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3D Historical Simulations

Brian Farrimond

Ella Pereira

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What’s it about?

• Creating interactive 3D simulations from textual descriptions of historical events

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What’s it about?

• Creating interactive 3D simulations from textual descriptions of historical events

• Avoiding need for the creator of the simulations to be proficient in 3D tools

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What’s it about?

• Creating interactive 3D simulations from textual descriptions of historical events

• Avoiding need for the creator of the simulations to be proficient in 3D tools

• We are developing tools that create:– scenarios– models of the objects the scenarios describe.

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Where might they be used?

• Museum displays

• Historical web sites

• Education– primary– secondary– university

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The story so far ...

• A prototype 3D visualisation of a World War II sea battle

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The story so far ...

• A prototype 3D visualisation of a World War II sea battle

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The story so far ...

• A prototype 3D visualisation of a World War II sea battle

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The story so far ...

• A prototype 3D visualisation of a World War II sea battle– http://www.tempmod.com/tmap3d

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The narrative

• Extract from the narrative from which the simulation was generated :

::

At 06:12 Graf Spee is 12 miles from Exeter on bearing 320.It is on heading 120 at speed 15 knots.[Note: Graf Spee accelerates to attack causing a cloud of dark smoke which is sighted to NW by the British ships.]At 06:14 Exeter turns to heading 340.At 06:16 Exeter turns to heading 270.At 06:17 Graf Spee engages Exeter.At 06:20 Graf Spee turns to heading 090.

::

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Deductive modelling

• The moment by moment movements of the ships are deduced from the narrative using information about the characteristics of the ships such as turning circles.

• The gun firing movements of turrets, guns, explosions, smoke, shell splashes etc are deduced from – the phrase “engages”– the characteristics of the guns and turrets (rotation

speeds etc)– the movements of the target ships

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Creating a scenario

• A prototype 3D visualisation of Cape Town Harbour in the 19th Century

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Creating a scenario

• A prototype 3D visualisation of Cape Town Harbour in the 19th Century

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Creating a scenario

• A prototype 3D visualisation of Cape Town Harbour in the 19th Century.

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Creating a scenario

• A prototype 3D visualisation of Cape Town Harbour in the 19th Century.

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Creating a scenario

• A prototype 3D visualisation of Cape Town Harbour in the 19th Century.

• Scenario Builder demo Cape Town

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Building the models

• Building the objects in the Scenarios– Thing Builder

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Building the models

• Building the objects in the Scenarios– Thing Builder

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Building the models

• Building the objects in the Scenarios– Thing Builder

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Building the models

• Building the objects in the Scenarios– Thing Builder

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Building the models

• Building the objects in the Scenarios– Thing Builder demo

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Edge Hill Project 1

• Create a viewer for the scenarios– the Builder tools creates viewer input files:

• specifying the scene graph and how it changes as the scenario runs

• model files (ships, landscape, buildings etc) written in VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language)

– the viewer:• generates the scenegraph using Python and Panda 3D• changes the scenegraph as time progresses• enables the user to change viewpoints at will

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Scene Graph

Transform nodeposition (tx, ty, tz)

rotation (rotx, roty, rotz)

scaling (scalex, scaley, scalez)

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Scene Graphroot

Transform for location and

heading of ship 1

Transform for location and

heading of ship 2

Transform for location

and heading of turret

Model of ship hull

Model of turret

Transform for location

and heading of turret

Model of ship hull

Model of turret

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What you will learn?

• The agony and ecstasy of developing a full application– useful demo for your job interviews

• Using new technologies – any of ...– Panda3D– Python

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Opportunities

• Improve the realism of the visualisation– shadows– weather– sea state– smoke– explosions– bow waves– ship wakes

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Improving the visualisation

HMS Repulse

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Contacts

• Contact Ella Pereira if you are interested in working on this project.