Computational Models of Humans

我的长期目标是创建有用的计算模型，以了解人类如何移动以及与环境的物理交互。 重点不是对运动数据进行黑盒建模。 相反，它是对底层系统本身进行建模，作为生物机器：电机（肌肉），传感器（特别是肌肉和皮肤中的机械感受器），结构（骨骼和结缔组织）和软件（神经控制）。通过对潜在的感觉运动系统进行建模，我们可以更好地概括新的情况，并获得对生物学原理的基本见解。在短期内，我们可以创造出更可信的人类角色的计算机动画。具体而言，我建议重点关注以下几点：* (1)欧拉软组织模拟。 欧拉离散化在我以前的工作中表现出了很大的希望，但与标准拉格朗日方法有很大的不同。 我将系统地探讨它的优势和局限性，并确定可能使其成为软组织模拟未来标准的显著优势。(2)现实主义皮肤模型。仅仅有好的算法是不够的;模型还必须反映真实的人体生理学。我的目标是开发一个基于体内测量的真实的人体皮肤机械行为的模拟就绪结构和统计模型。* (3)手动系统。 将手建模为具有许多相互作用的部分的感觉运动系统，将深入了解它为什么如此有效。 我将重点放在手，因为它是我们与物理世界（包括计算机）互动的主要效应器，皮肤和软组织在手部功能中起着关键作用。* 这种虚拟人模型在大量的应用中是必需的。 计算机动画的一个中心目标是合成与环境交互的人类角色。人类运动的真实模型在生物力学、神经科学和医学中也很重要，并可能导致基于生物学原理的新机器人设计。学生和博士后学员参与这项研究的各个方面，并将在跨学科的环境中获得广泛的技能，包括开发先进的模拟软件系统，使用世界一流的仪器测量和分析人体软组织，生物力学和计算机图形学。

My long term goal is to create useful computational models of how humans move and physically interact with their environment. The focus is not on black-box modeling of movement data. Rather, it is on modeling the underlying system itself, as a biological machine: the motors (muscles), sensors (esp. mechanoreceptors in muscle and skin), structures (skeleton and connective tissues), and software (neural control). By modeling the underlying sensorimotor system we could achieve better generalization to novel situations and gain fundamental insights into biological principles. In the near term, we could create more believable computer animations of human characters.***Specifically, I propose to focus on the following.***(1) EULERIAN SOFT TISSUE SIMULATION. Eulerian discretization has shown great promise in my previous work, but constitutes a radical departure from the standard Lagrangian approach. I will systematically explore its strengths and limitations, and identify the significant advantages that could make it the future standard for soft tissue simulation.***(2) REALISTIC SKIN MODEL. It is not sufficient to have good algorithms; a model must also reflect real human physiology. My goal is to develop a simulation-ready structural and statistical model of the mechanical behavior of real human skin, based on in vivo measurements.***(3) HAND SYSTEM. Modeling the hand as a sensorimotor system with many interacting parts will provide deep insights into why it is so effective. I will focus on the hand since it is our primary effector for interacting with the physical world (including computers) and the key role of skin and soft tissues in hand function. ***Such virtual human models are required in an enormous range of applications. A central goal of computer animation is the synthesis of human characters interacting with their environment. Realistic models of human movement are also important in biomechanics, neuroscience, and medicine, and could lead to new robot designs based on biological principles.***Students and postdoctoral trainees are involved in all aspects of this research, and will acquire a broad range of skills in an interdisciplinary environment, including development of advanced simulation software systems, measurement and analysis of human soft tissues with world class instrumentation, biomechanics, and computer graphics.