Author_Institution :
Texas Univ., Dallas, TX, USA
Abstract :
The particle-system technique is used to model ´fuzzy objects´, i.e. objects not bounded by well-defined, easily visible surfaces. the technique is used to depict, in real time, ship wakes in an air/sea simulation using a high-speed workstation for graphics calculation and display. The system consists of a graphics workstation tied to a compute server (typically a minicomputer, mainframe, or parallel processor, depending on the simulation complexity). The compute server executes the dynamic models associated with the vehicles in the simulation. The position and attitude of each vehicle are periodically transmitted to the graphics workstation, where a rendering of the situation is produced and displayed. Such a system normally runs at a frame redraw rate of 10 frames per second or greater to sustain an illusion of smooth movement. The ship wake phenomenon and its modeling, including some simplifications, are described.<>
Keywords :
computer animation; naval engineering; real-time systems; 10 frames per second; Silicon Graphics 4D/60T graphics workstation; air/sea simulation; bow wake; compute server; dynamic models; frame redraw rate; real time particle system; rendering; ship wakes; simplifications; smooth movement; stern wake; visible surfaces; Computational modeling; Concurrent computing; Displays; Graphics; Marine vehicles; Microcomputers; Real time systems; Sea surface; Vehicle dynamics; Workstations;
