Level of detail control of animation meshes

Level of detail (LOD) and character animation are both well-explored fields in computer graphics, but little has been done to combine them. Level of detail refers to the generation and use of low-detail models in place of high-detail ones where this will not be visible (for example, for far-away objects). A method that combines LOD with character animation will make it practical to render crowds of highly detailed, animated characters in real time. A good application would be a simulated battle in a game or movie. Standard LOD techniques can produce good lowdetail approximations for a single pose, but do not provide any guarantee of fidelity for other poses of an animated character. We aim to produce level of details representations that are faithful approximations in all poses of the character. Unlike some previous research [Shamir and Pascucci 2001], the proposed technique would not require prior knowledge of the animation itself. It could thus be used in situations with dynamic animation, for instance in a game.