{"title":"Human-Robot Interaction: Integrating BCI-Controlled Virtual Robotic Arm With Manual Control in VR Environment","authors":"Jian Teng, Sukyoung Cho, Shaw-mung Lee","doi":"10.1002/cav.70072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70072","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study presents a novel tri-manual interaction framework that enables users to control two physical hands via VR controllers and a virtual robotic arm through a hybrid brain-computer interface (32-channel EEG and eye-tracking). The virtual robotic arm, implemented as a 6-DOF industrial manipulator in Unity, is controlled through simplified BCI commands: forward/backward movement along the z-axis based on motor imagery strength, with automatic grasping triggered by sustained attention thresholds. Twenty-five participants completed 30 trials, each following a 60-s protocol with five phases: rest, target presentation, preparation, execution, and feedback. Results demonstrated that the hybrid BCI system achieved superior performance compared to EEG-only control: 8.5% improvement in task success rate, 34.5% increase in positioning accuracy, and 46.2% reduction in cognitive load. The CNN-LSTM architecture achieved 86.3% motor imagery classification accuracy. Learning effects were observed within trials, with performance plateauing after 3.8 ± 0.7 attempts. Time-frequency analysis revealed hierarchical neural coordination mechanisms underlying the tri-manual control. This research validates the feasibility of augmented manipulation in virtual environments, establishing a foundation for advanced human-robot collaboration in animation and VR applications.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145317760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Turbulence Estimation in Smoke Simulation via Curvature-Based Image Features","authors":"Syuhei Sato, Ryosuke Kawazumi, Yoshinori Dobashi","doi":"10.1002/cav.70074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70074","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Smoke simulation is a crucial element in entertainment applications, such as movies and video games. In particular, the required smoke texture varies depending on the scene, ranging from smooth textures for cigarette smoke to highly irregular ones for explosions. The texture of smoke is primarily influenced by light sources, scattering properties, and turbulence components. Light sources and scattering properties affect the appearance of smoke during rendering, influencing its color, brightness, and density. Turbulence components significantly influence the shape of smoke. While many methods have been proposed for generating turbulence components, they all require manual adjustment of turbulence parameters, which is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. To address this issue, we propose a method for easily generating the desired turbulence by estimating turbulence parameters from images. In our approach, users input images including the desired turbulence components, and optimal parameters representing those components are automatically estimated. This reduces the time and effort required for parameter adjustment, allowing the desired turbulence components to be represented more efficiently.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145271972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haokai Zeng, Dongyu Yang, Yanrui Xu, Yalan Zhang, Zhongmin Wang, Feng Tian, Xiaokun Wang, Xiaojuan Ban
{"title":"An Adaptive Boundary Material Point Method With Surface Particle Reconstruction","authors":"Haokai Zeng, Dongyu Yang, Yanrui Xu, Yalan Zhang, Zhongmin Wang, Feng Tian, Xiaokun Wang, Xiaojuan Ban","doi":"10.1002/cav.70024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70024","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The expression of fine details such as fluid flowing through narrow pipes or split by thin plates poses a significant challenge in simulations involving complex boundary conditions. As a hybrid method, the material point method (MPM), which is widely used for simulating various materials, combines the advantages of Lagrangian particles and Eulerian grids. To achieve accurate simulations of fluid flow through narrow pipes, high-resolution uniform grid cells are necessary, but this often leads to inefficient simulation performance. In this article, we present an adaptive boundary material point method that facilitates adaptive subdivision within regions of interest and conducts collision detection across grids of varying sizes. Within this framework, particles interact through grids of differing resolutions. To tackle the challenge of unevenly distributed subdivided particles, we propose a surface reconstruction approach grounded in the color distance field (CDF), which accurately defines the relationship between the particles and the reconstructed surface. Furthermore, we incorporate a mesh refinement technique to enrich the detail of the mesh utilized to mark the grids during subdivision. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in simulating various materials and boundary conditions, and contrast it with existing methods, underscoring its distinctive advantages.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145271719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wajahat Hussain, Mahum Naveed, Asad Khan, Taimoor Hasan Khan, Muhammad Latif Anjum, Shahzad Rasool, Adnan Maqsood
{"title":"Low Cost 3D Motion Capture of Rapid Maneuvers Using a Single High Speed Camera","authors":"Wajahat Hussain, Mahum Naveed, Asad Khan, Taimoor Hasan Khan, Muhammad Latif Anjum, Shahzad Rasool, Adnan Maqsood","doi":"10.1002/cav.70070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70070","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Motion capture options at a high rate, for example, kinematics of flying organisms, are limited. Inertial sensors or marker-based tracking are infeasible due to the mounting requirement. The advent of high-speed cameras being made available for commercial use has facilitated the discovery of intriguing high-rate behaviors. However, analyzing rapid kinematics in three dimensions necessitates using two or more high-speed cameras, which are specialized equipment and come at a significant expense. In this study, we utilize a conventional methodology of capturing synchronized multiple views using a solitary camera and a planar mirror. We introduce a user-friendly software package that facilitates the calibration of this economical setup, enabling the three-dimensional (3D) analysis of high-rate maneuvers and automatic tracking over long video sequences. Within ∼15 min, a single high-speed camera is calibrated and can be used to acquire 3D data. We accompany the toolbox with a detailed user guide and video tutorial (\u0000https://tinyurl.com/yckm9y6b) for ease of use. We accurately reconstruct dense tracks for multiple high-rate maneuvers, including flying insect species (dragonfly, butterfly, and housefly), spinning coin, and rotating fan blades. We believe that our affordable setup will assist in gathering high-rate natural phenomena, leading to realistic and diverse simulations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145146316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Multi-User Virtual Reality Game Based on Gesture Recognition From RGB Information","authors":"Stefanos Gkoutzios, Michalis Vrigkas","doi":"10.1002/cav.70063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70063","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the ever-evolving world of gaming, controller-based input is quickly becoming obsolete. Various applications, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games, have used motion- and gesture-controlled video game consoles. The current state of the art relies on depth images of the hand that do not utilize color information from the RGB spectrum. In this work, we focus on the development of an interactive VR game that utilizes hand pose recognition from the RGB domain to increase user experience, but also simplify the functionality of the game. To address this challenge, a 3D multi-user VR game themed around a “tennis match” was developed using the Unity engine. We also investigate whether we can estimate the coordinates of colored objects connected to the hand movement of the players and track human gestures to navigate through the game functions in real time using an RGB camera. Statistical analysis showed that the user experience increased concerning engagement and satisfaction using a more natural form of control that allows players to focus on the excitement of the game without worrying about button presses or joystick movements. Such hand pose recognition systems can be implemented to replace the traditional controller-based entry systems used today.</p>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cav.70063","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145037719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predicting and Optimizing Crowd Evacuations: An Explainable AI Approach","authors":"Estêvão Smania Testa, Soraia Raupp Musse","doi":"10.1002/cav.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70061","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we explore the usability of an explainable Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to provide recommendations for architectural improvements aimed at enhancing crowd safety and comfort during emergency situations. We trained an ANN to predict the outcomes of crowd simulations without the need for direct simulation, while also generating recommendations for the studied space. Our dataset comprises approximately 36,000 simulations of diverse crowds evacuating rooms of different sizes, capturing data on room characteristics, crowd composition, evacuation densities, times, and velocities. To identify the most influential environmental factors affecting evacuation performance, we employ Shapley values. Based on these insights, we propose modifications to the architectural design of the space. Our results demonstrate that the proposed model effectively predicts crowd dynamics and provides meaningful recommendations for improving evacuation efficiency and safety.</p>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cav.70061","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145012576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Skeleton-Based Motion Recognition for Labanotation Generation Based on the Fusion of Neural Networks","authors":"Jiasheng Du, Jiaji Wang, Jianpo Li","doi":"10.1002/cav.70073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70073","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Labanotation is a scientific method for documenting dance movements that has been widely adopted globally. Existing methods for Labanotation action recognition perform poorly in handling complex movements and integrating spatiotemporal information. To address this, we propose a multi-branch spatiotemporal fusion network with attention mechanisms aimed at accurately recognizing Labanotation actions from motion capture data. Initially, we convert motion capture data into three-dimensional coordinates and extract skeleton vector features. Subsequently, we enhance feature representation by extracting temporal difference features and skeleton angle features from the skeleton vectors. These features are processed using gated recurrent units and residual networks to effectively integrate spatiotemporal information. Finally, attention mechanisms are applied in the model to differentiate the importance of different positions in the features. This method effectively models spatiotemporal relationships, thereby improving the accuracy of Labanotation action recognition. We conducted experiments on two segmented motion capture datasets, demonstrating the effectiveness of each module. Compared to existing methods, our approach shows superior performance and strong generalization ability. Given the relative simplicity of upper limb action recognition, our focus primarily lies on lower limb action recognition. Notably, this marks the first application of skeleton angle features in the field of Labanotation action recognition.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145012127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"More Than Following: Introducing Reversing Behavior for Irregular-Aware Traffic Simulation by Interactive Editing","authors":"Yi Han, He Wang, Xiaogang Jin","doi":"10.1002/cav.70071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70071","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Though current traffic simulation methods can produce impressive results, reversing behavior is always ignored, potentially reducing the diversity and plausibility of simulation data. Furthermore, while common traffic behaviors like following-the-leader and lane changing can be easily simulated, efficiently generating irregular cases in a human-in-the-loop manner with specific motions based on user desires is less discussed. To address the gap, we present a novel interactive traffic editing and simulation framework that enables users to regulate vehicles via simple inputs to introduce reversing and generate desired trajectory data with both car-following and irregular driving behaviors. With key states specified, lane-level navigation, including forward/backward directions, is planned through heuristic search. The customized navigation brings the vehicles' new trajectories with both car-following and reversing, and their surrounding neighbors are also adjusted accordingly. To provide smooth and plausible motions after editing, vehicles are updated via the optimization-based simulation method, which takes vehicle kinematics, self-motivation, path keeping, collision avoidance, and special interaction rules into account. We demonstrate that our framework can generate uncommon traffic cases and validate it through extensive experiments.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144999030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integration Method for Generating Complete Hierarchical Layouts From Incomplete Virtual Scene Trees","authors":"Emir Cogo, Ehlimana Cogo, Damir Pozderac, Razija Turčinhodžić Mulahasanović, Selma Rizvić","doi":"10.1002/cav.70069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70069","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Procedural modeling methods are used to automatically generate virtual scenes. There is a large number of available top-down methods for generating partial content for specific purposes. However, little research was done on enabling the generation of content in the presence of manually modeled elements, from the bottom-up direction, or without significant assistance from the user. No existing approach provides a platform that can combine the results of different methods, which leaves them isolated. This paper presents an integration approach that generates complete virtual space organizations by combining the usage of top-down and bottom-up procedural generation of content, with support for the placement of manually modeled content. The integration is made possible by using shape conversion to match the input and output shape types of different methods. The evaluation of the proposed approach was performed on a 2D polygon dataset by using four different scenarios, validating that it works as intended. Additional testing was performed by using a case study of organizing 3D virtual space around the manually modeled element of virtual heritage Tašlihan to demonstrate all capabilities of the integration approach and the different outputs depending on the level of user interaction and the desired results.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144815096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Piyush Singh, V. M. S. R. Murthy, Dheeraj Kumar, Simit Raval
{"title":"Enhancing Dragline Operational Area Visualization and Positional Analysis for Its Effective Guidance Through Immersive Virtual Reality Inspection","authors":"Piyush Singh, V. M. S. R. Murthy, Dheeraj Kumar, Simit Raval","doi":"10.1002/cav.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.70067","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study presents an innovative approach to dragline mine operations using 3D virtual reality technology, specifically developed at the virtual reality mines simulation facility at IIT (ISM), Dhanbad. Focused on Northern Coalfields Limited, Singrauli, this research opens up the use of immersive VR for virtual inspection and analysis of dragline operations, aiding its effective deployment. The methodology involves capturing geo-spatial data using drones and integrating it into a commissioned dragline simulator workbench. The integration process combines drone imagery to accurately reconstruct the physical mine site. Enhanced by the Structure-from-Motion technique, the resulting model is a photorealistic point cloud, offering unprecedented visualization accuracy. The developed system enables complex manipulation of datasets, including functions such as scaling, rotation, and translation. It also includes geometric measurement tools for determining length, area, and volume, essential for precise operational planning of draglines. The application of Structure-from-Motion-MultiView Stereo technology is particularly noteworthy for its role in tracking safety concerns and monitoring dragline progress with respect to the stipulated balance diagram. The proposed approach surpasses traditional mine visualization methods, providing superior tools for onsite planning and comprehensive asset management and significant contributions for establishing a new benchmark for monitoring and visualizing the dragline excavation process in the mining industry.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50645,"journal":{"name":"Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds","volume":"36 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144773698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}