In this paper the complete framework of a software package for real-time animation of 3D facial models according to the MPEG-4 specifications is described. The focus is mainly on the algorithmic solution that has been adopted for scaling the polygon mesh to a level of complexity suited to the specific hw/sw profile of the platform that hosts the decoder. The basic functionality of this system i...

This paper presents a setup which employs virtual animated agents for robotic heads. The system uses a laser projector to project animated faces onto a three dimensional face mask. This approach of projecting animated faces onto a three dimensional head surface as an alternative to using flat, two dimensional surfaces, eliminates several deteriorating effects and illusions that come with flat s...

Realistic facial animation is achieved through geometric and image manipulations. Geometric deformations usually account for the shape and deformations unique to the physiology and expressions of a person. Image manipulations model the reflectance properties of the facial skin and hair to achieve smallscale detail that is difficult to model by geometric manipulation alone. Modeling and animatio...

In this Thesis a hierarchical image-based 2D talking head model is presented, together with robust automatic and semi-automatic animation techniques, and a novel perceptual method for evaluating visual-speech based on the McGurk effect. The novelty of the hierarchical facial model stems from the fact that sub-facial areas are modelled individually. To produce a facial animation, animations for ...

The enforcement of intellectual property rights is difficult for digital data. One possibility to support the enforcement is the embedding of digital watermarks containing information about copyright owner and/or receiver of the data. Watermarking methods have already been presented for audio, images, video, and polygonal 3D models. In this paper, we present a method for digital watermarking of...

We present a system for photo-realistic facial modeling and animation, which includes several tools that facilitate necessary tasks such as mesh processing, texture registration, and assembling of facial components. The resulting head model reflects the anatomical structure of the human head including skull, skin, and muscles. Semi-automatic generation of high-quality models from scan data for ...

In this study, a system, that generates visual speech by synthesizing 3D face points, has been implemented. The synthesized face points drive MPEG-4 facial animation. To produce realistic and natural speech animation, a codebook based technique, which is trained with audio-visual data from a speaker, was employed. An audio-visual speech database was created using a 3D facial motion capture syst...

We present a system for photo-realistic facial modeling and animation, which includes several tools that facilitate necessary tasks such as mesh processing, texture registration, and assembling of facial components. The resulting head model reflects the anatomical structure of the human head including skull, skin, and muscles. Semiautomatic generation of high-quality models from scan data for p...

In many applications, such as conversational agents, virtual reality, movies, and games, animated facial expressions of computer-generated (CG) characters are used to communicate, teach, or entertain. With an increased demand for CG characters, it is important to animate accurate, realistic facial expressions because human facial expressions communicate a wealth of information. However, realist...