Disney Researchers develop method to capture stylized hair for 3D-printed figurines

Hairstyle is a defining characteristic second only to the face

2014-08-08

(Press-News.org) Perhaps no aspect of 3D printing has captured the popular imagination more than personalized figurines with the facial features of real people. Now, researchers at Disney Research Zurich and the University of Zaragoza have developed a method that can incorporate an individual's hairstyle as well.

The researchers will present their new method at ACM SIGGRAPH 2014, the International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Vancouver, Aug. 10-14.

Miniature statues with a person's likeness are nowadays produced by scanning the individual's face with a depth camera or other sensor to create a 3D model. These facial features can then be applied to a figure that is produced on a 3D printer. But hair is beyond the capabilities of most systems, so hairstyles either must be roughly approximated or replaced with a pre-existing template.

The result can leave much to be desired, said Dr. Derek Bradley, associate research scientist at Disney Research Zurich.

"Almost as much as the face, a person's hairstyle is a defining characteristic of an individual," he explained. "The resulting figurine loses a degree of realism when the individual's hairstyle isn't adequately captured."

The goal is not to reproduce a hairstyle fiber by fiber, as this level of complexity cannot be miniaturized using current 3D printers. Rather, the researchers were inspired by artistic sculptures, such as Michelangelo's David, which reproduce the essence of a hairstyle, but in the solid form of a helmet. In the case of 3D-printed figurines, the researchers sought to retain the appearance of directional wisps and the overall flow of hair, as well as its color.

Beginning with several color images captured of the subject's head, the system first computes a coarse geometry for the surface of the hair. Color information from the images is then added, matching the colors to the rough geometry to the extent possible. In the next step, color stylization, the level of detail is reduced enough to enable the representation to be miniaturized and reproduced, while preserving the hairstyle's defining features. Finally, geometric details are added in a way that is consistent with the color stylization.

The researchers demonstrated the system by capturing the varying hairstyles of several people, including two people who each were scanned with four different hairstyles. In each reproduction, the hairstyles are identifiable and recognizably the same as when the subject's image was captured. The method even enabled facial hair and fur to be reproduced.

INFORMATION: In addition to Bradley, the research team included Dr. Thabo Beeler of Disney Research Zurich and Jose I. Echevarria, a Ph.D. student who interned at the Disney lab, and Dr. Diego Gutierrez, both of the University of Zaragoza, Spain.

More information, including a video, is available on the project web site at http://www.disneyresearch.com/project/stylized-hair-capture/.

About Disney Research Disney Research is a network of research laboratories supporting The Walt Disney Company. Its purpose is to pursue scientific and technological innovation to advance the company's broad media and entertainment efforts. Vice Presidents Jessica Hodgins and Markus Gross manage Disney Research facilities in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Zürich, and Boston and work closely with the Pixar and ILM research groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. Research topics include computer graphics, animation, video processing, computer vision, robotics, wireless & mobile computing, human-computer interaction, displays, behavioral economics, and machine learning.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Do women and men ride differently?

2014-08-08

For centuries, horse riding was largely restricted to males. The previous situation is in stark contrast to the present day, when nearly 80 percent of riders are women. Modern-day equestrian sports are unique in that men and women compete directly against one another at all levels, from beginners in gymkhanas to national champions in the Olympic Games. "For this reason it is interesting to consider whether a theory of riding that was developed exclusively for men can be applied to women," explains Natascha Ille, the first author of the recent publication. A rider is ...

The immediate aftermath of an oil spill

2014-08-08

The immediate aftermath of an oil spill The fate of oil during the first day after an accidental oil spill is still poorly understood, with researchers often arriving on the scene only after several days. New findings from a field experiment carried out in the North Sea provide valuable insight that could help shape the emergency response in the immediate wake of disasters. It is well known that oil and water don't mix. Less well known is the fact that when petroleum is spilt onto a water surface, a fraction of the oil immediately begins to evaporate into the air or ...

Wiggly microRNA binding implies a more complex genome regulation

2014-08-08

(PHILDELPHIA) – MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate protein-coding gene abundance levels by interacting with the 3´ end of various messenger RNAs. Each target site matches the first few nucleotides of the targeting miRNA, the so called "seed" region, and this interaction leads to the degradation of the target or prevents its translation into amino acids. This dogma has led researchers to largely look for perfect base-pair matching of the "seed" region among candidate targets. New research published today (August 8th) in Nature's open access journal Scientific Reports suggests ...

Scientists unravel mystery of brain cell growth

2014-08-08

In the developing brain, special proteins that act like molecular tugboats push or pull on growing nerve cells, or neurons, helping them navigate to their assigned places amidst the brain's wiring. How a single protein can exert both a push and a pull force to nudge a neuron in the desired direction is a longstanding mystery that has now been solved by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborators in Europe and China. Jia-huai Wang, PhD, who led the work at Dana-Farber and Peking University in Beijing, is a corresponding author of a report published ...

Microtubule-based strategies for promoting nerve regeneration after injury

2014-08-08

After injury, damaged axons have the capacity to regenerate, but the regenerative capacity of the axon, particularly axons of the central nervous system, is quite limited. This is because the damaged axons tend to retract, because they encounter obstacles such as scar tissue and inhibitory molecules, and because their growth rates simply do not match those of a juvenile axon. Prof. Peter W. Baas from Drexel University, USA focus on microtubules as among the most important factors in encouraging injured adult axons to regenerate. Microtubules are hollow polymeric filaments ...

Role of Notch-1 signaling pathway in PC12 cell apoptosis induced by amyloid beta-peptide (25-35)

2014-08-08

Recent studies have demonstrated that Notch-1 expression is increased in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease patients. Huimin Liang and co-workers from Second Affliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China speculate that Notch-1 signaling may be involved in PC12 cell apoptosis induced by amyloid beta-peptide (25-35) (Aβ25-35). In a study reported on the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 13, 2014), PC12 cells were cultured with different doses (0, 0.1, 1.0, 10 and 100 nmol/L) of N-[N-(3,5-Difuorophen-acetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester, a Notch-1 ...

Violent solar system history uncovered by WA meteorite

2014-08-08

Curtin University planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia. Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been identified. Associate Professor Fred Jourdan, along with colleagues Professor Phil Bland and Dr Gretchen Benedix from Curtin's Department of Applied Geology, believe the meteorite is ...

**A*Star scientists make breakthroughs in ovarian cancer research**

2014-08-08

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have found new clues to early detection and personalised treatment of ovarian cancer, currently one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose early due to the lack of symptoms that are unique to the illness. There are three predominant cancers that affect women – breast, ovarian and womb cancer. Of the three, ovarian cancer is of the greatest concern as it is usually diagnosed only at an advanced stage due to the absence of clear early warning symptoms. Successful treatment ...

Study: Few juvenile suspects exercise constitutional rights during interrogations

2014-08-08

WASHINGTON –- Even when not under arrest, juvenile suspects being interrogated for a crime may be strikingly unaware of their constitutional rights and confess without legal counsel or even a parent present, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention. An analysis of 57 videotaped juvenile interrogations at 17 police departments around the country revealed none of the suspects, who ranged in age from 13 to 17, had an attorney present while they were questioned, according to Hayley Cleary, PhD, of Virginia Commonwealth ...

Parents part of problem in distracted teen driving, study finds

2014-08-08

WASHINGTON –- Parents play a direct role in distracted teen driving, with more than half of teens talking on cellphones with their mother or father while driving, according to new research presented at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention. Researchers interviewed or surveyed more than 400 teen drivers, ages 15 to 18, from 31 states to find out why they continue to talk and text behind the wheel, despite warnings about the serious hazards of distracted driving. "Teens said parents expect to be able to reach them, that parents get mad if they ...

Cold treatment does not appear to protect preterm infants from disability or death caused by oxygen loss, according to NIH-funded study

Orthopedic team from Peking Union Medical College Hospital publishes longest-term follow-up study on post-TKA outcomes in Chinese patients with knee osteoarthritis

[Press-News.org] Disney Researchers develop method to capture stylized hair for 3D-printed figurines
Hairstyle is a defining characteristic second only to the face

Disney Researchers develop method to capture stylized hair for 3D-printed figurines

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: