Motion Analysis and Procedural Animation of Quadruped Character using Hybrid Model

Abstract: In this paper we discuss the technique  of performing Quadruped Motion Analysis from the original video footage of quadruped character in motion. The motion analysis involves calculating the footfall patterns and plotting the diagram, along with generation of Motion Gait Graphs for each leg showing the swing and stance phase of each leg in motion. The developed hybrid system  for  procedural animation proposes the use of Inverse Kinematics along with Dynamic Controllers .The desired motion control input, comes either from the user or from a higher level motion planning system. A motion planning system uses the gait graph and footfall pattern information to produce the desired animal behavior. In our case, the motion control input consists of the desired values for the body’s velocity, and the heading determined by the yaw angle. The dynamic controller computes the aggregate force Fr and torque Tr that should be applied to the body at the center of gravity. The problem can be formulated as a linear constrained minimization and is solved using the Simplex method for linear programming. The leg subsystem is controlled by the kinematic gait controller. Based on these forces, a forward dynamic simulation is performed to compute the new state of the body.