From geometric to semantic human body models

The paper introduces a framework for the automatic extraction and annotation of anthropometric features from human body models. The framework is based on the construction of a structural model of the body, built upon a multiscale segmentation into main bodies (e.g., torso) and limb features (e.g., fingers, legs, arms). The decomposition is independent of the body posture, it is stable to noise, and naturally follows the shape and extent of the limb features of the body. The structural description of the human body is turned into a semantic description by using a set of rules and measures related to the features and by reasoning their configuration. Results are shown both for scanned body models and virtual humans, and applications are discussed in relation to several tasks of the animation process. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.