To appear in the 1998 Symposium on the Virtual Reality Modeling Language , Monterey , CA , Feb 16-19 1998 E cient Dynamics Modeling for VRML and JavaStephen Chenney
Using dynamical systems rather than keyframing to animate a world is a desirable yet computationally expensive approach. We present techniques for culling dynamical systems that avoid unnecessary computation, and describe tools for automating much of the required work. Based on qualitative observations of how viewer's predict dynamical state over time, we identify methods for generating state while ensuring consistency, which we deene as ensuring that a viewer's predictions are satissed. Our tools take as input a description of a dynamical system, and produce an alternate description that may be eeciently culled. We also describe an interactive modeler in which authors attach dynamic variables to geometric transformations, allowing the modular re-use of dynamical systems. Together, our tools enable large numbers of complex dynamic models to be eeciently and easily included in a VRML world while maintaining high frame rates.