Using density-based clustering to improve skeleton embedding in the Pinocchio automatic rigging system

Abstract

Automatic rigging is a targeting approach that takes a 3-D character mesh and an adapted skeleton and automatically embeds it into the mesh. Automating the embedding step provides a savings over traditional character rigging approaches, which require manual guidance, at the cost of occasional errors in recognizing parts of the mesh and aligning bones of the skeleton with it. In this thesis, I examine the problem of reducing such errors in an auto-rigging system and apply a density-based clustering algorithm to correct errors in a particular system, Pinocchio (Baran & Popovic, 2007). I show how the density-based clustering algorithm DBSCAN (Ester et al., 1996) is able to filter out some impossible vertices to correct errors at character extremities (hair, hands, and feet) and those resulting from clothing that hides extremities such as legs.