MPEG-4 is still under development but parts of it are based on VRML & Web3d's H-Anim Avatars, and the VRML Avatars can be animated in a browser with the plug-ins VRML viewers or with Java3d using Sun's VRML Loaders and that works in browsers including the open source Mozilla, or as a stand alone application.
Some of the work has been funded directly or indectly by companies including Sun, and the Federal goverment through the Navy, NIST, and NSF, and some of the best work has been done ... in Switzerland ( see below ) Andrea wrote: > > How will we be able to convert our vrmls to mp4... > > will there be pluggins available for most of the > popular modeling and animation platforms like Lightwave > and 3Dstudio Max? > > Will I be able to afford mp4 ? > How did you get started ? > > I feel sad and hopeful at the same time... > > Andrea | http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&th=1c415a204b6f087b&seekm=3C766399.8000603#link2 http://archives.java.sun.com/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0202&L=java3d-interest&P=58959 I've done VRML animation with the plug-ins, using VRML EAI and without, with 'pure' unaccelerated Java and hardware accelearated Java3d and found the Java solutions preferable, being more robust, extensible, easier to manage, develope & debug, and they work on Linux, my prefered development enviroment, and one being used increasing often for high end graphics work: for things like Holywood computer animation including Shrek. Just keep on developing your skilling learning as much math and using the best tools you're comfortable with, hopfully including modern efficient languages such as Java. | __ MPEG-4 with H-Anim & Java __ | | | | I put this demo on the web. Everything is written in | | Java and the player is based on a mpeg4 java package | | which handles the initial mpeg4 BAP (Body Animation | | Parameters) file (ascii version of mpeg4) and convert | | it to be able to apply values to a HANIM 1.1 body | | (through the use of the EAIHuman java package). | | ... The URL is : | | http://ligwww.epfl.ch/~babski/StandardBody/mpeg4/ | | | ( Christian Babski, 1999 ) | http://www.vrml.org/WorkingGroups/h-anim/hypermail/1999/0157.html | | MPEG-4 Demo with H-Anim & Java ( Christian Babski ) | ------------------------------------------ | http://ligwww.epfl.ch/~babski/StandardBody/mpeg4/mpeg4.html | | - Requires Java, VRML plug-in, ... & proper permission settings. | http://www.web3d.org/WorkingGroups/h-anim/hypermail/2001/0295.html | 3.4.2 Language Choice | ----------------------- | The presented method was first implemented in Javascript ... | However, depending on the amount and type of calculation | to be performed, this interpreted language only allows to | obtain a low frame rate. It is powerful enough for performing | classical joint junctions ( elbow, knee ), but as soon as | the torso is included in the computation, the frame rate | decreases drastically down to an unacceptable level | ( less than one frame per second ). ... | | For all these reasons we switched to Java ... | It offers the needed power of a compiled language | for performing this kind of calculation. | " A Seamless Shape for HANIM Compliant Bodies " Christian Babski and Daniel Thalmann, Swiss FIT http://ligwww.epfl.ch/~babski/StandardBody/Deformation/ http://ligwww.epfl.ch/~thalmann/papers.dir/vrml99.pdf http://ligwww.epfl.ch/~babski/StandardBody/Deformation/vrml99.pdf.gz | H-Anim and MPEG-4 are dependendent on | implementing technologies, of which Java3d | is one of the best available to us and both | H-Anim and MPEG-4 have been held back | by misperceptions, false statements, and | unethical conduct. | | The VRML Loaders from Sun provided | | the highest level of functionality for | loading VRML files into Java3d ... | | -- and still do -- | | ~~ please ~~ correct me ... if any other | VRML loader is more capable for loading | VRML into Java3d and rendering it with | animation. | http://www.web3d.org/WorkingGroups/web3d-mpeg/hypermail/2001/0159.html The face in the ".jpg" image (below) is Nathan, and with a 'pure' Java solution I wrote I can do simple facial distortions using the BIFS displacer from the Swiss group above. MPEG-4, Games, & Human Animation with Java & VRML ------------------------------------------------- http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/sc_java_human_animation.jpg http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/games_with_java3d.html -- Paul, Java Developer & Web Animator --------------------------------------- "Imaging the Imagined: Modeling with Math & Keyboard" =========================================================================== To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "signoff JAVA3D-INTEREST". For general help, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help".
