Growth-based 3D modelling using stem-voxels encoded in digital-DNA structures

Abstract

Leaps in technology are increasingly making the prospect of using biological structures as part of digital models and artwork a tangible reality. In this work a new method heavily inspired by natural biological processes for 3D modelling and animation is proposed. The proposed approach differentiates from the classic assembly or printing methodologies and offers a novel growth based solution for the design and modelling of 3D structures. In order to facilitate the needs of growth based modelling, new terms and graphic primitives such as stem-voxels, muscle-voxels, bone-voxels and digital-DNA are introduced. The core production rules of a novel context free grammar were implemented allowing 3D model designers to build the digital-DNA of a 3D model that the introduced parser will interpret to a full 3D structure. The obtained 3D models support animation using the muscle-voxels, they are able to observe the environment using photoreceptor-voxels and interact with a level of intelligence based on neural networks build with nerve-voxels. The proposed solution was evaluated with a variety of volumetric models demonstrating a strong potential and impact, with many applications and offering a new tool for 3D modelling systems.