Updates

03-06-05: Added project paper and presentation links.

Team Members:

Marcos Bagby
mbagby@unr.nevada.edu

Ryan Romero
elderromero@yahoo.com

Brett Sulprizio
sbrett@scs.unr.edu

Hiroko Uda
uda@cs.unr.edu

External Advisors: Dr. Frederick C. Harris, Jr., et al., providing project concept and acting as project overseer.

Project Title: Dust Modeling in a Virtual Environment

Description: The main goal of this project is to graphically simulate dust in a virtual environment as realistically as possible in real-time. The concept insofar is based more upon the research and creation of graphical effects rather than that of dust physics and airborne particle movement. The simulation will mainly be targeted for visualizing helicopter landings and the resultant effects of sand or dust kicked up by the rotor blades. Our application would most likely be used for military use and therefore should have the ability to be used in the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (C.A.V.E) project that Desert Research Institute (DRI) is currently working on, which can be used for combat training. From what we understand, we will be provided with information (possibly voxels) that we must use to illustrate graphically using OpenGL. We are planning on creating different landscapes and terrain to make the simulation look more realistic. The scope of the project could increase in attempts to visualize other fine particle systems affected by air currents, such as snow drifts.

Papers and Presentations:

• Project Concept (.doc)
• Specification (.doc)
• Concept Presentation (.ppt)

Links:

• Real-Time Simulation of Dust Behavior Generated by a Fast Traveling Vehicle (.pdf)
• Light Reflection Functions for Simulation of Clouds and Dusty Surfaces (.pdf)
• Voxels - Volumetric Pixels