JP3251738B2 - Computer graphics simulation equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer graphics (CG) simulation apparatus, and more particularly, to the concept of an attribute relating to interference or reaction to an object in a virtual world generated by the CG, thereby allowing each object to have a concept. The present invention relates to a computer graphics simulation device that simplifies the calculation of movement interference and the like and realizes movement in a virtual world with a sense of reality.

[0002] Recently, with the improvement of CG animation technology, C with which a virtual world can be easily experienced with a sense of reality.
The use of G simulation is increasing. Among them, the use of CG simulation, which is called walkthrough, which allows users to freely walk around in a virtual world and experience the world, is expanding.

However, in such an apparatus for realizing a CG simulation, it is very difficult to perform a desired moving operation because the user passes through a wall or moves in a manner different from the sense of actual daily movement. There is a need for a technology that can realize movement in a virtual world with a sense of reality.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional CG walk-through technique, a user roams a three-dimensional world regardless of the position of an object. This is because the gaze movement calculation is performed ignoring the contact between the user's gaze and the object in the virtual world.

[0005] As a result, a situation may occur in which the user may not be able to know where he or she is currently, because the user may pass through a wall that would otherwise not be able to pass through, or may sink into the sidewalk. was there.

[0006]

As described above, the prior art does not consider the contact between the user's line of sight and the object in the virtual world, so that it is far from everyday movement sensation. It was very difficult for ordinary people to be simulated to move as imagined. More specifically, there were the following problems.

[0007] Not only the contact between the line of sight and the object, but also in the collision between the general object and the object, although the result of the collision between hard objects, the collision between soft objects, and the collision between the hard object and soft objects are different. However, the user could not express the difference in the interference with a simple mechanism.

Further, it has not been possible to keep the gaze at a constant height and move around in the virtual world.
For example, when climbing stairs, in the virtual world of CG, the stairs cannot be climbed at all, or each step of the stairs is horizontal, even though the line of sight or the like naturally rises obliquely and smoothly. There was a problem that the movement and vertical movement were repeated, resulting in a jerky movement (appearance).

In addition, a means for easily defining the reaction and movement of an object so that the object starts to change in some state in response to the collision of the object or an external instruction, and the setting status of those objects can be easily described. No one could easily edit the virtual world because there was no way to understand it.

The present invention solves the above problems, simplifies the editing work for defining a virtual world, and realizes, in a simulation, the movement of the line of sight and the change in the state of an object that are close to the image of the user with a small amount of calculation. The purpose is to make it possible.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an input device such as a keyboard or a pointing device, and 11 denotes a CP.
Represents a processing device including a U and a memory. The attribute definition / setting unit 12 is a processing unit that defines and sets an attribute that defines a condition of a state change of an object in the virtual world. The line-of-sight volume definition unit 13 is a unit that determines the line-of-sight volume in the virtual world. The activation instruction input means 14 is a means for receiving an instruction to activate an object from the input device 10.

The object information storage means 15 is a storage means for storing shape data, position information, and other physical information of each object in the virtual world. In the present invention, the object information storage means 15 particularly has an attribute storage means 16 for storing the interference attribute and the reaction attribute of the object.

The state change calculating means 17 is a processing means for calculating a state change of the object in accordance with the attribute of the related object stored in the attribute storage means 16 in response to the movement of the object in the virtual world or a start instruction from the outside. The attribute distribution display means 18 is a processing means for displaying attribute information of each object stored in the attribute storage means 16. Result display means 19
Is processing means for displaying the result of calculation by the state change calculating means 17. The audio output means 20 is provided with an audio output attribute
When the character is defined, it is a processing means that outputs the sound.

The display device 21 is a graphic display device for displaying a virtual world. Audio output device 22
Is an output device equipped with a speech synthesizer and a speaker. Attribute definition / setting means 12 is input from input device 10
An attribute relating to interference or reaction between objects in the virtual world is defined by a name indicating the type of the attribute, and set in the attribute storage unit 16. The state change calculation means 17 calculates the object movement position at each time step, and when there is interference between the objects, calculates the interference result using the object attributes stored in the attribute storage means 16. Do. The result display means 19 displays the result calculated by the state change calculation means 17 on the display device 21.

Representative attributes set by the attribute definition / setting means 12 include an interference attribute and a reaction attribute. The interference attribute is an attribute that determines how the virtual world interacts when it makes contact with another object. The state change calculation means 17 calculates the movement of the movable object at every time step, and when it is determined that the moved object comes into contact (interference) with another object, the state change calculation means 17 is set in the attribute storage means 16. The result after the interference is calculated by referring to the interference attribute.

The attribute definition / setting means 12 can define, as an interference attribute, a restriction that acts as a constraint on the movement of another object at the time of interference. For example, when an attribute such as “wall” is defined, other interfering objects (including the user's line of sight) are calculated so as not to pass through the object having the “wall” attribute in the moving interference calculation.

The line-of-sight volume definition means 13 defines a volume such as a size and a shape with respect to the line of sight of the user based on an input from the input device 10. The line of sight is treated as having a spread at a certain angle from the position of the eyes (viewpoint), and is subject to movement interference calculation. State change calculation means 17
Realizes that the user's gaze moves around the virtual world at a constant height by calculating the gaze movement position based on the relationship between the gaze volume and the attributes of other objects.

The attribute definition / setting means 12 is provided with a constraint condition when a line of sight or another specific object moves on an object having an attribute such as a staircase, ie, an interference restriction attribute, as one of the interference restriction attributes. Means for defining and setting an attribute that determines the average inclination angle. State change calculation means 1
7, when this attribute is defined, the movement of a line of sight or another specific object moving on the object is calculated based on the average inclination angle.

The attribute definition / setting means 12 has, as one of the interference restriction attributes, for example, an attribute that defines the restriction at the time of interference as a parameter function of the contact force, and defines restriction information according to the strength of the contact force generated by the interference. Has a means to define and set The state change calculation unit 17 calculates not only the presence / absence of interference but also the contact force generated by the interference, thereby realizing an attribute such as a “shoji” that does not penetrate the inside with a small contact force and is broken by a large contact force. .

The attribute definition / setting means 12 has means for defining and setting the reaction itself of the object using the interference as a start switch as a reaction attribute. The reaction attribute determines the trigger of the state change of the object or the manner of the state change in the calculation of the movement interference of the object by the state change calculating means 17.

Further, in order to enable a reaction attribute to be defined and set to the object to be activated other than at the time of interference, the attribute definition and setting means 12 detects a change in the state of the object specified by an input from the input device 10. Has a means to define and set the reaction attributes to be triggered. When there is a start instruction from the start instruction input unit 14, the state change calculating unit 17 checks the reaction attribute of the object and changes the state of the object according to the reaction attribute.

The attribute definition-setting unit 12 has a means to define and set the audio output attributes defining thereby outputting Jo Tokoro voice. The sound output means 20 outputs a predetermined sound by the sound output device 22 when the object having the sound output attribute comes into contact with another object or when an activation instruction is given to the object having the sound output attribute. Output.

The attribute distribution display means 18 is provided for the attribute storage means 1
6, the information on the attributes defined and set for the object in the virtual world is displayed in association with the object in the virtual world.

[0024]

According to the present invention, by introducing the concept of an interference attribute or a reaction attribute to an object in the virtual world, it is possible to speed up the calculation of the movement interference of the object and realize the real world movement in the virtual world. . In other words, the state after interference between objects can be easily calculated and realized by referring to the interference attributes defined in advance.
It is possible to prevent the line of sight and other moving objects from sinking into an object such as a wall. Further, realization such as movement of the user's line of sight in a walk-through simulation can be realized with a feeling close to reality, and even a general user who is not familiar with CG can smoothly move as desired in a virtual world.

Further, as the interference attribute to be set, it is possible to define and set a restriction on the movement of another object when the objects in the virtual world interfere with each other. For example,
By defining attributes such as "walls" and defining that the user's line of sight, which is another interfering object, cannot pass through, the user's line of sight determines the contact with the wall during a walk-through simulation. At the time of contact, it is possible to move along the wall without penetrating the inside of the wall, and the problem that the line of sight falls into the wall and the current position cannot be known is eliminated.

In particular, the line-of-sight volume definition means 13 defines the size and shape of the user's line of sight as a volume, and performs interference calculation using the size and shape of the line of sight, so that, for example, "floor" Walking at a certain height (height) on an object having an interference attribute of the attribute. In addition, it is possible to set a fence or the like that has always escaped in the related art so that the user's gaze does not pass through by defining the gaze volume. As a result, it is possible to move the line of sight with a feeling closer to reality.

Also, for example, by defining an attribute “stair” as one of the interference restriction attributes and defining and setting an average inclination angle, it is possible to smoothly ascend and descend while tilting at a certain angle thereon. it can. As a result, it is possible to easily realize that a staircase that could not be climbed at all up to now, or that could only be climbed in an unnatural form, can be climbed up and down like a daily climb.

Further, as the interference restriction attribute, the restriction at the time of interference can be defined and set as a parameter function of the contact force. By calculating the contact force (physical quantity such as impulse product) between objects in the interference, It realizes an attribute like "shoji" that can be broken by a large contact force without penetrating into the inside with a small contact force.

In addition, as a result of the interference, not only is the constraint condition for the movement of the other object that has interfered defined and set, but also the reaction itself triggered by the interference as a trigger of the start switch.
It can be defined and set for an object as a type of attribute.
As a result, as a kind of attribute, "objects that move if they interfere"
Can be defined, for example, an “automatic door” that is moved by a switch called interference of another object, or FF by interference.
It is possible to realize an attribute such as “deformed body” for starting a deformation animation operation such as D. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize a simulation world with more variations and a sense of reality.

The reaction attribute set for the object can be defined so as to act not only at the time of interference. As a result, it is possible to define a switch that responds to a switch triggered by an external start instruction such as a user click on the screen as a trigger. Can be easily extended so that it can be started even by a user's click or the like. Therefore, a walk-through simulation close to the real world and having a strong amusement color can be easily realized.

Further, not only motion but also voice can be set as the attribute of the object . Attribute definition / setting means 12
By, to define the voice output attribute, keep going from one of the edit to use what kind of voice. State change calculation means 17
Displays a moving image based on the activated reaction attribute, activates the sound output means 20 if there is a sound output attribute, outputs a sound, and displays a moving image.

This makes it possible to realize the attribute of "voice" that emits a sound as a response to a switch, and to define and realize voice as a type of attribute in response to the recent trend toward multimedia in the field of simulation. Become like

Also, by displaying the reaction attributes defined and set on the object and the switch for activating the reaction attributes on the object by the attribute distribution display means 18, in a world where many objects exist such as a virtual world, Can be specifically grasped whether or not is set. Therefore, it is possible to solve the inconvenience of setting the switch on the wrong object, which is common to general users, and losing the sight of the object on which the start switch is set.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows an example of a virtual world for explaining the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 6 show examples of object information constituting the virtual world shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the following attributes are used as typical attributes. The names and contents of these attributes are examples for easy understanding of the description, and the present invention is not limited to these attributes. Similarly, various attributes can be provided.

In this example, the interference attributes include a wall, a staircase, a shoji, and a floor. The “wall” attribute is an attribute in which the line of sight cannot walk up even if an object having this attribute is oblique.
Any penetration of other objects into the interior is prohibited. The default interference attribute when defining an object is “wall”.

The "stair" attribute has a parameter called an average inclination angle calculated using an actual shape. It can ascend and descend along the inclination angle. The “shoji” attribute is an attribute that does not allow the line of sight to walk on even if the object having this attribute is oblique, and is an attribute that can set the pressure at which penetration into the interior starts as a parameter. Infiltration into the inside is allowed only when another object collides with a force higher than the set penetration start pressure.

The "floor" attribute is an attribute that allows the line of sight to walk up, even if the object having this attribute is vertical. Depending on the setting of the line of sight (height of the line of sight), variations in the way of walking (such as always keeping a constant height from the floor) are also possible.

As the reaction attribute in this embodiment,
Some show the movement or sound of the reaction, others show the start switch. Reaction attributes indicating movement and the like include rotation, translation, and voice.

The "rotation" attribute is an attribute indicating that the object starts an automatic rotation motion in response to a trigger of some switch. This attribute specifies the start / end position,
The type of rotation, such as one-way / reciprocating, can be set. For example, it can be used for realizing a clock hand, a door knob, a revolving door, opening and closing a book, a drawbridge, and the like.

The "parallel movement" attribute is an attribute indicating that the object starts an automatic parallel movement when a switch is triggered. In this attribute, it is possible to set a plane to be translated, a movement start / end position, a type of movement such as one-way / reciprocation, and the like. For example, it can be used to realize sliding doors, sash windows, drawers, and the like.

The "voice" attribute (voice output attribute) is an attribute indicating that a voice is output based on sound data registered in advance for the object in response to a trigger of some switch.

For example, assume that a virtual world in which an object as shown in FIG. 2 exists is created. First define the object. Since the definition of the shape and position of the object may be the same as in the prior art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted, and the data structure after the definition will be described in detail. In this embodiment, an attribute can be assigned to each object on the attribute edit screen.

The object information of the stairs 30 shown in FIG. 2 is managed, for example, as data as shown in FIG. The data type is a general type, indicating that it is a normal object. The bounding volume indicates the size of the space including the object in order to facilitate cross calculation or the like. The position matrix indicates the position of the object in the three-dimensional space of the virtual world. The name is a name that specifies this object, and here is a name called “stairs”. The interference attribute data is attribute information set by the attribute definition / setting unit 12 shown in FIG. 1, and the attribute type is “stairs”. It has a parameter of 30 degrees as an average inclination angle, and can be moved up and down at this angle. Texture data is
The data indicates the color or pattern (texture) of the object. The color of the stairs is defined as dark brown, and the texture is defined as grain. In addition, shape data indicating a shape type (mesh) and coordinate values, and physical data indicating mass and barycentric coordinates are defined. No reaction attribute is defined for this step 30.

The object information of the handrail 31 shown in FIG. 2 is managed as data as shown in FIG. 3B, for example. The contents of the general data are the same as the contents described above for the stairs 30. Therefore, the following description will mainly focus on the attribute information related to the present invention. The attribute type of the interference attribute of the handrail 31 is “wall” defined by default. Therefore, the line of sight cannot move on the handrail 31, and the permeation into the inside is also prohibited. This railing 31
However, no reaction attributes are defined.

The object information of the glass window 32 shown in FIG. 2 is managed, for example, as data shown in FIG.
The attribute type of the interference attribute of the glass window 32 is “shoji”, and the maximum pressure is defined as “25.0”. This indicates endurance pressure, and indicates that permeation into the interior is permitted only when a collision force equal to or higher than the pressure of “25.0” is received.
Response attribute data is not defined.

The object information of the floor 33 shown in FIG. 2 is managed as data as shown in FIG. 4B, for example. Floor 33
The attribute type of the interference attribute is “floor”. Therefore,
The gaze can walk on this. Response attribute data is not defined. The object information of the wall 34 shown in FIG. 2 is defined similarly. The interference attribute of the wall 34 is the default “wall”
It is.

The object information of the door 35 shown in FIG. 2 is managed, for example, as data as shown in FIG. The attribute type of the interference attribute of the door 35 is “wall”. further,
A reaction attribute is defined for the door 35, and its type is "reaction".
It has become. The animation type is "rotation", and a start / end position matrix of the rotation is defined. The switch partner is the "door knob", and the door knob 3 explained next
It is defined that the rotation movement is started by the click of 6.

The object information of the door knob 36 shown in FIG. 2 is managed as data as shown in FIG. 5B, for example.
The attribute type of the interference attribute of the door knob 36 is “wall”.
“Switch” is defined as the type of the reaction attribute, and the switch type is “click”. This indicates that the target reaction object is activated by clicking on the screen with a mouse or the like. The target reaction object that is the reaction destination is the door 35.

The object information of the box 37 shown in FIG. 2 is managed, for example, as data shown in FIG. Box 37
The attribute type of the interference attribute is "wall", and it is not possible to walk over it. Type "reaction" as a response attribute
Are defined. One is that the animation type is "rotation" and the switch partner is the gaze. This indicates that the set rotational movement is started by contact with the line of sight described below. The other is that the animation type is "sound", which causes a reaction to output sound. The sound data used for audio output is
It is registered in advance in a location managed by the identification information “sound 31”. The switch partner is the line of sight. This indicates that the set sound data is output by contact with the line of sight described later.

The object information of the line of sight 38 shown in FIG. 2 is managed as data as shown in FIG. 6B, for example. The data type of the line of sight 38 is “line of sight”. The line of sight 38 indicates the position and direction of the eyes of a person walking in the virtual world. Although there is no physical shape data or the like, the line of sight 38 is handled in the same manner as a normal object for unifying processing. The line-of-sight volume can be defined for the line-of-sight 38 by the line-of-sight volume definition means 13 in the same manner as the definition of the bounding volume for a normal object. Here, a virtual line-of-sight volume such as an ellipsoid is determined from the line-of-sight bounding volume. As a reaction attribute to the line of sight 38,
Here, the attribute of “switch” is defined, and the switch type is “contact”. The reaction destination is the "box" described above. This means that when the line of sight 38 comes into contact with the box 37, a process corresponding to the reaction attribute defined in the box 37 is started.

The definition and setting of attributes as described above are performed by the attribute definition and setting means 12 shown in FIG. 1 when editing or simulating the virtual world. Figure 7 shows the attribute definition
3 shows a structure of an attribute setting menu by a setting unit 12. "Attribute display" or "Attribute setting" in the first menu
Can be selected. In the "attribute display" menu, either "interference attribute display" or "reaction attribute display" can be further selected.

FIG. 8 shows a display example of the interference attribute displayed by the menu selection of "interference attribute display". When the "interference attribute display" menu is selected, the interference attribute of each object in the object information shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 is referred to, for example, as shown in FIG. The already-existing interference attribute name is displayed on the virtual world. Thus, the user can know the set interference attribute.

When the displayed attribute portion is clicked with a mouse or the like, a further small window is displayed as shown in FIG. 8B, and detailed parameters are displayed.
FIG. 8B is an example of a window displayed when the attribute portion of the stairs is clicked.

FIG. 9 shows a display example of the reaction attribute displayed by selecting the "reaction attribute display" menu. When the "reaction attribute display" menu is selected, the reaction attribute of each object in the object information shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 is referred to. For example, as shown in FIG. They are displayed in different colors. Note that the distribution of the reaction attribute may be displayed by character display such as "switch" or "rotating body" in the same manner as the display example of the interference attribute, instead of the color-coded display. Here, the switch object is displayed in pink, the reaction object is displayed in light blue, and the other objects are displayed in white, depending on the type of the reaction attribute. In this way, all the objects for which the reaction attributes are set are displayed in different colors. Thereafter, when an arbitrary switch, for example, a “door knob” is clicked, a reaction attribute object group (here, “door”) having the “door knob” as a switch partner is further displayed. That is, for example, the reaction attribute object group is emphasized and displayed such that pink is red and light blue is blue.

When the “interference attribute” setting menu is selected in the attribute setting menu as shown in FIG. 7, a list menu of interference attributes that can be set for the object to be set is displayed. For example, when the staircase attribute is selected, a window as shown in FIG. 8B described in the display example of the interference attribute is displayed. In this window, the average inclination is automatically set based on the shape data of the object defined in advance. The angle is calculated and displayed. You can also change this angle by dragging the mark that shows the average tilt angle displayed by default. The settings can be canceled with the cancel button. The setting of the attribute is completed by the end button.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a reaction attribute setting screen. When the “reaction attribute (switch)” setting menu is selected in the attribute setting menu as shown in FIG.
The reaction attribute setting screen is displayed. In this attribute setting, it is possible to select a "click switch" indicating that the switch type responds according to an activation instruction from the outside, and a "contact switch" responding when an object comes into contact. When the "contact switch" is selected, a window as shown in FIG. 10A is displayed. Addition / deletion / registration / editing of the reaction object to the list is performed by selecting the corresponding part in the list and clicking the button.

There are the following two methods for disclosing the window for setting the actual movement of the reaction object as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C. A first method is a method of clicking a corresponding object portion in the activation scheduled reaction object list. The second method is a method of selecting a reaction object to be edited directly on the screen and selecting a reaction attribute according to a menu in the display of a reaction attribute as shown in FIG.

FIG. 10B shows an example of a window display when the "rotating body" menu is selected in setting the reaction attribute. This window allows the rotation angle of the reaction object,
The type of rotation and the like can be set. For the “moving object”, the movement start / end position and the type of movement can be set on the same screen.

FIG. 10C shows an example of a window display when the "voice" menu is selected in setting the reaction attribute. It is possible to set the voice performance time, the sound source to be used, a list of files in which voice data is stored, and the like.

Next, the flow of processing by the state change calculating means 17 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The processes (a) to (s) in the following description correspond to (a) to (s) shown in FIG.

(A) A display instruction is issued to the result display means 19,
Display the initial screen or the image of the calculation result up to that time on the display device 2
1 is displayed. (b) If there is audio data to be output, the audio output means 20
Outputs audio via.

(C) The current time t is advanced by a predetermined time Δt (t ′ = t + Δt). (d) It is determined whether or not an object has been clicked on the screen displaying the virtual world, that is, whether or not there has been a start instruction from the start instruction input means 14. If not, process
Proceed to (g).

(E) If the object is clicked, the response attribute of the clicked object is checked to determine whether the switch attribute is defined. If the switch attribute is not defined, the next process (f) is skipped.

(F) When the switch attribute is defined,
Searches for and starts a reaction object triggered by the clicked object. (g) Next, it is determined whether or not there is a moving object in the virtual world, and if not, the control is returned to the process (a).

(H) If there is a moving object, one of the moving objects (hereinafter, referred to as an object A) is selected and provisionally updated at the current time. The temporary update is a process of obtaining a result of a temporary calculation assuming that there is no interference with another object. If there is no interference with other objects, the result is valid.

(I) It is checked whether or not there is an object of a general type (having a shape other than a line of sight or a light source) of another object (this is called an object B). The interference (contact / collision) between the object and the object A is examined.

(J) If there is no object B that interferes with the object A,
Return to processing (g), and move on to processing of the next moving object. Object A
If there is an object B that interferes with, the following processing is performed. (k) Calculate the momentum at the time of interference, that is, the contact pressure in the collision between the object A and the object B. This is obtained from a given moving speed, a mass defined as object information, and the like.

(L) Next, it is determined whether the object A is a line of sight. In the case of the line of sight, the process proceeds to processing (n). (m) When the object A is not the line of sight, the type of the interference attribute of the object B is checked, and the following moving interference calculation is performed according to the interference attribute of the object B.

When the attribute of the object B is “wall”, the general object (object A) and the wall (object B) collide. Since the object B prohibits another object from penetrating into the inside, the temporary update of the motion of the object A is canceled.

When the attribute of the object B is “stairs”,
Since the object A is not a line of sight, the staircase attribute is basically treated in the same way as the wall attribute. Therefore, the temporary update of the motion of the object A is canceled. However, the size of the general object may be regarded as the volume of the line of sight, and the general object may be moved up and down along the stairs similarly to the line of sight.

When the attribute of the object B is “floor”, the temporary action of the motion of the object A is canceled because the floor acts on the general object in the same manner as the wall attribute. However, the size of the general object may be regarded as the volume of the line of sight, and the general object may be moved along the floor similarly to the line of sight.

When the attribute of the object B is “shoji”,
The contact pressure calculated by the process (k) is compared with the parameter (maximum pressure) of the interference attribute (shoji) of the object B. If the contact pressure is larger, the provisional update of the motion of the object A is determined as the actual position. If it is smaller, the temporary update is canceled.

(N) If the object A is a line of sight, it is determined whether or not a line of sight volume is set for the line of sight. If it is set, proceed to process (o); if not, process (p)
Proceed to.

(O) When the object A is the line of sight and the line of sight is set, the type of the interference attribute of the object B is checked, and the following moving interference calculation is performed according to the interference attribute of the object B. When the attribute of the object B is “wall”, the object B also prohibits the infiltration of another object into the inside of the line of sight.
The temporary update of the motion of the object A (the line of sight) is canceled.

When the attribute of the object B is “stairs”,
The object A (line of sight) moves up and down along the stairs. For this reason, the temporary update of the object A is canceled, and the position of the line of sight that maintains the height of the line of sight with respect to the gravity direction of the virtual world is
Recalculation is performed using the parameter (average inclination angle) of the interference attribute (staircase) of the object B, and the actual position is determined.

When the attribute of the object B is “floor”, the object A (the line of sight) moves along the floor. Therefore, object A
Is temporarily canceled by using the shape of the object B, and the position of the line of sight that maintains the height of the line of sight in the gravity direction of the virtual world is re-calculated and fixed as the actual position.

If the attribute of the object B is “shoji”,
The contact pressure calculated by the process (k) is compared with the parameter (maximum pressure) of the interference attribute (shoji) of the object B. If the contact pressure is larger, the provisional update of the motion of the object A is determined as the actual position. If it is smaller, the temporary update is canceled.

(P) When the object A is the line of sight and the line of sight volume is not set, the type of the interference attribute of the object B is checked, and the following moving interference calculation is performed according to the interference attribute of the object B. .

When the attribute of the object B is “wall”, the temporary update of the motion of the object A (the line of sight) is canceled because the object B prohibits another object from seeping into the inside. When the attribute of the object B is “stairs”, since the line-of-sight volume is not defined for the object A (line of sight),
The step attribute of the object B acts on the object A in the same manner as the wall attribute. Therefore, the temporary update of the motion of the object A is canceled.

In the case where the attribute of the object B is “floor”, since the line-of-sight volume is not defined for the object A (line of sight), the floor attribute of the object B acts on the object A in the same manner as the wall attribute. Therefore, the temporary update of the motion of the object A is canceled.

When the attribute of the object B is “shoji”,
The contact pressure calculated by the process (k) is compared with the parameter (maximum pressure) of the interference attribute (shoji) of the object B. If the contact pressure is larger, the provisional update of the motion of the object A is determined as the actual position. If it is smaller, the temporary update is canceled.

(Q) After storing the result of the moving interference calculation by the above processing (m), (o) or (p) in the notification area for the result display means 19, the reaction attribute of the object A is checked. It is determined whether the switch attribute of the contact switch has been set. If not set, return to processing (g).

(R) When the switch attribute of the contact switch is set for the object A, it is determined whether the reaction destination is the object B or whether the switch partner in the reaction attribute (reaction) of the object B is the object A. judge. If the object B is the reaction destination or the switch partner of the object B is the object A, the following processing (s) is executed. Otherwise, return to processing (g).

(S) Activate the object B and add it to one of the moving objects. Thereafter, the flow returns to the processing (g), and the processing of the next moving object is similarly repeated. In the above description of the process, the process for the representative attribute has been described. However, when a new attribute is defined, a processing routine for the movement interference calculation corresponding to the attribute can be registered. Thereby, similarly, the calculation according to the attribute can be easily performed. The method of executing the moving interference calculation according to the attribute is optional,
Various methods can be adopted according to the CG simulation system, such as a method using a table branch.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By introducing the concept of attributes and defining and setting attributes in advance for objects in the virtual world in the walk-through simulation, the problem of speeding up the object's movement interference calculation and immersing itself in the object as in the past was solved. Can be solved. This also gives
Movement of the user's line of sight can be easily operated with a sense close to reality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual world for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of object information constituting a virtual world.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of object information constituting a virtual world.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of object information constituting a virtual world.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of object information constituting a virtual world.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of an attribute setting menu according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an interference attribute according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a reaction attribute according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reaction attribute setting screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a processing flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Input device 11 Processing device 12 Attribute definition / setting means 13 Eye volume definition means 14 Activation instruction input means 15 Object information storage means 16 Attribute storage means 17 State change calculation means 18 Attribute distribution display means 19 Result display means 20 Audio output means 21 Display device 22 Audio output device

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-282279 (JP, A) JP-A-3-22033 (JP, A) Nobuko Kato, Miwako Doi, Akio Okazaki, “Natural operation method in virtual space”, Information Processing Society of Japan Research Report (93-HI-48), Information Processing Society of Japan, May 1993, Vol. 93, no. 35, p. 49−55 (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06T 1/00 G06T 11/60-17/50 G06F 17/60-19/00

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A simulation apparatus for displaying a virtual world by computer graphics, wherein an attribute defining a condition of a state change relating to a change in the position of the object or a change in the shape of the object with respect to the object in the virtual world is defined as :
An attribute definition / setting means (12) for defining and setting using a name indicating an attribute type; and an attribute storage means (16) for storing the attribute of the object set by the attribute definition / setting means (12). State change calculating means (17) for calculating a state change relating to a change in the position of the object or a change in the shape of the object in response to the movement of the object in the virtual world or an activation instruction from outside, A simulation device using computer graphics, comprising: a result display means (19) for displaying a calculation result. 2. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute that defines the condition of the state change is what kind of reaction occurs when an object constituting the virtual world comes into contact with another object. A computer graphics simulation apparatus, which is an interference attribute related to interference between objects that defines the calculation method for calculating the object movement interference by the state change calculation means (17). 3. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the interference attribute includes an interference restriction attribute that defines a constraint condition regarding movement of another object in the interference of an object in the virtual world. Computer graphics simulation device. 4. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gaze volume defining means for determining a gaze volume in the virtual world, wherein said state change calculating means includes a gaze volume and a gaze volume. A simulation device using computer graphics, comprising means for calculating a movement position of a line of sight based on a relationship with an attribute of another object. 5. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, as one of the interference restriction attributes, a constraint condition when a line of sight or another specific object moves on an object having the interference restriction attribute. The state change calculation means (17) has an attribute for determining an average inclination angle, and the line of sight or another specific object moving on an object for which an average inclination angle is defined as one of the interference restriction attributes. A computer graphics simulation device having means for calculating the movement of the object based on the average inclination angle. 6. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising, as one of the interference restriction attributes, an attribute for defining restriction information according to a strength of a contact force generated by the interference, and The calculating means (17) has means for calculating a contact force between the objects in the interference of the objects whose attributes are defined, and calculating a state change of the object according to the magnitude of the contact force. Computer graphics simulation device. 7. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute defining the condition of the state change reacts when an object constituting the virtual world comes into contact with another object, and the state of the object changes. A reaction attribute that determines when to initiate a change,
A computer graphics simulation apparatus characterized in that the state change calculation means (17) determines the trigger of the state change or the manner of the state change in the object movement interference calculation. 8. The computer graphics simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute that determines the condition of the state change is responsive to an external activation instruction for an object in the virtual world, and changes the state of the object or a related object. A reaction attribute for determining that the state change of the instructed object or the related object is determined when the state change calculation means (17) detects an external start instruction. Computer graphics simulation device. 9. The attribute distribution display according to claim 1, wherein the information on the attribute defined and set for the object in the virtual world is displayed in association with the object in the virtual world. A simulation device using computer graphics, comprising: means (18).