Viewpoint and trajectory optimization for animation display with aerial vehicles

This paper presents a method to optimize the position and trajectory of each aerial vehicle within a large group that displays objects and animations in 3D space. The input is a single object or an animation created by an artist. In a first step, goal positions for the given number of vehicles and representing the object are optimized with respect to a known viewpoint. For displaying an animation, an optimal trajectory satisfying the dynamic constraints of each vehicle is computed using B-splines. Finally, a trajectory following controller is described, which provides the preferred velocity, later optimized to be collision-free with respect to all neighboring vehicles.