Department of Computer Science Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Objective:	In this project, you will learn how to represent and manipulate an articulated figure using forward kinematics. You will create appropriate data structures for representing hierarchical models, define at least one such model of your own design, and make it move within a scene. This project must be done individually.
Preparation:	In the preparation part, you should use your code from Project 1 to read in a spline definition that you create for the movement of your figure. You are free to define the movement as you like, but one idea would be to define a curve with a constant height (Y), assuming you are making a walking figure. Of course you are free to define any curve you like for your figure.
New Stuff:	The aim of this part is for you to define a figure with at least two limbs/wings/appendages, each with at least three hierarchically-related links, and to animate it in a cyclic manner. You are free to construct any character you like, as long as it meets the criteria. For example, you may choose to make a human-like biped, a multi-legged arachnid, a swiming octopus, or any other chreature with at least two appendages. You should animate the appendages, and make the overall movement of your creature be at least somewhat related to the movement of the appendages. Include at least one object in the scene as a reference object. For example, you may want to include a ground plane.
Attacking the Problem:	A good way to approach this project is to divide each of the parts into separate steps, and once you have one step working, move on to the next. For example, you may want to just get your creature to move along the spline, with no appendage animation, and then get it to animate without having it move through space. Once you have both pieces working, you can play with the movement timing to get the overall movement to look somewhat realistic.
Documentation:	You must create adequate documentation, both internal and external, along with your project. The best way to produce internal documentation is by including inline comments. The preferred way to do this is to write the comments as you code. Get in the habit of writing comments as you type in your code. A good rule of thumb is that all code that does something non-trivial should have comments describing what you are doing. This is as much for others who might have to maintain your code, as for you (imagine you have to go back and maintain code you have not looked at for six months -- this WILL happen to you in the future!). Create a README file containing all information you would like the TA to know when grading your work. I use these file and function (method) headers, in my code. Please adopt these (or some other consistent convention) for all your projects. The file header should be used for both ".h" and ".cpp/.java" files. Create external documentation for your program and submit it along with the project. The documentation does not have to be unnecessarily long, but should explain briefly what each part of your program does, and how your filenames tie in. Most importantly, tell the TA how to compile and run your program. Create a YouTube video of your work, upload it, and submit the URL along with your documentation.
What to Turn in:	Submit everything you need to compile and run your program (source files, data files, etc.) BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT, put everything in one directory, compile it, and make sure it runs. When you are ready to submit, zip everything up into a single archive file. Name the file LastName_FirstName_proj2.zip. You will use the Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here: https://turnin.cs.wpi.edu/. Use your WPI user ID to login, and you should have been emailed a password. The Turnin assignment ID is proj2.
Academic Honesty:	Remember the official WPI statements on Academic Honesty. You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work.
Videos from Previous Years:	D Term, 2013 Andrew Feeney Crissy Guertin Kevin Hufnagle Bryce Jassmond Sam Kodzis Henrique Polido Alfredo Porras Alex Quartulli Jeff Stokes Christian Walker Lukasz Zawada