Goal-Based Robot Animation Using Searchable Motion Tracks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The process of creating and maintaining pregenerated animations for robots is laborious, time-intensive, and presents maintainability problems, especially when new animations or scenarios need to be integrated, leading to combinatorial complexity and expressiveness bottlenecks in dynamic and lifelike robot animation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing goal-based animation, where components that generate goal states are functionally isolated from those that determine necessary animation tracks, allowing the robot to search and execute animation tracks to satisfy specific goal states, using a collection of pregenerated animation tracks, and leveraging machine-learning models to select the most appropriate tracks based on criteria such as danger, time, and emotion state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If pregenerated animations are used to provide rich detail and lifelike appearance, then the robot's visual realism is improved, but the labor and time required to create and maintain these animations increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses motion capture technology to record real animal movements and creates digital copies of these movements as animation tracks. Instead of manually animating each movement frame-by-frame, the system captures actual biological motion data and repurposes it for robot animations, dramatically reducing creation time while maintaining lifelike quality
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-generates animation tracks from motion capture data and stores them in a library for later retrieval. By performing the animation creation work in advance through automated motion capture processing, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual animation work during robot operation or updates
2Adaptability or versatility
If pregenerated animations are integrated into robot behavior, then the robot's expressive capability is improved, but the software complexity and maintainability deteriorate due to manual code modifications required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates animation selection logic from animation execution by creating independent animation tracks that can be selected and played back without modifying core behavior code. Each animation track is a self-contained unit that can be added to or removed from the system without affecting other parts of the software architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The animation track system serves multiple functions: it stores motion data, encodes selection criteria, and provides executable animation sequences. This universal format allows the same infrastructure to handle diverse animation needs across different behaviors and scenarios without requiring separate code paths
3Adaptability or versatility
If more pregenerated animations are added to cover more scenarios, then the robot's scenario coverage is improved, but the memory requirements and animation library size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential motion characteristics from full animation sequences, storing them as compact animation tracks with key parameters rather than complete frame-by-frame data. This extraction process removes redundant information while preserving the core movement patterns needed for realistic robot animation
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parametric animation tracks that can be dynamically adjusted based on current robot state and context. Instead of storing separate animations for every possible scenario variation, the system stores flexible tracks that can be instantiated with different parameters to adapt to various situations, reducing the total number of animations needed
4Ease of manufacture
If manual code modification is used to integrate new animations, then the animation integration process is simplified, but the development time and expertise required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an automated animation selection system that autonomously chooses appropriate animation tracks based on encoded criteria and current robot state. The system self-manages the integration of new animations by automatically incorporating them into the existing track library without requiring manual code changes, enabling developers to add animations through simple data insertion rather than complex programming
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for performing goal-based robot animation. One system includes a robot configured to receive a goal that specifies a goal state to be attained by the robot or one of the components. A collection of animation tracks is searched to identify one or more animation tracks that when executed by the robot cause the robot to perform one or more physical movements to satisfy the goal state. The identified one or more animation tracks are executed to perform the one or more physical movements to satisfy the received goal state.