SIMULTANEOUS SIMULATION OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL FLEXIBLE OBJECTS IN 3-D GRAPHICAL SIMULATION ENVIRONMENTS

Cables and hoses are objects whose length is naturally much larger than their diameter. Objects with these properties can conveniently be modeled as one-dimensional (1-D) objects in 3-D graphical modeling and simulation systems. Our goal is to simulate a large number of these objects in a virtual environment like a simulated automation system. Most simulation approaches for one-dimensional objects are very specialized and often focus on the laying of a single cable. Our approach focuses on the simultaneous simulation of a large number of these 1-D objects. We utilize two approaches, a very fast purely geometrical Bezier curve approach for stiffer 1-D objects and a slightly slower physically-based approach. By combining these two algorithms our solution is able to simulate hundreds of one-dimensional objects in real-time.