Simulating task performance of virtual characters

A simulation system for controlling at least one effector trajectory of a robot for solving a predefined task by at least one virtual effector, the simulation system comprising:

• an acquisition unit configured to acquire a sequence of postures, each posture including at least one contact point and a kinematic pose of the at least one virtual effector;
• a processor configured to:
• modify at least one of a contact constraint topology and an object constraint topology according to the acquired sequence of postures,
• wherein modifying the contact constraint topology comprises:
• in case a contact location in an object frame of a current posture in the sequence of postures remains the same as a contact location of the corresponding contact in an immediately preceding posture of the sequence of postures;
• removing a constraint of the contact to the object in the current posture;
• and
• connecting a new constraint of the contact in the current posture to the corresponding contact in at least one immediately preceding posture of the sequence of postures, and
• wherein modifying the object constraint topology comprises:
• in case an object pose of the current posture in the sequence of postures remains the same as the object pose in an immediately preceding posture of the sequence of postures;
• removing a constraint of the object in the current posture;
• and
• connecting a new constraint of the object in the current posture to the corresponding object in at least one immediately preceding posture of the sequence of postures;
• generate a set of constraint equations based on at least one of the modified contact constraint topology and the modified object constraint topology;
• perform constraint relaxation on the generated set of constraint equations to generate a task description including the relaxed set of constraint equations;
• generate the at least one effector trajectory by applying a trajectory generation algorithm on the generated task description based on a cost function;
• generate a control signal by performing an inverse kinematics algorithm on the generated at least one effector trajectory;
• and
• output the generated control signal to an output controller of the simulation system;
• and
• the output controller, configured to:
• control output of image information displaying the at least one effector trajectory of the virtual effector by a display device based on the control signal;
• and
• control at least one effector of the robot based on the generated at least one effector trajectory.

A method for controlling at least one effector trajectory of a robot for solving a predefined task by at least one virtual effector, the method comprising:

• acquiring a sequence of postures, each posture including at least one contact point and a kinematic pose of the at least one virtual effector;
• modifying at least one of a contact constraint topology and an object constraint topology according to the acquired sequence of postures;
• generating a set of constraint equations based on at least one of the modified contact constraint topology and the modified object constraint topology;
• performing constraint relaxation on the generated set of constraint equations to generate a task description including the relaxed set of constraint equations, wherein in performing the constraint relaxation on the generated set of constraint equations, at least a constraint equation on at least one location of a tool or object required for solving the task is relaxed;
• determining at least one optimized location of the tool or object for designing a workplace within an environment for performing the predefined task;
• generating the at least one effector trajectory by applying a trajectory generation algorithm on the generated task description;
• generating a control signal by performing an inverse kinematics algorithm on the generated at least one effector trajectory;
• outputting the generated control signal to an output device;
• generating, by the output device, image information displaying the at least one effector trajectory of the virtual effector based on the control signal;
• and
• controlling at least one effector of the robot based on the generated at least one effector trajectory.

A simulation system for controlling at least one effector trajectory of a robot for solving a predefined task by at least one virtual effector, the simulation system comprising:

• an acquisition unit configured to acquire a sequence of postures, each posture including at least one contact point and a kinematic pose of the at least one virtual effector;
• a processor configured to:
• modify at least one of a contact constraint topology and an object constraint topology according to the acquired sequence of postures;
• generate a set of constraint equations based on at least one of the modified contact constraint topology and the modified object constraint topology;
• perform constraint relaxation on the generated set of constraint equations to generate a task description including the relaxed set of constraint equations, wherein in performing the constraint relaxation on the generated set of constraint equations, at least a constraint equation on at least one location of a tool or object required for solving the task is relaxed;
• determine at least one optimized location of the tool or object for designing a workplace within an environment for performing the predefined task;
• generate the at least one effector trajectory by applying a trajectory generation algorithm on the generated task description based on a cost function;
• generate a control signal by performing an inverse kinematics algorithm on the generated at least one effector trajectory;
• and
• output the generated control signal to an output controller of the simulation system;
• and
• the output controller, configured to:
• control output of image information displaying the at least one effector trajectory of the virtual effector by a display device based on the control signal;
• and
• control at least one effector of the robot based on the generated at least one effector trajectory.