Variable-speed resource motion in animations of discrete-event process models

We present research that addresses the problem of describing the accurate, variable-speed motion of simulation objects on realistically-shaped trajectories (i.e. paths) in animations of discrete-event simulation models. The work puts in place techniques that modelers can use to instruct virtual simulation objects to follow any arbitrarily-shaped velocity profiles while adhering to fixed motion completion times when traversing along any defined motion path trajectories. A computation scheme that allows simulation models to define the general shapes of relevant velocity profiles and then heuristically scales those profiles to accommodate communicated activity instance durations is presented. While allowing animated simulation objects to be moved with any arbitrarily shaped velocity profiles, this technique ensures that an object´s temporospatial control rests entirely with the underlying simulation models.