Find it: Click the Keyframe Animator button on the Action
palette: 
This tutorial steps you through creating a simple animation that makes
a robot arm move. It creates one member ("robot arm") that is
composed of a hierarchy of objects (a sphere for the body, a cylinder
for the upper arm, a cylinder for the lower arm, and a cone for the
hand).
The basic approach is to set the time (using the scrub bar), then pose
the model in your scene. When you're happy with the pose, click the red
record buttons.
Click here to preview an animation
like the one you're about to create. (After the scene appears, click
anywhere on the object to play the animation.)

Part I: Getting Started
First, you'll start the Keyframe Animator, set up the new animation,
and add a member. These steps are basic to beginning any animation.
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In Cosmo Worlds, open the file /usr/share/Insight/library/SGI_bookshelves/Help/books/CosmoWorlds_UG/Models/anim.wrl.
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Start the Keyframe Animator by clicking the bouncing ball button.
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Select the object you're going to animate. Click anywhere on the object
to select the whole object (body, arm, and hand).
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To create a new animation, choose Animation > New animation.
To save the animation with the scene, choose File > Save
from the Cosmo Worlds window.
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Name the animation. Choose Animation > Change name. Type
a name into the dialog box (for example, salute) and click
OK.
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Add a member to the animation by choosing Animation > Add
member. The selected object is added as a member of the
animation. Once you've added an object as a member, all of the objects
that are grouped under it are automatically eligible to be animated. As
you select them, you'll see lines appear in red underneath the member
line.
Part II: A Few Adjustments
Here are a few adjustments you can make to various settings in the
Keyframe Animator.
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Choose View > Show time in seconds to display the time in
seconds.
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Set the length of the animation to 2 seconds. Choose Animation
> Set duration. Type 2 into the dialog box and click OK.
Note that, by default, frames are in tenths of a second.
Part III: The Action Begins
Now, for the action. In this section, you'll set the time for each
keyframe, pose the figure, and then record the pose for each keyframe.
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Move the scrub bar to the end of the animation, either by clicking in
the time trough or by dragging the scrub bar.
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Select the lower arm and hand (by clicking the Child down arrow in the
right-hand corner of the Cosmo Create 3D window) and move the arm to
its final position.
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Click the Master record button (the blue box next to the word
"Master").
The keyframes at position 0 are recorded (they turn blue). In
addition, the keyframes at position 20 are recorded. They are currently
red because they're selected. Since these are the first keyframes on
these lines, you get an automatic keyframe at frame 0 as well,
recording the initial pose to interpolate from. The keyframes at frame
0 are blue because they are not selected.
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Select the parent of the lower arm/hand group by clicking the Parent up
arrow in the right-hand corner of the Cosmo Worlds window. Then move
the arm to an intermediate position in its waving gesture.
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Click the Master record button.
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Practice moving the scrub bar, selecting portions of the robot and
posing them, and recording frames.
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To delete a keyframe, select it by clicking it (it turns red). Press Backspace
to delete it.
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Preview the animation by clicking the Play button.
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To save the animation, save the file for the scene.
Part IV: Dragging Selected Keyframes
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Here's another interesting thing you can do. Go to keyframe 20 and
click the keyframe for the UpperArm/Xfm property line. The keyframe
turns red because you've selected it (and the keyframes of its parents,
the Body and Master keyframes, turn red as well).
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Move the scrub bar to frame 5. Drag the selected keyframes to the new
time. click the Master record button. Now the robot moves its upper arm
before it moves the lower arm.
Part V: Detaching the Hand and Scaling the Hat
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If you want to make your animation similar to the one supplied with
this tutorial, select the hand (the cone) for the final two frames.
First, move the scrub bar to the selected frame. You can select the
hand using the Child arrow in the Cosmo Worlds window, or you can
select it by highlighting Hand in the Names panel of the Keyframe
Animator. Now, position the hand and record the keyframes.
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Move the scrub bar, scale the cone (now a hat), and click Record.
Congratulations! You've now learned the basics of animating an object
in a scene. For more practice, try the tutorials listed below for
selecting, copying, and pasting keyframes and for animating viewpoints.
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