0.00000, 0.00000, 0.92388], no rotation.o Weight key value -1 : [0.00000, 0.38268, 0.00000, 0.92388], rotation around Y axis, angle 45°.

[0065] The last channel (index 2) of the first controller (index 0) rotates the right eye (node 3 => mesh 2). It uses the same sampler (index 1), and thus rotates it the same way. Recall that the eye meshes are centered around zero, eventually rotated by controllers, and finally moved to an eye cavity thanks to the "translation" property of the "node" property.

[0066] In this example, the second controller handles the eye moves from bottom to top. It works in the same way as the first, except that it controls the morph targets AU63_eyeUp and AU63_eyeDown, and the rotations are around X axis, with angles going from 30° (key weight = - 1) to -30° (key weight = 1).

[0067] The "weights" property of "MPEG_controllers" are values: [1.0, -1.0], As a result, the weight of controller 0 "gazeRightLeft" is 1.0 and the weight of controller 1 "gazeBottomTop" is - 1 .0. The resulting mesh is a character looking at the bottom right corner, as shown in FIG. 4. FIG.4 illustrates a mesh from a gITF file according to an example embodiment.

[0068] A second example implementation performs the same functions as the above example, except that the controllers reference animations. In this example, the runtime asset delivery file may be configured as follows:{"extensions" : {"MPEG_controllers" : {"controllers" : [{"name" : "gazeRightLeft" ,"animation" :"min" : -1.0 b {"name" : "gazeBottomllp" ,"animation" : 1,"min" : -1.0} b"weights" : [1.0, -1.0]} b"animations" : [{b"nodes" : [{"children" : [1 2, 3] b {"mesh" : 0 b {"mesh" : 1,"translation" : [ -2.53, 150. 54, 9.70] b {"mesh" : 2,"translation" : [2.78, 150. 54, 9.76]}]}

[0069] The animations define the same transformation functions than the controllers in the previous section, except that time starts from zero. As a result, the content of the sampler inputs (accessors 10 and 14) is: [0, 1 , 2],

[0070] In an example embodiment, the parser first decodes all but the controllers. Then, it decodes the controllers in the MPEG_controllers extension.

[0071] Each controller in the "controllers" list has an "animation" property. The first one refers to the first animation (index 0), and the second one to the second animation (index 1). In each case, the animation is decoded as usual, and then the sampler inputs are shifted by the value of the "min" property of controllers. In both cases, the inputs are shifted from [0, 1 , 2] to [-1 , 0, 1] since "min" is -1.

[0072] In some embodiments, the parsing of an MPEG_controllers object (see Table 1) proceeds as follows. The parsing of the "MPEG_controllers" extension may be performed after the usual parsing of the gITF file, as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of parsing a controllers object. If the "extensions" property is present at the root of the gITF file, and if it contains a "MPEG_controllers" property (502), then the parsing of the extension may be performed. The "weights" list in "MPEG_controllers" may be parsed (504). The parser may iterate (506) through all items of the "controllers" list. Each item is a controller, whose parsing (508) is described in greater detail below.

[0073] The parsing of a controller (see Table 2) may be performed as follows. FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example parsing method according to some embodiments.

[0074] The "name" property, if present (602), is parsed (604). If there is an "animation" property (606), the value of that property is used to obtain (608) the function that updates the scene from an animation in the animations asset of the gITF file. If there is a "min" property (610), it may be used to shift (612) the time (e.g., the value of sampler inputs). If there is no "animation" property, the controller properties are parsed (614) as if the controller was an animation, except that negative time values are accepted.

[0075] When creating 3D assets, one approach involves splitting the procedure into several stages. Each stage focuses on a specific task, like working on the mesh modeling, the textures, the animation, the lights, etc. These stages are usually handled by different people or teams, or by the same person but at different times. To manage this, one solution is to store the result of each stage in a new file. Using the current gITF standard, one can already follow this approach for several tasks. This has not generally been the case for other tasks, like complex animations.

[0076] Considering this context, one approach involves using a collection of basic animations (or controllers) per model. For instance, character animations like walk, jump or idle. Faces are also associated with a set of facial expressions; each one being encoded as an animation. In cases where artists design these animations during an early step of the workflow, the current gITF standard may be sufficient. During later stages, artists must combine these basic animations to create a final animated scene. In this last case, if this is the last stage, the animations combinations can be baked into final animations into current gITF files. However, if this is not the last stage, and if another artist needs to update a bit the final animation (for instance, during the lighting stage), it is no longer possible with a standard approach: they must ask artists in the earlier stages to update animations and bake again. Using the proposed extension, however, it becomes possible to store the animation creation process in a gITF file. In this context, the basic animations are called controllers, and the combination of animations is then an animation of controllers. Then, artists in the next stages can modify the controllers' animations themselves.

[0077] Runtime asset delivery files configured according to embodiments described herein, e.g. as a gITF extension, may reduce memory footprint, for example in the file size (e.g. gITF file size), and / or in CPU or GPU memory.

[0078] In some embodiments, controllers' weights according to example embodiments may be animated using extensions like KHR_animation_pointer. This may be done with the creation of usual animations where the channels are the weights (like the weights in morph targets).

[0079] Following this approach, complex animation can use less memory since each basic animation / controller is stored only once, together with weight keys, rather than the animation that bakes all scene transformations. If the final animation repeats the same basic animation several times, it can be less costly to store one basic animation and weight than to store the same animation several times.

[0080] FIG. 7 provides a schematic illustration of an example embodiment. Within a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, a plurality of first syntax structures 702, 704 are provided. These first syntax structures are referred to herein as controllers. Each of these controllers 702, 704 defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input. In this example, controller 702 corresponds to the controller “gazeRightLeft” described above, and controller 704 corresponds to the controller “gazeBottomUp” described above. The controllers are arranged in a second syntax structure, e.g. an MPEG_controllerssyntax structure 706. The second syntax structure 706 also associates a respective weight value 708, 710 with each of the first syntax structures.

[0081] In some embodiments, to make use of the first and second syntax structures the weights 708, 710 are used as inputs to determine the outputs of the respective controllers 702, 704. In this particular example, the outputs of each controller are different morph target weights 712 applied to a head mesh and different rotation matrices applied to a left eye mesh 714 and a right eye mesh 716.

[0082] In some embodiments, the second data structure 706 defines an order for the first syntax structures. Based on this order, for example, all of the transformations defined by the first syntax structure 702 may be applied before applying the transformation defined by the second syntax structure 704. (Notably, rotation matrices are not commutative, so applying them in a different order would give different results.)

[0083] While specific weights 708, 710 may be defined in the second syntax structure 706, the weights may be modified to animate the scene, e.g. using an extension such as KHR_animation_pointer to change the weights over time.Example System Hardware.

[0084] A device for the display and / or rendering of 3D scene information, together with its control electronics, may be implemented using a system such as the system of FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of a system in which various aspects and embodiments are implemented. System 1000 can be embodied as a device including the various components described below and is configured to perform one or more of the aspects described in this document. Examples of such devices, include, but are not limited to, various electronic devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, digital multimedia set top boxes, digital television receivers, personal video recording systems, connected home appliances, and servers. Elements of system 1000, singly or in combination, can be embodied in a single integrated circuit (IC), multiple ICs, and / or discrete components. For example, in at least one embodiment, the processing and encoder / decoder elements of system 1000 are distributed across multiple ICs and / or discrete components. In various embodiments, the system 1000 is communicatively coupled to one or more other systems, or other electronic devices, via, for example, a communications bus or through dedicated input and / or output ports. In various embodiments, the system 1000 is configured to implement one or more of the aspects described in this document.

[0085] The system 1000 includes at least one processor 1010 configured to execute instructions loaded therein for implementing, for example, the various aspects described in this document. Processor 1010 can include embedded memory, input output interface, and various other circuitries as known in the art. The system 1000 includes at least one memory 1020 (e.g., a volatile memory device, and / or a non-volatile memory device). System 1000 includes a storagedevice 1040, which can include non-volatile memory and / or volatile memory, including, but not limited to, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), flash, magnetic disk drive, and / or optical disk drive. The storage device 1040 can include an internal storage device, an attached storage device (including detachable and non-detachable storage devices), and / or a network accessible storage device, as non-limiting examples.

[0086] System 1000 includes an encoder / decoder module 1030 configured, for example, to process data to provide an encoded video or decoded video, and the encoder / decoder module 1030 can include its own processor and memory. The encoder / decoder module 1030 represents module(s) that can be included in a device to perform the encoding and / or decoding functions. As is known, a device can include one or both of the encoding and decoding modules. Additionally, encoder / decoder module 1030 can be implemented as a separate element of system 1000 or can be incorporated within processor 1010 as a combination of hardware and software as known to those skilled in the art.

[0087] Program code to be loaded onto processor 1010 or encoder / decoder 1030 to perform the various aspects described in this document can be stored in storage device 1040 and subsequently loaded onto memory 1020 for execution by processor 1010. In accordance with various embodiments, one or more of processor 1010, memory 1020, storage device 1040, and encoder / decoder module 1030 can store one or more of various items during the performance of the processes described in this document. Such stored items can include, but are not limited to, the input video, the decoded video or portions of the decoded video, the bitstream, matrices, variables, and intermediate or final results from the processing of equations, formulas, operations, and operational logic.

[0088] In some embodiments, memory inside of the processor 1010 and / or the encoder / decoder module 1030 is used to store instructions and to provide working memory for processing that is needed during encoding or decoding. In other embodiments, however, a memory external to the processing device (for example, the processing device can be either the processor 1010 or the encoder / decoder module 1030) is used for one or more of these functions. The external memory can be the memory 1020 and / or the storage device 1040, for example, a dynamic volatile memory and / or a non-volatile flash memory. In several embodiments, an external non-volatile flash memory is used to store the operating system of, for example, a television. In at least one embodiment, a fast external dynamic volatile memory such as a RAM is used as working memory for video coding and decoding operations, such as for MPEG-2 (MPEG refers to the Moving Picture Experts Group, MPEG-2 is also referred to as ISO / IEC 13818, and 13818- 1 is also known as H.222, and 13818-2 is also known as H.262), HEVC (HEVC refers to High Efficiency Video Coding, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2), or WC (Versatile Video Coding, a new standard being developed by JVET, the Joint Video Experts Team).

[0089] The input to the elements of system 1000 can be provided through various input devices as indicated in block 1130. Such input devices include, but are not limited to, (i) a radio frequency (RF) portion that receives an RF signal transmitted, for example, over the air by a broadcaster, (ii) a Component (COMP) input terminal (or a set of COMP input terminals), (iii) a Universal Serial Bus (USB) input terminal, and / or (iv) a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) input terminal. Other examples, not shown in FIG. 1C, include composite video.

[0090] In various embodiments, the input devices of block 1130 have associated respective input processing elements as known in the art. For example, the RF portion can be associated with elements suitable for (i) selecting a desired frequency (also referred to as selecting a signal, or band-limiting a signal to a band of frequencies), (ii) downconverting the selected signal, (iii) band-limiting again to a narrower band of frequencies to select (for example) a signal frequency band which can be referred to as a channel in certain embodiments, (iv) demodulating the downconverted and band-limited signal, (v) performing error correction, and (vi) demultiplexing to select the desired stream of data packets. The RF portion of various embodiments includes one or more elements to perform these functions, for example, frequency selectors, signal selectors, band-limiters, channel selectors, filters, downconverters, demodulators, error correctors, and demultiplexers. The RF portion can include a tuner that performs various of these functions, including, for example, downconverting the received signal to a lower frequency (for example, an intermediate frequency or a near-baseband frequency) or to baseband. In one set-top box embodiment, the RF portion and its associated input processing element receives an RF signal transmitted over a wired (for example, cable) medium, and performs frequency selection by filtering, downconverting, and filtering again to a desired frequency band. Various embodiments rearrange the order of the above-described (and other) elements, remove some of these elements, and / or add other elements performing similar or different functions. Adding elements can include inserting elements in between existing elements, such as, for example, inserting amplifiers and an analog-to-digital converter. In various embodiments, the RF portion includes an antenna.

[0091] Additionally, the USB and / or HDMI terminals can include respective interface processors for connecting system 1000 to other electronic devices across USB and / or HDMI connections. It is to be understood that various aspects of input processing, for example, Reed-Solomon error correction, can be implemented, for example, within a separate input processing IC or within processor 1010 as necessary. Similarly, aspects of USB or HDMI interface processing can be implemented within separate interface ICs or within processor 1010 as necessary. The demodulated, error corrected, and demultiplexed stream is provided to various processing elements, including, for example, processor 1010, and encoder / decoder 1030 operating in combination with the memory and storage elements to process the datastream as necessary for presentation on an output device.

[0092] Various elements of system 1000 can be provided within an integrated housing, Within the integrated housing, the various elements can be interconnected and transmit data therebetween using suitable connection arrangement 1140, for example, an internal bus as known in the art, including the Inter-IC (I2C) bus, wiring, and printed circuit boards.

[0093] The system 1000 includes communication interface 1050 that enables communication with other devices via communication channel 1060. The communication interface 1050 can include, but is not limited to, a transceiver configured to transmit and to receive data over communication channel 1060. The communication interface 1050 can include, but is not limited to, a modem or network card and the communication channel 1060 can be implemented, for example, within a wired and / or a wireless medium.

[0094] Data is streamed, or otherwise provided, to the system 1000, in various embodiments, using a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi network, for example IEEE 802.11 (IEEE refers to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The Wi-Fi signal of these embodiments is received over the communications channel 1060 and the communications interface 1050 which are adapted for Wi-Fi communications. The communications channel 1060 of these embodiments is typically connected to an access point or router that provides access to external networks including the Internet for allowing streaming applications and other over-the-top communications. Other embodiments provide streamed data to the system 1000 using a set-top box that delivers the data over the HDMI connection of the input block 1130. Still other embodiments provide streamed data to the system 1000 using the RF connection of the input block 1130. As indicated above, various embodiments provide data in a non-streaming manner. Additionally, various embodiments use wireless networks other than Wi-Fi, for example a cellular network or a Bluetooth network.

[0095] The system 1000 can provide an output signal to various output devices, including a display 1100, speakers 1110, and other peripheral devices 1120. The display 1100 of various embodiments includes one or more of, for example, a touchscreen display, an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, a curved display, and / or a foldable display. The display 1100 can be for a television, a tablet, a laptop, a cell phone (mobile phone), or other device. The display 1100 can also be integrated with other components (for example, as in a smart phone), or separate (for example, an external monitor for a laptop). The other peripheral devices 1120 include, in various examples of embodiments, one or more of a stand-alone digital video disc (or digital versatile disc) (DVR, for both terms), a disk player, a stereo system, and / or a lighting system. Various embodiments use one or more peripheral devices 1120 that provide a function based on the output of the system 1000. For example, a disk player performs the function of playing the output of the system 1000.

[0096] In various embodiments, control signals are communicated between the system 1000 and the display 1100, speakers 1110, or other peripheral devices 1120 using signaling such as AV.Link, Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), or other communications protocols that enabledevice-to-device control with or without user intervention. The output devices can be communicatively coupled to system 1000 via dedicated connections through respective interfaces 1070, 1080, and 1090. Alternatively, the output devices can be connected to system 1000 using the communications channel 1060 via the communications interface 1050. The display 1100 and speakers 1110 can be integrated in a single unit with the other components of system 1000 in an electronic device such as, for example, a television. In various embodiments, the display interface 1070 includes a display driver, such as, for example, a timing controller (T Con) chip.

[0097] The display 1100 and speaker 1110 can alternatively be separate from one or more of the other components, for example, if the RF portion of input 1130 is part of a separate set-top box. In various embodiments in which the display 1100 and speakers 1110 are external components, the output signal can be provided via dedicated output connections, including, for example, HDMI ports, USB ports, or COMP outputs.

[0098] The system 1000 may include one or more sensor devices 1095. Examples of sensor devices that may be used include one or more GPS sensors, gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, light sensors, cameras, depth cameras, microphones, and / or magnetometers. Such sensors may be used to determine information such as user’s position and orientation. Where the system 1000 is used as the control module for an extended reality display (such as control modules 124, 1254), the user’s position and orientation may be used in determining how to render image data such that the user perceives the correct portion of a virtual object or virtual scene from the correct point of view. In the case of head-mounted display devices, the position and orientation of the device itself may be used to determine the position and orientation of the user for the purpose of rendering virtual content. In the case of other display devices, such as a phone, a tablet, a computer monitor, or a television, other inputs may be used to determine the position and orientation of the user forthe purpose of rendering content. For example, a user may select and / or adjust a desired viewpoint and / or viewing direction with the use of a touch screen, keypad or keyboard, trackball, joystick, or other input. Where the display device has sensors such as accelerometers and / or gyroscopes, the viewpoint and orientation used for the purpose of rendering content may be selected and / or adjusted based on motion of the display device.

[0099] The embodiments can be carried out by computer software implemented by the processor 1010 or by hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a non-limiting example, the embodiments can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits. The memory 1020 can be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and can be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such as optical memory devices, magnetic memory devices, semiconductor-based memory devices, fixed memory, and removable memory, as nonlimiting examples. The processor 1010 can be of any type appropriate to the technical environment, and can encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.Further Embodiments.

[0100] A method according to some embodiments comprises obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, where the file includes: a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures. For each of the first syntax structures, an output transformation is determined using the associated weight value as the input; and the output transformations are applied to the corresponding nodes.

[0101] In some embodiments, the second syntax structure defines an order associated with the first syntax structures, and the output transformations are applied to the corresponding nodes in the defined order.

[0102] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value. In some such embodiments, the output transformation of the at least one first syntax structure is determined by using the associated weight as an input to the animation and using the minimum value as an offset.

[0103] Some embodiments further include animating the scene by modifying the weight values associated with the first syntax structures.

[0104] In various embodiments, one or more of the output transformations may be a rotation, a translation, a change to a morph target weight, or a change in a perspective, among other options.

[0105] A method according to some embodiments comprises: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0106] An apparatus according to some embodiments comprises one or more processors configured to perform at least: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0107] Some embodiments further include encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one correspondingnode in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

[0108] A signal according to some embodiments comprises a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the runtime asset delivery file including: a plurality of nodes in the scene; a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

[0109] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes: at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

[0110] Some embodiments include an apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0111] Some embodiments include a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform any of the methods described herein. The medium may be a non-transitory medium.

[0112] A method according to some embodiments comprises: obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the file including: a first syntax structure associating at least a first transformation and a second transformation with a node in the scene, and a first set of weight information including at least first weight information associated with the first transformation and second weight information associated with the second transformation; and generating a first animation of the node by applying the first transformation to the node according to the first weight information and applying the second transformation to the node according to the second weight information.

[0113] In some embodiments, the node is at least a portion of a mesh.

[0114] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a rotation.

[0115] In some embodiments, applying the first transformation to the node comprises rotating the node by an amount proportional to the first weight.

[0116] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a translation.

[0117] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a change in scaling.

[0118] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a matrix-based transformation.

[0119] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a change to a morph target weight.

[0120] In some embodiments, at least the first transformation is a change in a perspective.

[0121] In some embodiments, applying the first transformation to the node comprises translating the node by an amount proportional to the first weight.

[0122] In some embodiments, at least the first weight information indicates a time-varying first weight, and generating the first animation of the node comprises applying at least the first transformation to the node according to the time-varying first weight.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first weight information indicates a time-varying first weight, and the second weight information indicates a time-varying second weight, wherein generating the first animation of the node comprises applying at least the first transformation to the node according to the time-varying first weight and applying at least the second transformation to the node according to the time-varying second weight.

[0124] In some embodiments, at least the first weight information comprises a plurality of key weights, and a first weight is determined by interpolation based on the key weights.

[0125] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes: a second syntax structure associating at least the first transformation and a third transformation with the node, and a second set of weight information including at least third weight information associated with the first transformation and fourth weight information associated with the third transformation.

[0126] Some embodiments, further include generating a second animation of the node by applying the first transformation to the node according to the third weight information and applying the third transformation to the node according to the fourth weight information.

[0127] Some embodiments further include generating an animated rendering of the node.

[0128] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file is a JSON file.

[0129] In some embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file is a gITF file.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first syntax structure is a controller syntax structure.

[0131] Further embodiments include an apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0132] Further embodiments include a computer-readable medium (which may be non- transitory) including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0133] In some embodiments, a computer program product includes instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out any of the methods described herein.

[0134] A signal according to some embodiments comprises a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, wherein the scene description data includes: a first syntax structure associating at least a first transformation and a second transformation with a node in the scene, and a first set of weight information including at least first weight information associated with the first transformation and second weight information associated with the second transformation.

[0135] In some such embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes: a second syntax structure associating at least the first transformation and a third transformation with the node, and a second set of weight information including at least third weight information associated with the first transformation and fourth weight information associated with the third transformation.

[0136] A computer-readable medium according to some embodiments comprises a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, wherein the scene description data includes: a first syntax structure associating at least a first transformation and a second transformation with a node in the scene, and a first set of weight information including at least first weight information associated with the first transformation and second weight information associated with the second transformation.

[0137] In some such embodiments, the runtime asset delivery file further includes: a second syntax structure associating at least the first transformation and a third transformation with the node, and a second set of weight information including at least third weight information associated with the first transformation and fourth weight information associated with the third transformation.

[0138] This disclosure describes a variety of aspects, including tools, features, embodiments, models, approaches, etc. Many of these aspects are described with specificity and, at least to show the individual characteristics, are often described in a manner that may sound limiting. However, this is for purposes of clarity in description, and does not limit the disclosure or scope of those aspects. Indeed, all of the different aspects can be combined and interchanged to provide further aspects. Moreover, the aspects can be combined and interchanged with aspects described in earlier filings as well.

[0139] The aspects described and contemplated in this disclosure can be implemented in many different forms. While some embodiments are illustrated specifically, other embodiments are contemplated, and the discussion of particular embodiments does not limit the breadth of the implementations. At least one of the aspects generally relates to encoding, decoding, and rendering of scene description information, and at least one other aspect generally relates to transmitting a file and / or bitstream generated or encoded. These and other aspects can be implemented as a method, an apparatus, a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for encoding, decoding, or rendering of scene description data according to any of the methods described, and / or a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a bitstream generated according to any of the methods described.

[0140] Various methods are described herein, and each of the methods comprises one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified or combined. Additionally, terms such as “first”, “second”, etc. may be used in various embodiments to modify an element, component, step, operation, etc., such as,for example, a “first decoding” and a “second decoding”. Use of such terms does not imply an ordering to the modified operations unless specifically required. So, in this example, the first decoding need not be performed before the second decoding, and may occur, for example, before, during, or in an overlapping time period with the second decoding.

[0141] Various numeric values may be used in the present disclosure, for example. The specific values are for example purposes and the aspects described are not limited to these specific values.

[0142] Embodiments described herein may be carried out by computer software implemented by a processor or other hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a nonlimiting example, the embodiments can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits. The processor can be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and can encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0143] When a figure is presented as a flow diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a block diagram of a corresponding apparatus. Similarly, when a figure is presented as a block diagram, it should be understood that it also provides a flow diagram of a corresponding method / process.

[0144] The implementations and aspects described herein can be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if only discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (for example, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed can also be implemented in other forms (for example, an apparatus or program). An apparatus can be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. The methods can be implemented in, for example, a processor, which refers to processing devices in general, including, for example, a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device. Processors also include communication devices, such as, for example, computers, cell phones, portable / personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), and other devices that facilitate communication of information between endusers.

[0145] Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “one implementation” or “an implementation”, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in one implementation” or “in an implementation”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout this disclosure are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0146] Additionally, this disclosure may refer to “determining” various pieces of information. Determining the information can include one or more of, for example, estimating the information, calculating the information, predicting the information, or retrieving the information from memory.

[0147] Further, this disclosure may refer to “accessing” various pieces of information. Accessing the information can include one or more of, for example, receiving the information, retrieving the information (for example, from memory), storing the information, moving the information, copying the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0148] Additionally, this disclosure may refer to “receiving” various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with “accessing”, intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information can include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory). Further, “receiving” is typically involved, in one way or another, during operations such as, for example, storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0149] It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following 7”, “and / or”, and “at least one of’, for example, in the cases of “A / B”, “A and / or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and / or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended for as many items as are listed.

[0150] Also, as used herein, the word “signal” refers to, among other things, indicating something to a corresponding decoder. For example, in certain embodiments the encoder signals a particular one of a plurality of parameters for region-based filter parameter selection for deartifact filtering. In this way, in an embodiment the same parameter is used at both the encoder side and the decoder side. Thus, for example, an encoder can transmit (explicit signaling) a particular parameter to the decoder so that the decoder can use the same particular parameter. Conversely, if the decoder already has the particular parameter as well as others, then signaling can be used without transmitting (implicit signaling) to simply allow the decoder to know and select the particular parameter. By avoiding transmission of any actual functions, a bit savings is realized in various embodiments. It is to be appreciated that signaling can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, one or more syntax elements, flags, and so forth are used to signalinformation to a corresponding decoder in various embodiments. While the preceding relates to the verb form of the word “signal”, the word “signal” can also be used herein as a noun.

[0151] Implementations can produce a variety of signals formatted to carry information that can be, for example, stored or transmitted. The information can include, for example, instructions for performing a method, or data produced by one of the described implementations. For example, a signal can be formatted to carry the bitstream of a described embodiment. Such a signal can be formatted, for example, as an electromagnetic wave (for example, using a radio frequency portion of spectrum) or as a baseband signal. The formatting can include, for example, encoding a data stream and modulating a carrier with the encoded data stream. The information that the signal carries can be, for example, analog or digital information. The signal can be transmitted over a variety of different wired or wireless links, as is known. The signal can be stored on a processor-readable medium.

[0152] We describe a number of embodiments. Features of these embodiments can be provided alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. Further, embodiments can include one or more of the following features, devices, or aspects, alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types:• A bitstream or signal that includes one or more of the described syntax elements, or variations thereof.• A bitstream or signal that includes syntax conveying information generated according to any of the embodiments described.• Creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding a bitstream or signal that includes one or more of the described syntax elements, or variations thereof.• Creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding according to any of the embodiments described.• A method, process, apparatus, medium storing instructions, medium storing data, or signal according to any of the embodiments described.

[0153] Note that various hardware elements of one or more of the described embodiments are referred to as “modules” that carry out (i.e., perform, execute, and the like) various functions that are described herein in connection with the respective modules. As used herein, a module includes hardware (e.g., one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more microchips, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more memory devices) deemed suitable for a given implementation. Each described module may also include instructions executable for carrying out the one or more functions described as being carried out by the respective module, and it is noted that those instructions could take the form of or include hardware (i.e., hardwired) instructions, firmware instructions, software instructions, and / or thelike, and may be stored in any suitable non-transitory computer-readable medium or media, such as commonly referred to as RAM, ROM, etc.

[0154] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto- optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method comprising: obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the file including: a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures; for each of the first syntax structures, determining the output transformation using the associated weight value as the input; and applying the output transformations to the corresponding nodes.

2. An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform at least: obtaining a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the file including: a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures; for each of the first syntax structures, determining the output transformation using the associated weight value as the input; and applying the output transformations to the corresponding nodes.

3. The method of claim 1 or the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second syntax structure defines an order associated with the first syntax structures, and wherein the output transformations are applied to the corresponding nodes in the defined order.

4. The method of claim 1 or claim 3 as it depends from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claim 3 as it depends from claim 2, wherein: the runtime asset delivery file further includes at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value; and the output transformation of the at least one first syntax structure is determined by using the associated weight as an input to the animation and using the minimum value as an offset.

5. The method of claim 1 or claims 3-4 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claims 3-4 as they depend from claim 2, further comprising animating the scene by modifying the weight values associated with the first syntax structures.

6. The method of claim 1 or claims 3-5 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claims 3-5 as they depend from claim 2, wherein at least one of the output transformations is a rotation.

7. The method of claim 1 or claims 3-6 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claims 3-6 as they depend from claim 2, wherein at least one of the output transformations is a translation.

8. The method of claim 1 or claims 3-7 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claims 3-7 as they depend from claim 2, wherein at least one of the output transformations is a change to a morph target weight.

9. The method of claim 1 or claims 3-8 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2 or claims 3-8 as they depend from claim 2, wherein at least one of the output transformations is a change in a perspective.

10. A method comprising: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.11 . An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform at least: encoding a plurality of nodes in a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene; encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

12. The method of claim 10 or the apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising:encoding, in the runtime asset delivery file, at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

13. A signal comprising a runtime asset delivery file for a 3D scene, the runtime asset delivery file including: a plurality of nodes in the scene; a plurality of first syntax structures, each first syntax structure defining an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; and at least one second syntax structure associating a respective weight value with each of the first syntax structures.

14. The signal of claim 13, wherein the runtime asset delivery file further includes: at least one animation syntax structure that defines an output transformation of at least one corresponding node in the scene as a function of a respective input; wherein at least one of the first syntax structures defines the associated output transformation by identifying the animation syntax structure and providing an associated minimum value.

15. A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform the method of any of claims 1-10 or claim 12 as it depends from claim 10.

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