Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and University of Bath have recently developed a model based on deep neural networks that could help to improve the quality of animations containing quadruped animals, such as dogs. The framework they created was presented at the MIG (Motion, Interaction & Games) 2021 conference, an event where researchers present some of the latest technologies for producing high-quality animations and videogames.

“We were interested in working with non-human data,” Donal Egan, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “We chose dogs for practicality reasons, as they are probably the easiest animal to obtain data for.”

Creating good quality animations of dogs and other quadruped animals is a challenging task. This is mainly because these animals move in complex ways and have unique gaits with specific footfall patterns. Egan and his colleagues wanted to create a framework that could simplify the creation of quadruped animations, producing more convincing content for both animated videos and videogames.