Lightweight Procedural Animation with Believable Physical Interactions

Abstract

I describe a procedural animation system that uses techniques from behavior-based robot control, combined with a minimalist physical simulation, to produce believable character motions in a dynamic world. Although less realistic than motion capture or full biomechanical simulation, the system produces compelling, responsive character behavior. It is also fast, supports believable physical interactions between characters such as hugging, and makes it easy to author new behaviors.