Computer Animation & Visualisation (Level 10) (U04322)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : INF-4-CAV-4

Two major topics of Visualisation and Computer Animation are covered in this course.

Visualization is a cognitive process using the powerful information processing and analytical functions of the human vision system. It has always been a major factor in scientific progress and now, with the assistance of computer graphics, it extends our vision system from sub-atomic to interstellar dimensions and allows geometric representations and simulations of any multidimensional dataset. The fundamental objective is to acquire new knowledge rather than generating pictures. This part is very practical and techniques will be illustrated with applications in the scientific, engineering and medical domains. The increasingly important field of information visualisation and visual data-mining will also be covered.

The computer animation part will focus mainly on technological aspects for 3D computer animation for applications such as games and virtual environments. Techniques of character animation such as synthesizing their body movements, facial expressions and skin movements, and behaviors in crowded scenes, and how to compress such data will be first covered. Other topics which are essential to create natural scenes, such as physically based simulation for clothes, fluids and particles will also be covered.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Successful completion of Year 3 of an Informatics Single or Combined Honours Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School. Some previous knowledge of 3D geometry, 3D computer graphics, and simple programming or scripting will be an advantage.

? Co-requisites : Computer Graphics (Level 10) and Human-Computer Interaction (Level 10) are natural components of any computer animation / visualisation course and they are recommended (but not required) as companion courses.

? Prohibited combinations : Computer Animation & Visualisation (Level 11)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Computer Science, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Other subject areas

Cognitive Science, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Artificial Intelligence, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
13/01/2009	16:10	17:00	Room 4.01, David Hume Tower	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	16:10	17:00	Central
Lecture	Friday	16:10	17:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

1.Describe different representations of 3D objects, and give examples of their application;
2.Discuss structural properties of data and the influence they have on choice of visualisation algorithm;
3.Describe a selection of different visualisation algorithms, and explain their features;
4.Implement a simple visualisation application using an object-oriented visualisation toolkit;
5.Explain the kinds of animation that can be generated from the application of inverse kinematics or spacetime constraints to control characters;
6.Describe a range of character animation techniques, and give examples of their application;
7.Synthesize animations of characters moving around, changing their facial expressions and controlling them in crowds.
8.Use physically-based simulations to animate the movements of clothes, fluids and particles.