Laughing out loud: control for modeling anatomically inspired laughter using audio

We present a novel technique for generating animation of laughter for a character. Our approach utilizes an anatomically inspired, physics-based model of a human torso that includes a mix of rigidbody and deformable components and is driven by Hill-type muscles. We propose a hierarchical control method which synthesizes laughter from a simple set of input signals. In addition, we present a method for automatically creating an animation from a soundtrack of an individual laughing. We show examples of laugh animations generated by hand-selected input parameters and by our audio-driven optimization approach. We also include results for other behaviors created using the same model, including a cough and a sneeze. These animations demonstrate the range of possible motions that can be generated using the proposed system. We compare our technique with both data-driven and procedural animations of laughter. CR Categories: I.3.1 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism--Anim...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: TOG
• Authors: Paul C. DiLorenzo, Victor B. Zordan, Benjamin L. Sanders
• Keywords: Animation, Audio-driven Optimization Approach, Laughter, TOG 2008