{"id":111,"date":"2009-03-20T13:38:05","date_gmt":"2009-03-20T21:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/derickthompson.com\/crono\/?p=111"},"modified":"2009-03-21T11:16:29","modified_gmt":"2009-03-21T19:16:29","slug":"simplifying-contributions-mech-interface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/derickthompson.com\/crono\/?p=111","title":{"rendered":"Simplifying Contributions – Mech Interface"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the pace of current conflicts, I don’t think it sounds pessimistic to point out that resources are surprisingly strained. This is most notable in the labor division – the trouble with pulling recruitment from refugees of other worlds is a simple one. Due to the fact that Verorox is a combination of technologies from dimensions spread far and wide, it becomes a strained process ensuring equal knowledge and training on any particular end regardless of what it is the individual seeks. A soldier is particularly hard set these days if he has no prior training, as his task is to be instantaneous relief, but in order to be effective, he has to have a at least a basic set of skills to be anything more than a hindrance. Thus comes the setup for one of my current projects .<\/p>\n

We live in an age where technology can not only teach us, but often time make up for our lack of experience while we do so. A standard mechanized armor unit is an incredibly powerful tool depending on both the model and the pilot. Converting ourselves into gigantic, metallic covered muscle, as a metaphor, allows us to do so so much. The trouble within, however, comes from the experience necessary to pilot such a craft effectively. Trying to translate human controls to a series of levers, buttons, pedals and the like is far more difficult than say, a car or boat or something with just a two-dimensional plain of thrust and direction, and the argument could even be made for aerial craft.<\/p>\n

So I made a simple observation – one that has in fact been made before, but has often been made on a personal, expert level. Most standard mechanoids are, in fact, just shaped as humanoids might be. Why must our movements and input be so drastic from this basic setup? There have been several instances of extremely customized interfaces for very mobile mechanoids to react directly to the input of their specific pilot, that is, that person’s bodily motion. To repeat this process for every would-be pilot, however, would be even more costly in both time and resources than our current pilot programs. But we are not seeking to outfit every pilot with something extremely customized. For most Marshalship Cadets or First Rank we are in fact simply trying to offer a mass-produced system for the average soldier. We need to create a basic skeletal interface for a generic mechanoid model that will allow a newly recruited soldiers to, quite simply, jump right in and join the fray.<\/p>\n

But that request is exactly what makes this problem so EASY.<\/strong><\/em> That problem has already been solved a long time ago, by none other than 3D environment modelers. The problem came about when trying to figure an efficient means of colliding a physique to a polygon mesh. It was an extremely tedious and costly process to retrofit a working physique to a set of arbitrary polygons every time one created a new 3D model. The solution devised was thus. You’ll have to pardon my rough simulation.<\/p>\n

First step, create your object mesh.<\/p>\n

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The mesh is thus outlined in a series of vertexes representing the breakdown of individuals two dimensional plains, polygons simply.<\/p>\n

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Next a generic object representing a skeletal structure is overlapped with this mesh. This skeletal structure is also referred to as a biped.<\/p>\n

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Now, with the proper fitting, a physique representing this bone structure can be automatically generated. Each vertex of the polygon mesh can then be attached to belong to a specific portion of this physique, and when the bone structure is animated, will follow in suit depending upon that vertex’s specific settings. The common settings are whether or not the vertex is deformable, stretching the length of its edge with surrounding vertexes, or not . This is where my observation comes in. Simply put, a standard design mechanoid is nothing more than a set of metallic polygons, all of whose vertexes could be represented as non-deformable. A setup like the following could then be easily generated.<\/p>\n

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The final interface would only need be the following process.<\/p>\n