[x3d-public] Including metadata within an HAnim model

[John Carlson]

I don’t mind adding an info field, but I prefer Metadata nodes for
uniformity across all nodes beyond HAnim, realizing that HAnim is a special
spec with unique requirements.

John
On Mon, Mar 16, 2026 at 12:20 AM Joe D Williams via x3d-public <
x3d-public at web3d.org> wrote:

> >  adding an *info *field for all of the HAnim nodes,
>
>
>
> seems fine to me
>
> Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Don Brutzman via x3d-public <x3d-public at web3d.org>
> Sent: Mar 13, 2026 11:55 AM
> To: Humanoid Animation (HAnim) Working Group <h-anim at web3d.org>, X3D
> Public Mailing List <x3d-public at web3d.org>
> Cc: Don Brutzman <don.brutzman at gmail.com>
> Subject: [x3d-public] Including metadata within an HAnim model
>
>
> Dick, Aaron and I had good discussions during today's X3D Standards
> Working Group meeting.
>
> One topic of shared interest:
>
>    - Mantis 1527: Including metadata within an HAnim model.
>    - https://mantis.web3d.org/view.php?id=1527
>
>
> The metadata structure in an HAnim is relatively simple:
> - HAnimHumanoid *info *field: paired "name=value" string array
> - All of the HAnim nodes have a simple *description *field
>
>
>    - HAnimArchitecture draft v2.1, clause 6 Object interfaces, 6.3
>    Humanoid
>    <https://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3Dv4Draft/ISO-IEC19774/ISO-IEC19774-1/ISO-IEC19774-1v2.1/ISO-IEC19774-1v2.1-WD/Architecture/ObjectInterfaces.html#Humanoid>
>       - sequence<string>    info         []
>       - string              description  ""
>    - X3D Architecture, draft v4.1, 26.3.2 HAnimHumanoid
>    <https://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3Dv4Draft/ISO-IEC19775-1v4.1-CD/Part01/components/hanim.html#HAnimHumanoid>
>       - MFString [in,out] info        []
>       - SFString [in,out] description ""
>
> The X3D Architecture describes how to equivalently map the *info *field
> of paired strings to a MetadataSet node.
>
>
> As we continue to build humanoid models of greater sophistication, a
> likely use case will be inclusion of paired (and hopefully typed) metadata
> within any of the HAnim nodes. Some capability needs to be considered.
>
>
> Perhaps a simple approach might be to use the *info *field equivalently
> in all of the nodes.
>
> Mapping definition for X3D HAnimHumanoid *info *field:
>
> Metadata values from the *info* field can be equivalently encoded via a
> single MetadataSet node with field *name="HAnimHumanoid.info"* containing corresponding
> MetadataString related X3DMetadataObject nodes. No more than one set of
> such term=value pairs (via MFString *info* field or MetadataSet
> *name="HAnimHumanoid.info"* node) shall be included at one time.
>
> EXAMPLE 1  *info* field term=value pairs
>
>   HAnimHumanoid {
>     name "JinLOA1"
>     info [ "gender=female" "height=1.5" "weight=50" ]
>   }
>
> EXAMPLE 2  MetadataSet node equivalent to EXAMPLE 1
>
>   HAnimHumanoid {
>     name "JinLOA1"
>     metadata MetadataSet {
>       name "HAnimHumanoid.info"
>       reference "https://www.web3d.org/documents/specifications/19774/V2.0/Architecture/ObjectInterfaces.html#Humanoid"
>       value [
>         MetadataString {
>           name "gender"
>           value [ "female" ]
>         }
>         MetadataFloat {
>           name "height"
>           value [ 1.5 ]
>         }
>         MetadataFloat {
>           name "weight"
>           value [ 50 ]
>         }
>       ]
>     }
>   }
>
>
> I can see one editorial tweak to make in spec prose above:  rather than
> forbidding it, allow MetadataSet to contain either MetadataString or other
> typed Metadata@ nodes for floats, booleans, etc.  That will match the
> intent shown in the second example, which includes two MetadataFloat nodes.
>
> So... what do people think about adding an *info *field for all of the
> HAnim nodes, not just HAnimHumanoid?
>
> all the best, Don
> --
> X3D Graphics, Maritime Robotics, Distributed Simulation
> Relative Motion Consulting  https://RelativeMotion.info
>
>
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