Christopher REDMANN
(Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Outline:
The use of artificial intelligence, combined with motion capture data from historical reenactors, is being used to recreate American Revolutionary War battles at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Abstract:
Digital recreations of historic artefacts and structures are becoming a common solution to overcoming the pitfalls of physical reconstructions. In the Digital Media Program at Drexel University, we have been recreating Colonial Era buildings from around the Philadelphia area. However, we are now extending this ability to digitally recreate more than just static elements, and are beginning the process of recreating American Revolutionary War battles. Using a motion capture system to gather animation data, military drills and maneuvers from historical reenactors have been digitized, to later turn into armies of hundreds, or even thousands of soldiers. This use of motion capture, instead of traditional keyframed animation, ensures a level of accuracy necessary for historic recreation. Even a single battle requires a large number of actions, and motion capture enables these motions to be efficiently generated, rather than relying on manual techniques. Once this data has been ac
quired, crowd simulation can be performed using artificial intelligence agents, each with their own “brain.” These brains consist of numerous decision making attributes, utilizing fuzzy logic for the decision trees. By altering geographic conditions as well as agent attributes, we can generate a number of scenarios, each depicting possible battle outcomes. While it would be impossible to recreate the exact battle, we hope to use these simulations to better educate students on the military procedures and practices of the American Revolutionary War.
Keywords:
Digital recreation, animation, motion capture