Multi-user support and motion planning of humans and humans driven vehicles in interactive 3D material flow simulations

The visualization of simulated production processes is used for their analysis. Huge plants are normally planned by a team. So a solution for many users who are modeling and interacting with a running model in an immersive 3D environment is required. We discuss an approach where several users work cooperatively on one simulation model. To optimize their work, the users need some guidance. For this we suggest small maps and arrows to guide the user to significant objects (machines). In many production scenarios, objects (forklifts, workers) are moving in an unguided fashion. In actual implementations these paths have to be modeled manually. In spite of taking these efforts, we are presenting an automated approach which is based on the 3D layout of the plant. If the user as part of the simulation is standing in the way of the object, the object stops in our approach (as hopefully in reality).