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Published July 1987 | public
Journal Article

Elastically deformable models

Abstract

The theory of elasticity describes deformable materials such as rubber, cloth, paper, and flexible metals. We employ elasticity theory to construct differential equations that model the behavior of non-rigid curves, surfaces, and solids as a function of time. Elastically deformable models are active: they respond in a natural way to applied forces, constraints, ambient media, and impenetrable obstacles. The models are fundamentally dynamic and realistic animation is created by numerically solving their underlying differential equations. Thus, the description of shape and the description of motion are unified.

Additional Information

© 1987 ACM. The figures in this paper were rendered by Kurt Fleiseher using his modeling testbed system implemented on a LISP Machine. We wish to thank Andy Witkin for valuable discussions and goop. This research was funded, in part, by Schlumberger Palo Alto Research, Hewlett-Packard, Symbolics Inc., and by an AT&T Bell Labs Fellowship (JCP).

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 24, 2023