Shape-constrained flock animation

We propose a novel shape-constrained flock animation system for interactively controlling flock navigation in virtual environments. This system is capable of making the spatial distribution of a flock meet static or deforming shape constraints while performing flock simulation. Such a capability can find many applications in the entertainment industry. Given a 3D constraining shape, our system first draws a set of uniform sample points through a 3D surface mosaicing process or a stratified point sampling strategy. Once correspondences between flock members and sample points have been established, points on the target shape are used as homing destinations to guide flock migration. Under a global path control scheme, an effective fuzzy control logic, which dynamically adjusts steering forces and control forces, has been developed to create visually pleasing shape-constrained flock animations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.