Multi-Body Simulation in Virtual Environments

This paper describes a simulator which uses a unique hybrid particle system and dynamic constraint based model to compute the behaviour of interacting multi-body systems in a virtual environment. Simulations can be innuenced by the user at run-time, so there are important interaction issues addressed. The need for such systems in virtual reality applications ranging from tissue modelling in surgical training software to use in entertainment , is apparent. Purely, a visual eeect does not suuce in this context, as the behaviour of objects in the scene must be plausible enough to convince the user. Our approach provides a uniied system for simulating a wide spectrum of deformable and/or rigid material behaviours in virtual environments. An example of a virtual chain, which the user can interact with, is provided.