Using discrete event modeling for effective computer animation control

The authors demonstrate a method for combining discrete event modeling methods with keyframe computer animation. The focus has been to study existing methods in computer simulation that can be used to aid the graphics community in their search for better mathematical modeling approaches for complicated systems. Such systems often contain discrete as well as continuous components and multiple models must be used to coordinate or control the animation. The authors discuss an animation of several articulated figures-the dining philosophers scenario-via the control afforded by discrete event modeling and simulation. It is found that multiple models consisting of discrete event and continuous components can provide an easier-to-understand description of a complex system. With the increased amount of physically based modeling research in the graphics field and the tendency toward more graphical realizations of model execution in the simulation field, the authors see a need to integrate methodologies from both fields