An MPEG-4 Quadric-based LoD simplification for facial animation

Level of detail (LoD) techniques provide efficient and established tools that reduce 3D models complexity while attempting to preserve their features. While these techniques are well documented and have been applied with proven results, only few solutions attempted to create a solution that is compatible with Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-4) facial animation standard, which involves human facial mesh simplification. In this paper we present our work on an adaptive LoD algorithm which prioritises the human face features in the facial mesh and simplifies the animation streams, reducing animation complexity and overhead. Our approach applies continuous LOD to a MPEG-4 compliant model using an extension of Garland's Quadric-Based Surface algorithm and introducing a novel error metric. This is achieved with a novel approach that applies a selective model simplification that is both MPEG-4 compatible and also can simplify animation streams.