INVESTIGATORS

Dr. Horace H. S. Ip, Mr. Sam C. S. Chan

 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The human face is capable of exhibiting thousands of distinguishable facial expressions with about thirty semantic distinctions. Human face modelling and simulation is such an interesting subject that considerable research efforts have been made in recent years and example applications can be found in facial surgery, lip-reading tutoring and video conferencing system.

In order to perform a realistic facial animation, the facial model on which the animation is based on must be fine. Also, it is desirable that the model can simulate the physical process of muscle contraction found in humans. We utilise a non-uniform rational b-spline(NURBS) surface representation of human face and a hierarchical approach to model and animate different facial gesture changes and mouth movements in speech. To enhance the realism of the animation, the sound of the speech is also produced in synchronisation with the speech. A user interface is developed which allows users specify the animation sequence using a script and playback the animation sequence in a flexible way.

 

FUNDING AGENCY

N/A

 

PUBLICATIONS

1. Horace H S Ip and Sam C S Chan, "Scripted-Based Facial Gesture and Speech Animation Using a Hierarchical Face Model" Chinese Journal of Computers, Vol 19, pp. 141-152, 1996.
2. Horace H S Ip and Sam C S Chan, "Scripted-Based Facial Gesture and Speech Animation Using a NURBS Based Face Model", Vol 19, pp. 141-152, 1996.

FIGURES OR IMAGES

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Figure 1 NURBS Face Model in Different Views

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Figure 2 Simulated Human Facial Gesture and Speech Animation