Spade is a scalable
parallel architecture with support to NORMA, CC-NUMA, COMA models.
It's based on commodity single/multiple CPU processing elements (Servers,
Workstations. High-end PC's) and commodity interconnection networks
(FastEthernet, ATM, SCI, Myrinet). In order to provide efficient implementation
of shared memory model, as well as fast message passing, we are developing
custom interconnection systems with hardware support for remote memory
access. Two versions of these interconnection systems are being developed:
- Interconnection network based on PCI network adapter with remote
memory access capability; 8
ports Switch with multicast capability; high speed 66 MBytes/s LVDS
links with parallel cables;
- Interconnection network based on ATM standard but optimized for
low latency, high throughput, reliable delivery, multicast and no
cell loss flow control.
- Interconnection network based on SCI standard with support to remote
memory access.
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The IMPROV Project
began in 1994, when Ken Perlin began applying procedural texture synthesis
techniques he developed in the early eighties to animated characters.
The result was "Danse Interactif," in which an animated dancer performs,
following the directions of a choreographer (using an on-screen button
panel) in real-time.
Following the
success of these initial experiments, Athomas Goldberg began applying
these techniques to higher-level behaviors and multi-character interactions.
The result was characters that could make their own decisions, based
on a set of pre-scripted rules and carefully controlled statistics
governing how and when they would perform a specific scene or script.
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O software gráfico
do Projeto Aria Due, o Interface, incorpora a tecnologia de animação
procedural, criada inicialmente pelo MRL-NYU em 1994 e depois desenvolvida
em conjunto com o LSI-USP em 1996 com o projeto ARIA. O software utilizado
na época, o Improv, era baseado numa biblioteca de funções próprias,
chamada KPL. Em 1997 foi adotada uma nova linguagem para esta tecnologia,
o VRML. Baseado neste, foi criado o Interface.
A equipe do LSI
agregou à animação facial dos personagens um
sistema de síntese de voz procedural, criando um espetáculo
onde o usuário interage com o personagem virtual através
de uma batuta eletrônica que controla tempo e intensidade da
performance.
Um sistema de
comunicação entre o improv e MIDI também foi
desenvolvido, permitindo que uma estação de controle
rodando um sequenciador comercial possa controlar atores virtuais
em estações gráficas remotas. Este sistema também
garante a sincronia labial automática.
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