Project #6 - Math 155B - Student: Jeff Robertson

Comments

"Design and write quaternion interpolation methods that allow a sequence of orientations to smoothly interpolated.  
Write an interactive demo program for this."

Note: This isn't the interpolation program I had intended to make. A series of problems
and successive compromises inspired me to try something else with the classes I had made and the time I had left.
Due to time contraints (and impending finals) this is what I wound up with.

The startup screen shows a robot. 
This robot is made up of 12 boxes, each with it's own quaternion to keep track of rotation. 
These boxes have no connection to each other and thus perform their interpolation independently. 
There are 3 positions present that the user can modify to create multiple orientations to interpolate through. 

Commands: (For most commands, the lower case letter proceeds backwards and the uppercase proceeds forwards)

'r' - Switch between robots.
'p' - Switch between boxes.
'd' - Toggle on/off the display of the robots.
'y' - Toggle on/off an increased y position.
'z' - Toggle on/off an increased z position.
' ' - (Space Bar) Perform interpolation.

Moving the mouse on the screen while the left button is held down will rotate the highlighted box (or entire robot) in a trackball fashion.

Story

This is OGL65, a retired model of robot. It has been stripped of all useful materials that could be easily removed and so only its box-like skeleton (and movement system) remain.

  • This particular line of robot was a spectacular scientific accomplishment. Humanoid style walking had yet to be perfected, so movement was handled by a system that could separate the individual body parts and reassemble them at the robot's destination. Even when moving across a room the body would separate such that individual pieces could find an optimal rotation that would allow for them to move with maximum efficiency. Here is OGL65 moving across the demonstartion area.

  • Although initial sales of OGL65 were good, owners began to complain that the robot's unnatural movement frightened them. Eventually the company had to recall the OGL65 line and it has been reduced to the shell you see before you.

  • Goodbye, robot...