Research Links (M. Wainer)

Interesting Upcoming Conferences

• HCI International 2001, Aug 5-10, 2001
• OZCHI, Sydney, Australia, Dec 4-8, 2000

An underlying theme in many of my research interests is in making computer graphics easier to use and in using graphics to make applications communicate better with users. I am also interested creature modeling for computer graphics. Modeling may be primarily focused on achieving a computer graphics effect (creating movement that an animator desires) or in visualizing a system simulation. Ideally, the tools we use to develop the models will be reusable and easy to use. This section contains links related to my current interests and relevant background information.

Todor Georgiev ( tgeorgie@Adobe.COM ) , a recent SIUC graduate, did some very interesting work on formalizing the ideas of image morphing. Our Technical Report is available online as a Postscript or Acrobat Reader file.

See Yarn from the Information Geometers homepage for advice on writing technical papers.

Computer Graphics

HCI and Multimedia

• The WWW virtual library on HCI
• ACM SIGCHI publications
• IEEE's Multimedia
  
• MM-index
  
• HCI Virtual Library
• Interface hall of Shame
• IBM's HCI page
• Usable Web - HCI, usability of WWW
• Brad Myers' GUI SW tools list
• THE COPYRIGHT WEBSITE
• Jakob Nielsen, Alert Box WWW/HCI column
• Nielsen's links to other interesting sites
• Scientific American article on poor usability of our computers

Artificial Life

• Complexity on-line
• Cybernetics and Systems
• Artificial Life Online
• CWRU Autonomous Agents Research Group
• Internet Resources related to Principia Cybernetica

1. Artificial Life, Steven Levy, Vintage Books, 1992.
   This is a book in the popular press that provides a nice introduction to many of the concepts of A.L. (and it is fun to read).
2. "Flocks, Herds and Schools: A Distributed Behavioral Model", Craig Reynolds , Computer Graphics, Vol 21(4), July 1987, pp 25-34.
   One of the early classic papers showing that life-like complex group behavior can be generated using individuals ("boids" in this paper) with simple intelligence.
3. "The Motion Dynamics of Snakes and Worms", Gavin Miller, Computer Graphics, Vol 22(4) August 1988, pp 169-173.
   Shows that animals (and other objects) which deform as they move can be reasonably modeled using physically based mass-spring systems. The physical modeling removes much of the tedious work from the animator and generates motions which mimic the actual animals.
4. Making them Move: Mechanics Control and Animation of Articulated Figures, Edited by Badler, Barsky and Zeltzer, Morgan Kaufmann, 1991
   A book which draws upon many contributors to discuss modeling and control of human, animal and robotic systems.
5. "Evolving Virtual Creatures", Karl Sims, Computer Graphics, SIGGRAPH 1994, pp 15-22.
   Using genetic algorithms, creatures are evolved (physical and control aspects) and are selected over generations for the ability to perform tasks. The creatures and environment are physcially modeled.
6. "Artificial Fishes: Physics, Locomotion, Perception, Behavior", Xiaoyuan Tu and Demetri Terzopoulos, Computer Graphics, SIGGRAPH 1994, pp 43-50.
7. "Automated Learning of Muscle-Actuated Locomotion Through Control Abstraction", Radek Grzeszczuk and Demetri Terzopoulos, Computer Graphics, SIGGRAPH 1995, pp 63-70.
   One way of trying to get creature models to do desired tasks.