Manikin Eyes Following the Compass with IK and Reach Mode

This provides a natural behavior for the manikin's vision when it is performing a reach or IK on an object.  The vision of the manikin is directed to the object the manikin is trying to pick up, which would be more like a human.
You can explicitly choose which hand is to be the target of the Look At, the left, right, or either hand.
 

That way, you will be able to activate the right option from the start, and will not have to switch back and forth between the IK Mode (or Reach Mode) and the general options page.  As a result, the manikin will behave as illustrated below.

In most positioning scenarios, you have to manually do a reach with the line of sight for orienting the head in the direction of the working hands.  This will eliminate a step since the reach of the line of sight will be done interactively.  You will also be able to choose which type of eyes tracking the manikin will perform: eyes-only or eyes and head.

  1. To enable the Look At functionality this has to be set in the in the IK Behaviors Icon.  The manikin will look at the compass, when moving their hands.

     
     

  2. If the Look At option is enabled, as soon as the manikin tries to reach an object, the line of sight will be moved so the manikin can see what it is about to reach. This motion will be similar to the existing reach performed on the line of sight.



     

  3. The manikin will look at the point targeted by the 3D compass.

  4. That way, you will be able to activate the right option from the panel, and will have the opportunity to switch back and forth between the various options while inside IK Mode or Reach Mode.  Furthermore, the Right and Left selections will allow the manikin to look at its right and left hand, respectively.  As a result, the manikin will behave as shown.
    In this example, the left hand  is being manipulating with IK Mode, but the manikin is still looking at its right hand. To activate the option,  simply check the Hand checkbox in the IK Behaviors panel and choose the hand required to be looked at (Right, Left or "Active" hand).



    Please note however that this option can work outside the IK and Reach modes. The Look At will be triggered if a permanent constraint is created on either hand:
     

    • Within the IK Mode (or Reach Mode), the manikin will look at the hand specified by the option, depending on the hand on which the compass is located.

    • When outside of the IK Mode (and Reach Mode), if this option is kept enabled, it will look for an active permanent constraint on the hand, when you click the Update icon, the manikin will look at either the right hand or the left hand (if the choice is respectively Right Hand or Left Hand).  If Active Hand is selected, the manikin looks at the hand on which there is an active permanent constraint.  And if there are active constraints on both hands, the manikin will look at its right hand. If there are no active constraints on either hand, the option will not operate.

    To clarify this point, let us assume that the manikin has one constraint on the right hand and one constraint on the left hand.  The constraint on the left hand is active whereas the one on the right hand is inactive.  Let us say further that the Look At option is positioned on Active Hand, as in the snapshot above.  When you update the constraints, the constraint on the left hand will resolve, and the manikin will look at the left hand.  If we then activate the constraint on the right hand and update again, the manikin will look at its right hand.

    When used outside of the IK this option thus acts as if a hidden constraint existed on the line of sight.  And this hidden constraint is resolved with the rest when the manikin is updated.

    If the constraints are updated (manually or automatically), this option, if enabled, will trigger the Look At.  For example, if the Automatic option of the Tools > Options > Constraint Resolution is enabled and the Forward Kinematics command is used, the manikin will keep looking at its hand.  The option ceases to operate only when a permanent constraint is created by the user on the line of sight. A permanent constraint created on the line of sight will have priority over the Look At option.

    Furthermore, in simulation (DELMIA Human Task Simulation product), this new Look At option will behave exactly like the other "IK Behavior" options.

     


     

  5. The IK Behaviors dialog box, selecting the Line of Sight only, will make IK Chains limited to the Line of Sight, blocking all movements of the head.