Reading 2

For the second assignment you will read John Lassater's seminal paper "Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation" [PDF]. After reading, think about the following questions and write a paragraph answer for each.

1. You have now been exposed to several of Cozmo's built-in animations. Pick one of those (identify by name) and talk about at least three principles of traditional animation it applies to robot motion, referencing the exact principle and explaining why you think the motion applies that principle.
2. Assume you were programming the Cozmo robot to collaborate with a human on the task of clearing out trash items on a table by pushing them off the table. Assume the robot is able to perform this task independently of the human (i.e. it can localize itself on the table, it can detect trash, navigate to it, and push it to a desired target). How can you apply principles of traditional animation to the robot's motion as it is performing the task to make the collaborative execution of the task with a human more fluent and efficient? In particular think about how the robot could better communicate to the human what it is doing. Mention at least three design principles and talk about how you would modify the robot's motion from its functional counterpart to apply the principle.

Submit your answers as text entry on Canvas. Note that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions but your answers should demonstrate that you have read the post and deeply thought about the questions. See Canvas for a grading rubric.