A 'Notion' for interactive behavioral animation control

Behavioral animation is a means for automatic motion control in which animated objects are capable of sensing their environment and determining their motion within it according to certain rules. An interactive method of behavioral animation in which the user controls motion by designing a network mapping sensor information to effectors is described. The system is called Notion. The network consists of sensors (such as distance to other objects and recognition of their qualities) and effectors (here, jet motors propel objects) connected by nodes and connections. Nodes, which embody such responses as attraction, avoidance, arbitration, and their outputs, map sensory stimuli to effector responses. Sensors, nodes, and effectors are given set limits. Such limits, together with an interactive window environment for altering the network, make it possible to explore a variety of motions quickly.>