Software systems for modeling articulated figures

Research in computer animation and simulation of human task performance requires sophisticated geometric modeling and user interface tools. The software for a research environment should present the programmer with a powerful but flexible substrate of facilities for displaying and manipulating geometric objects, yet insure that future tools have a consistent and friendly user interface. Jack is a system which provides a flexible and extensible programmer and user interface for displaying and manipulating complex geometric figures, particularly human figures in a 3D working environment. It is a basic software framework for high-performance Silicon Graphics IRIS workstations for modeling and manipulating geometric objects in a general but powerful way. It provides a consistent and user-friendly interface across various applications in computer animation and simulation of human task performance. Currently, Jack provides input and control for applications including lighting specification and image rendering, anthropometric modeling, figure positioning, inverse kinematics, dynamic simulation, and keyframe animation.