Swedish research can make Super Mario more realistic

March 6, 2009

Computer games are being developed at an ever more rapid pace, and the technical demands are rising, not least regarding graphics boards.  At Mälardalen University in Sweden, researchers have now found a solution to a problem that often arises when new computer games are constructed, namely how you can efficiently make sure that the animated figures don’t run right through each other.

Researcher Thomas Larsson is presenting a new model that enables complex figures to collide with each other in a credible way - preferably with sound effects, deformations, and other consequences, just as in reality.

In his dissertation he presents faster methods for discovering collisions in interactive simulations with computer graphics. The methods function both with rigid bodies and various types of deformable bodies.  Besides computer games, simulations in robotics, virtual surgery, and visualization are suitable applications for the methods.

“Today regular computers can draw realistic images of complex 3D environments in the blink of an eye. This is thoroughly exploited in modern computer games, for example.  The images are therefore better and better in quality, so people even use terms like photographic realism. These images are generated by a powerful graphics board in the computer, which draws millions of tiny surfaces, usually triangles, in a few milliseconds.”

“But it’s not enough simply to draw the images. To animate or simulate objects that move or fly around on the screen, the objects need to be able to react to collisions. In many cases the collision calculations, just like the image generation itself, have to be done in a few milliseconds, otherwise the interactivity and the experience are ruined.”

All this is self-evident in the real world where objects follow the rules of physics governing movement and collisions.  But in a computer simulation objects go right through each other as if they had never collided, unless special measures are taken.  These measures require methods that use calculations to discover that objects are actually colliding with each other and then take suitable measures. In some cases it is sufficient to have the objects change direction by bouncing off each other. In other cases they may need to be dented (deformed), break into pieces, or even explode.

Future versions of “Super Mario” will require superfast collision calculations in order to stimulate and visualize characters’ movements and interaction with their surroundings in a realistic manner.

Provided by Swedish Research Council

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

axemaster
Mar 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Wow. This article said nothing whatsoever.
el_gramador
Mar 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
I agree.
Smatt
Mar 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
It could have expressed the same meaning in a sentence:

"Swedish researcher's dissertation presents faster methods for collision detection".

Not quite "nothing whatsoever".
Icester
Mar 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Pretty close to nothing. Absolutely useless article - as el gramador said, "it could have expressed the same meaning in a [single] sentence".

As written, it is a waste to time to read the article. Some details, heck, even ONE detail might make it worth reading, but as written, this article is useless.

Sheesh, there isn't even a follow-up link or even a title that one can go to for more information!

General_Haberdashery
Mar 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Details for the win.

http://www.mrtc.m...0354.pdf
SciTechdude
Mar 12, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Why did they even mention Mario in this? What does this have to do with Mario specifically? Won't pretty much all games use this eventually, or something like it? Piff
GBogumil
Mar 18, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
is there a better site than physorg with similar content? Too many of the articles seem to stink lately.
Rank 3 /5 (9 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Digital scratch pad?
    created1 hour ago
  • Quantum computer faster than regular computer?
    created13 hours ago
  • Flushing RAM in Mathematica
    created18 hours ago
  • Synergistic relations between computer science and technology.
    createdFeb 06, 2012
  • how do iphone gloves work?
    createdFeb 05, 2012
  • iPhone battery over time
    createdJan 30, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Computing & Technology

More news stories

Music service gives Myspace second wind

Faded online social network Myspace said Monday it was getting a second wind due to the popularity of a freshly launched online music player.

Technology / Internet

created 2 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

US, EU clear Google's $12.5B Motorola Mobility bid (Update)

Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility have won approvals from U.S. and European antitrust regulators, moving Google a major step closer to completing the biggest deal in its ...

Technology / Business

created 3 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Computer programs that think like humans

Intelligence – what does it really mean? In the 1800s, it meant that you were good at memorising things, and today intelligence is measured through IQ tests where the average score for humans is 100. ...

Technology / Computer Sciences

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Apple shares close over $500

Apple shares surged past $500 for the first time on Wall Street on Monday, powered by reports a new iPad may be unveiled next month.

Technology / Business

created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

EU executive defends contested online piracy pact

The European Commission on Monday defended a global online-piracy pact opposed by some EU states and still to be ratified by the European Parliament.

Technology / Internet

created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


First-of-its-kind stem cell study re-grows healthy heart muscle in heart attack patients

Results from a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute clinical trial show that treating heart attack patients with an infusion of their own heart-derived cells helps damaged hearts re-grow healthy muscle.

Discovery paves way for salmonella vaccine

(Medical Xpress) -- An international research team led by a University of California, Davis, immunologist has taken an important step toward an effective vaccine against salmonella, a group of increasingly antibiotic-resistant ...

Time of year important in projections of climate change effects on ecosystems

(PhysOrg.com) -- Does it matter whether long periods of hot weather, such as last year's heat wave that gripped the U.S. Midwest, happen in June or July, August or September?

Smoking bans lead to less, not more, smoking at home: study

Smoking bans in public/workplaces don't drive smokers to light up more at home, suggests a study of four European countries with smoke free legislation, published online in Tobacco Control.

Ovarian cancer arises in fallopian tube of knockout mice

(Medical Xpress) -- The most deadly form of "ovarian" cancer arises in the fallopian tubes – not the ovaries – of knockout mice that lack two genes associated with the disease, said researchers led by Baylor College ...

UK cases of progressive sight loss condition set to rise a third by 2020

New cases of the progressive sight loss condition, known as age-related macular degeneration, or AMD for short, are set to rise by a third in the UK over the next decade, reveals research published online in the British Jo ...