Interactive motion data animation system

Recorded motion data is combined with interactive control techniques to manipulate the animation of articulated figures. The methods enable computer animated characters to produce fully interactive goal-directed behaviors, such as bipedal walking, through simultaneous satisfaction of position, alignment, posture, balance, obstacle avoidance, and joint limitation constraints while retaining qualitative characteristics of the original non-interactive motion data. Goal-based motion primitives, called synergies, are used to coordinate sets of joint movements that attempt to satisfy each of the above constraints. Non-interactive motion capture and keyframe data, representing examples of desired character movements, are accommodated in the present animation system in three ways: 1) direct approach-non-interactive motion data used directly to specify desired body posture synergy goals as a function of time, 2) hybrid approach-non-interactive motion data and program control commands blended to specify elements of desired position, alignment and/or balance synergy goals as a function of time, and 3) template approach-non-interactive motion data used to auto-tune adjustable parameters, enabling program control commands to generate fully interactive movements that qualitatively resemble the non-interactive motion data. The disclosed methods allow libraries of pre-configured goal-directed behaviors, such as reaching, sitting, walking, jumping, etc., to be constructed and used to animate a wide variety of characters.