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-------------------------------------------------------- BIO IK --------------------------------------------------------
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Hello! First of all, thank you for your interest and trust in this asset! I hope (and believe!) you will not be disappointed. :)
Everything you need 'BioIK' component. Add it to your character, and add joints and objectives wherever you like. I suggest you
take a look at the various demo scenes to get a quick understanding of how it all works! Note that the online step-by-step tutorial
is still online, it was much more complex at that time and is now outdated, but can still be used to get an impression about the concept.
If you are happy with this asset, please let me know! If you use it for scientific research or related purposes, I'd be glad
if you reference my corresponding publications on my website. If you have any questions or suggestions for improvements,
just contact me. If you experience any bugs or unexpected behaviour - please let me know! I will fix it as soon as possible
since I'm very interested in consistently improving this asset. Hence, further updates will frequently come! :)
--- HOW TO SETUP YOUR KINEMATIC MODEL ---
#Step 1: Provide an arbitrary model with a hierarchical structure of game objects.
#Step 2: Add the 'BioIK' component somewhere to your character. You should then see the controllable segments connected by chains.
#Step 3: Add joints and objectives where desired. Joints define the motion, Objectives define the goals to be reached by the optimisation.
Note that each segment can only have one joint, but multiple objectives at the same time. However, be aware that a higher number
of objectives naturally increases the complexity, but can also help to constrain the motion or possible solutions.
#Step 4: Fill the parameters for the objectives (i.e. Transform references).
#Step 5: If desired, play around with the settings parameters for the algorithm, or the weights for the objectives.
#Step 6: Everything should be fine now. Go play around and see the magic happen! :)
--- PARAMETERS ---
===BioIK===
Generations (Recommended: 1-3):
The number of generations (iterations) per frame. Increasing this parameter linearly increases the computation time.
Individiuals (Recommended: 40-120):
This is the number of individuals (potential solutions) that are heuristically created and evolved during each evolutionary generation.
This number should always be significantly higher than the elitist individuals.
Elites (Recommended: 1-3):
This is the number of individuals that are currently most successfull among the population. Those are tracked and are
exploited to track multiple solutions (local extrema) simultaneously. 1 Elite will cause strictly unimodal solutions
but might get stuck in suboptimal extrema. Multiple elites are likely to cause small fluctuations due to multimodal optimisation.
For simple kinematic structures, one elite should be sufficient. If you observe the algorithm getting stuck, try using two or three elites.
Smoothing (Recommended: 0.1-0.5):
This simply blends between the last joint positions and the current joint positions, introducing a smoother transition between postures.
Animation Weight:
This factor weights animation into solving IK by manipulating the reference frame and then by post-modulating the animation.
Hence, 0 = zero animation added and 1 = full animation added into IK.
Note that this factor also shifts the predefined joint limits in direction of the animation offset.
Animation Blend:
This factor blends between the animation posture and the evolved IK posture, where 0 = IK posture and 1 = animation posture.
Motion Type:
Realistic - Creates smooth motion to the target configuration depending on acceleration and velocity.
Instantaneous - Immediately assigns the target configuration.
===Joints===
Anchor:
The connected anchor to which the motion is relative to.
Orientation:
The orientation of the motion relative to the connected body.
Default Frame:
This is the reference transformation for computing relative joint motion.
X/Y/Z Motion:
Constrained:
Use this if you want to use joint limits.
Lower Limit:
Assign a lower limit for this joint.
Upper Limit:
Assign an upper limit for this joint.
Target Value:
This value is controlled by BioIK, but you can also individually set this value if you want and if you turn off solving IK automatically :)
===Objective Component=== (See individual files for further description)
Weight:
How important is this objective for the optimisation?
---Position---
This objective optimises a given target position with XYZ coordinates. The target can either be a transform or a Vector3.
The maximum error is the threshold for which a solution is considered as converged for this objective.
---Orientation---
This objective optimises a given target orientation. The target can either be a transform or a Quaternion.
The maximum error is the threshold for which a solution is considered as converged for this objective.
---LookAt---
This objective optimises a target by looking into its direction relative to the objective. The target can either be a transform or a Vector3.
The direction vector is defined relative to the objective. The maximum error is the threshold for which a solution is considered as converged for this objective.
---Distance--- (beta development)
This objective ensures that the distance from the objective to the target becomes not lower than the given distance threshold.
---Displacement--- (beta development)
This objective aims to achieve minimal joint value changes during optimisation, and thus to avoid fluctuations or larger posture changes.
Note that the weight should typically be chosen comparatively small.
---JointValue--- (beta development)
This objective aims to maintain given joint value for a specific joint.
---Projection--- (beta development)
This objective projects a transform onto the surface with respect to the normal vector and the projection distance. (Will be integrated into position and orientation soon)
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--------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL NOTES ---------------------------------------------------
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#1 - Please avoid non-uniform scaling. It's the root of all evil and might destroy the IK solutions. The implemented FK solver does
not consider this mainly for performance reasons.
#2 - BIO IK NOW USES THREADING - IF YOU ARE USING THE HOLOLENS ON WINDOWS, THERE MIGHT BE SOME ISSUES. IN THIS CASE, PLEASE CONTACT ME!
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