A spherical representation of a human body for visualizing movement

A three-dimensional human body model for displaying body movements on a computer graphics display is described. The surface of the body model is formed from overlapping spheres, yielding a realistically formed and shaded body image on a raster graphics display. An experimental model consisting of 310 spheres is articulated with 19 joints and 20 body segments. The properties of this model include joints which do not deform during movement, simple hidden surface removal, and efficient collision and contact detection. The model may also be placed in a planar polygon environment, displayed in shaded form, and tested for collisions with the environment. Applications in crash simulation and human movement simulation are indicated.