Physics-based control of walking virtual characters in low frequency simulations

Samuel Carensac (1) , Nicolas Pronost (1) , Saïda Bouakaz (1)

1 SAARA - Simulation, Analyse et Animation pour la Réalité Augmentée

Physics-based control of virtual characters traditionally uses high simulation frequencies of 1 to 2 kHz. While lowering the simulation frequency frees computation time, it usually introduces instabilities within the simulation. In this paper, we propose a control strategy that can be used for high and low simulation frequencies, down to 225 Hz. The inherent instabilities were reduced by optimizing control parameters and by introducing a novel control feedback for the stance leg. We also show how lower frequencies hold a more restrictive space of possible control parameters than higher ones. Our controller shows equal robustness as high frequency controllers while requiring in average only 0.8 ms per simulation step.

Mots clés: physics-based animation; virtual character; simulation frequency; motion control

Domaines: Modélisation et simulation

Samuel Carensac, Nicolas Pronost, Saïda Bouakaz. Physics-based control of walking virtual characters in low frequency simulations. 31st International Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents CASA 2018, May 2018, Pekin, China. pp.77-82, ⟨10.1145/3205326.3205361⟩. ⟨hal-01884827⟩