What’s New in HumanIK 2013

Updated MotionBuilder plug-in

This release includes a new version of the MotionBuilder plug-in that adds support for MotionBuilder 2013.

Updated Vision engine for samples

The HumanIK sample framework now supports the 2012.x version of the Vision game engine, in addition to the 8.x version previously supported.

Bug fixes

• The roll extraction algorithm for knees and elbows has been updated, offering improved results and greater stability.

New platform support

HumanIK now runs on the Google Android operating system.

To get you started, this release includes a sample multi-touch application for full-body IK. Download the Android package, and see the contents of the samples/android directory.

Improved lower spine retargeting

This release includes a new character property used for retargeting, HIKLowerSpineCorrectionId. This property may improve the final pose for the target character's back by changing the rotation of the character's hips to match the rotation of the character's first spine bone.

For details, see Retargeting-Specific Properties.

Granular Squash 'n' Stretch freedom for neck and spine

You can now set the Squash 'n' Stretch freedom for each Node in the spine and neck individually, using the new HIKSetTranslationLimitsf() and HIKSetTranslationLimitsd() functions.

See also Upgrade Requirements for HumanIK 2013.

Improved Effector contributions

• The ChestEndEffectorId Effector no longer affects the hips when its pull value is set to 0.
• The FK/IK blend of the HipsEffectorId Effector has been improved, particularly when its reach value approaches 100%.

Bug fixes

• Degrees of Freedom are now correctly taken into account when applied to neck Nodes.
• In previous releases, the floor contact engine could become unstable in some circumstances, typically when the ankle, toe base and toes were vertically aligned.

Simplified Licensing System

As of this release, it is no longer necessary to set up an AdLM to use HumanIK.

• A single Gameware license key replaces the old system.
• Use of the runtime libraries no longer requires any license-related code for fully licensed clients.

For details, see Setting Up the License Key.

Improved spine retargeting

This release introduces a new character property, HIKTopSpineCorrectionId, which controls the way rotations are spread across the upper spine and the neck when retargeting animations. For details, see the description for the HIKTopSpineCorrectionId property under Retargeting-Specific Properties.

Shoulder solving improvements

The shoulder solving method controlled by the HIKRealisticShoulder character property has been improved to produce better results, especially when retargeting animations.

For more information, see the description for the HIKRealisticShoulder property under General Properties.

Improved performance for low-LoD solvers

The performance of the low-LoD (Level of Detail) solvers has been dramatically improved in this release, now offering up to 10 times faster solving than the full-body solvers.

In addition, you may be able to increase performance even further by following the suggestions listed under Solving at a Lower Level of Detail.

Memory allocation in hikdump.h functions

The inline functions provided in hikdump.h for saving and loading character data to and from files now permit you to specify the functions that should be used for allocating and freeing memory.

Converting files to FBX format

This version of HumanIK introduces a new command-line tool, hik2fbx, which converts character data files dumped from HumanIK into the open-standard .fbx format. You can use these .fbx files in order to visualize and test out your characterization setup, character states, and effector placements within a compatible authoring tool such as Autodesk® MotionBuilder®.

For details on usage, see hik2fbx.

Bug fixes

• In some cases, the inverse kinematics solver could produce NaN values in the output character state.
• The influence of the ChestOriginEffectorId and ChestEndEffectorId Effectors on full-body IK has been improved.
• The HIKSetCharacterSpaceEffectorStatefv() function (and related functions) no longer crash if the Effector specified in the parameter list does not exist.