Shape up! Perception based body shape variation for data-driven crowds

Representative distribution of body shapes is needed when simulating crowds in real-world situations, e.g., for city or event planning. Visual realism and plausibility are often also required for visualization purposes, while these are the top criteria for crowds in entertainment applications such as games and movie production. Therefore, achieving representative and visually plausible body-shape variation while optimizing available resources is an important goal. We present a data-driven approach to generating and selecting models with varied body shapes, based on body measurement and demographic data from the CAESAR anthropometric database. We conducted an online perceptual study to explore the relationship between body shape, distinctiveness and attractiveness for bodies close to the median height and girth. We found that the most salient body differences are in size and upper-lower body ratios, in particular with respect to shoulders, waist and hips. Based on these results, we propose strategies for body shape selection and distribution that we have validated with a lab-based perceptual study. Finally, we demonstrate our results in a data-driven crowd system with perceptually plausible and varied body shape distribution.