Simulation of mixed-mode systems with enhanced visualisation using virtual reality techniques

Most manufacturing oriented simulation languages only offer the facility to model the system in one mode: discrete or continuous. However if a real, single mode system is examined more closely, some characteristics of the opposing mode can usually be found. It is to what extent that the opposing mode can be neglected that determines in which mode the system can be successfully modelled. For many systems it is not satisfactory to approximate to a single mode system, and a mixed-mode systems simulation language would be required. A genuine mixed-mode simulation language would be able to model both discrete and continuous systems individually, in addition to combined continuous/discrete systems, and would therefore be a more useful general purpose simulation tool. It has been postulated that all systems should be treated as mixed-mode, with those with only discrete characteristics, or those with only continuous characteristics treated only as exceptions instead of the rule