EIN5255 focuses on the fundamentals of interactive computer simulation. One goal is to provide some insight into the use of simulation to train military personnel, entertain people with virtual worlds, and create digital laboratories for designing new products. Another goal is to describe the computer animation, logic, networking, and mathematic algorithms required to make such sysems work. Much of the course focuses on simulation networking and the issues that software developers and engineers face in creating these systems. Students will learn to create 3-D models and insert them into virtual worlds. Topics discussed include: introduction to simulation applications, 3-D modeling and animation, networking, latency, protocol design, and system architectures.

1. Multigen Creator Task: Build a terrain skin and populate it with entities that you create while going through the tutorials (300 points). Due 1900 hrs 30 Oct. - Grade: Walk-through demonstration of your synthetic world in the ISTS lab during October 30th class. Grade will be based on variety and quality of entities. Break point: 250 points earned if tutorial entities present. The last 50 points are to be earned based on your own doings from another tutorial or adding other effects.

2. Simstorm/SVS/Stealth Task: Build an interoperable and distributed synthetic natural environment using the SimStorm tool set. (0 points). Due 1900 hrs 4 Dec. - Grade: Walk-through demonstration of your synthetic world in the ISTS lab during Dec 4th class. Grade will be based on variety and quality of entities. You may use models available in the example folders. A minimum of 90 points will be earned if you create an interoperable, synthetic natural environment and have entities interact with one another over the network.

3. One individual written research paper on selected research topics (Total: 200 points). Due 1900 hrs 27 Nov. - Research papers should be formatted according to WSC or SISO conference papers standards. You can find these guidelines on the class web site or on either conference web site (http://www.wintersim.org/ and http://www.sisostds.org/siw/). - Teams will present the results of their research to the class. Presentations will be made with tactile items or Powerpoint presentations. Guidelines for Powerpoint slides * Open with a title slide indicating the title of the project, team members, course number, and semester * Avoid the use of Bullet list slides and long pieces of text as much as possible. Explain your ideas with pictures, diagrams, and other graphics. * Presentation can be done by a single or multiple members of the team. * Opening presenter should give a brief description of the contributions of each member of the team. * Bring physical examples of items to show if possible. * Presentations will be 15-20 minutes long.

4. Two in class Exams (150, 250 points). 25 Sept. & 13 Nov. The exams format will be discussed prior to exams.

Required Textbooks: 

1) Singhal & Zyda, Networked Virtual Environments, Addison Wesley, 1999
2) Vince, Essential Virtual Reality Fast, Springer-Verlag, 1998

1) Dodsworth, Digital Illusion: Entertaining the Future with High Technology, Addison Wesley, 1998
2) NRC, Model and Simulation: Linking Entertainment and Defense, National Academy Press, 1997
3) Casti, Would-Be Worlds, John Wiley & Sons, 1997
4) Fujimoto, Parallel and Distributed Simulation Systems, John Wiley & Sons, 2000