Post on 17-Jun-2020
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© Micro Nav Ltd All Rights Reserved. © Micro Nav Ltd 2016
3DImageGeneration
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Content
§ WhatisanImageGenerator?§ WhatMakesaGoodIG?§ ImageQuality,Pixels&Resolution,FrameRate§ LevelofDetail(LOD),AliasingandAnti-Aliasing,Physically
BasedRendering§ ImageRealityvTrainingReality§ Johnson’sCriteria§ UserControl§ Full3DvPhotoBackdrop§ IGFeaturesandEffects,BasicandAdvanced
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
WhatisMicroNav?
§ UKbasedspecialistsimulationcompany§ DeliveringATCsimulatorsfor28years§ Delivering3DTowersimulatorswithImageGeneratorsfor
morethan20years
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
WhoamI?
§ MikeMale§ ExAirTrafficController(Heathrow)§ Co-FounderofMicroNav§ 30plusyearsexperienceinATCsimulation§ Involvedwithmany3Dtowersystems(>20years)§ NotanImageGeneratorexpertbytraining§ Haveseenandexperienceofmany
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
WhatisanImageGenerator?- IG
§ Wayofpresentingthesimulatedworldin3D§ Mostdevelopmentcamefromflightsimulation- very
expensive,highlycomplex§ Firstexperience- 1994,E&SEP1000- Cost>US$1m§ NowmostlyPCbasedusinggamingtechnology§ Flightsimulationmarket
ú SomenowPCbasedIGsú IGshavetobecertifiedú Stillexpensivebutlessthanbefore
§ ATCcurrentlynotregulatedú Muchlowercostú Abletotakeadvantageof‘games’development
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
MicroNav andIGs
§ HavebeendeliveringATCtowers(upto360degrees)sinceearly90s
§ UsedseveralIGmanufacturers(includingE&S)§ NowuseImagineSARL
ú TheleadingedgecompanydevelopingATCspecificfeatures
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§ PartoftheQuadrantGroup§ Ownsandoperatesfullflight
simulators§ Alsomovesflightsimulators
aroundtheworld
© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
WhatMakesaGoodIG?
§ Severalfactors:ú ImageQualityú ImageFrameRateú Power(inATCterms=theabilitytoshowtherequiredimagewith
enoughmovingmodels)ú Nostutteringú Features
Effectsthatcanbeused Flexibilityofview
§ Allneedtobeviewedinthecontextofthescenariocomplexity
§ Requirementswilldifferfromusetouse
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Channels&Synchronisation
§ Achannelisnormallytheimageforasinglescreenorprojector
§ Normallyeachsimulatorwillincludeseveralchannels§ Availabilityoflowcostprojectoranddisplaysystemscan
resultinsignificantnumbersofchannels§ IGmust beabletosupporthighnumbersofchannels§ Allchannelsmusthavesomeformofsynchronisationto
ensurecoherentimagebetweenchannels
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
ImageQuality
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Dubai 3D Model – created by Micro Nav Fast Airport Builder – displayed using Imagine IG
© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Pixels&Resolution
§ Nosubstituteforpixelsú Seethe4kimageontheMicroNav stand[542]!
§ Essentially,themorepixelsthereare,thebettertheimage
§ Limitedbythedisplaysystem§ Humaneyesaidtobe“equivalentto8kx8k”§ Thereforenoimageasgoodas‘reality’§ Thedownsidetopixels…
ú ThemoretherearethehardertheIGisworkingú Affectstheframerate
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
FrameRate
§ Thisreferstohowoftenthescreenimageisupdated§ Cinemastandardis24framespersecond(fps)§ IGsgenerallyhavevariablerate– normallyrelatedtothe
displayscreenrefresh.ú Forexamplefor60Hz,frameratessupportedwouldbe:
60fps- 1screenupdateperframe 30fps- 2screenupdatesperframe 20fps– 3screenupdatesperframe…
§ ForATC,30fpsorhigherconsidered‘flickerfree’§ Constantframerateisimportant§ Themorecomplexthescene(scenecontent,pixel
count…)thehardertheIGisworking
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
SceneContent
§ Sceneconsistsofstaticandmovingmodels(althoughthewholescenecanmove– asinflightsimulator)
§ 3Dmodelsnormallydefinedbyameshcontainingtrianglesofcolourortexture
§ Generally,themoretriangles,thehardertheIGworks
§ Texturesarepatternsthatcanbeappliedtoatriangleratherthansolidcolour
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
TowerView
§ Staticmodelistheairportscene- trianglecountisfixedforthatelement
§ Notnecessarilyevenlyspreadoverchannels§ Movingmodeltrianglecountwillvarywithtrafficcount
perchannel§ Frameratecanbeaffectedbydynamicscenecontent
(numberofmodels,numberoftriangles)§ Frameratealsoaffectedbyothereffects(weather,fire,
smoke,explosions…)
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
AircraftorVehicleView
§ IftheIGcanshowtheviewfromtheaircraft(aflightsimulatororATCsimulatorwithpilotview):ú Staticmodeltrianglecountvarieswithlocationanddirectionú Movingmodelsinviewalsoaffectstrianglecountú Visualeffectsalsoaffectsframerate
§ Dynamicterrain(staticobjectterrain)wherepresenthelpsú Shownashigherdefinitionnearaircraftorvehicleú Lowerdefinitionfurtherawayú Maximisesviewqualityandframerate
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
FrameRateControl
§ WhereIGcannotmaintaindesiredframerate,either:ú Reduceframerateú Reducescenecontent(triangles)
§ Flightsimulatorsmust maintainframeratetoremainfitforpurpose– somustreducesceneú Referredtoasa“deterministic”IGifitreducesscenecontentú Doesthisbyprogressivelysimplifyingmodels(wheremodelsare
createdspecificallyforthatpurpose)ú ReducesLevelofDetail– thingschange/disappear
§ ATCcantoleratesomereductioninframerateú Frameratecanbeallowedtoreduceasneededú Levelofdetailcanbeadjustedtokeepframerate– butthings
mustnot disappear
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
LevelofDetail(LoD)
§ Techniqueforminimisingtrianglecount§ Detailedmodelsrequiredfor‘closeup’viewing§ Lessdetailedmodelsrequiredfordistantviewing§ PrimarilyappliedtomovingmodelsforATC§ Oftenappliedtostaticmodelsforflightsimulation(to
allowframeratetobemaintained)§ Systemselectstheappropriatemodelfortheviewing
distance
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
LevelofDetail- Examples
§ Theimagesbeloware3ofthe4LoDs fortheBoeing737-900modelfromtheMicroNav library– notedecreasingquality
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
LevelofDetail- Implementation
§ RangeforeachLoD defined§ Appropriateimageshowndependinguponmodel
distancefromeyepoint§ UsefulifLoD rangecanbeadjustedbyuser§ LoD rangecanbeautomaticallyadjustedbyIGto
maintainframerate(someIGs)§ Normally3ormoreLoDs available(Imagineuses4)
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Aliasing
§ ‘Step’effectofconvertingastraightlineinto‘raster’linesonascreen- observedattheedgesofobjectsandtriangles
§ Ahorizontalstraightlineinpixelslookslikethis
§ Anon-horizontalstraightlinecanlooklikethis
§ Orthis
§ Ifnottreatedmovingstraightlineimageelements(suchaswings)canappearto‘flap’or‘creep’astheymove
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Anti-Aliasing
§ Techniquetosmooththealiaseffectbyadjustingthecolourofadjacentpixels
§ Takespower– notusuallyaproblemwithmodernIGs§ Bigsubject– notenoughtime- butasanexample…
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
PhysicallyBasedRendering
§ Allowsdifferingsmoothnessandreflectivitytobeappliedtoelementsofmovingmodels
§ Givesvaryingreflectivitybetweentheglossyandmattpartsofeachmodel- Addssignificantlytorealism
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
ImageRealityvTrainingReality
§ IGsstrivetogivemoreandmorerealisticimages§ FunctionslikeAnti-Aliasingcreateimprovedlooking
imagesbuthavedownsides§ Limitedresolutionalsohasdownsideswhencompared
withhumaneye§ Rangesofrecognitionandobservationcanbeaffected§ Needtoolstohelp– forexampleaircraftmodelscanbe
scaledtobeprogressivelylarger§ Thus‘unrealistic’scalecanproduce‘realistic’training
benefit§ Importantthatthisiscontrolledbytheuser
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Johnson’sCriteria
§ Commonlyusedtocalculatetherangeatwhichanobjectcanbe:ú Detectedú Oriented(i.e.orientationcanbedetermined)ú Recognisedú Identified
§ Baseduponthecapabilitiesofthedisplaysystemintermsof‘opticallinepairs’(linesofpixels)
§ Oftenusedwhendescribingdisplaysystemcapabilities§ Usecarefully– allsuchfactorsdoalsodependuponthe
qualityoftheimageandthedisplayelements(suchascontrast)
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
UserControls
§ IGshouldallowusercontroloverallelementsincluding:ú Scene– toolslikeMicroNav’s FastAirportBuilderorImagine
SceneEditorallowuserstocreateoreditairportscenesú Qualityandcontentofmovingmodels
usershouldbeabletocreatemodelseasilytoensuremodels‘fitforpurpose’(nottoodetailedtoaddunnecessarytrianglesbutgoodenoughtoberecognisable)
ú ControloverLoDsú Controlovervisualeffects(suchassizeoffire,sizeandcolourof
smoke)– mustbe‘recognisable’fortheobserverú Controlovermodelscalingú ControloverAnti-aliasing
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Full3DScenevPhotoBackdrop/Billboarding
§ Static3Dsceneelementscanbecreatedintwoways§ Full3Dmodelmeansthatallobjectsarefullymodelled§ Scenecanalsobemodelledusingaphotobackdrop– like
a“movieset”– referredtoa‘billboarding’
§ Phototakenofbackgroundthen‘applied’toabillboard
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
AdvantagesandDisadvantages
§ Full3Dmodelú Potentiallymorecomplextomodelú ThisisresolvedbytoolslikeFABwhichautomaticallycreates‘terrain’
fromdigitalelevationdataandsatelliteimageryú Usereyepointcanmoveanywhereinthesceneú Piloteyepointpossible
§ Billboardingú Reasonablysimpletocreate(althoughneedssomeexperience)ú Aircraftwillbe‘occluded’onlybehindtheflatimageú Usereyepointisrestricted– canmovealittlebutnotfarfrom
‘centre’ú Piloteyepointisrestrictedú UseslessIGpower
§ HaveusedIGswithboth- Billboarding toorestrictive
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
3DFeaturesandVisualEffects
§ AllIGssupporteffectsthatmodifythedisplayedimage§ Somehavemoreeffectsthanothers§ Someeffectsshouldbe commontoall§ OthersvaryfromIGtoIG§ Essentialeffectswillvaryaccordingtotherequirements
oftheuser§ AlleffectslistedandshownsupportedbyMicroNav and
Imagine
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Basic/EssentialEffects
§ AllIGsmust supportthefollowingforATCsimulation:ú TowerViewpointú Day,Dusk,Night,Dawn(withsmoothtransitions)ú ReducedVisibility(mist,fog)ú AirfieldLighting(approach,taxiway)ú VolumetricCloud(withvaryingtypes)ú Precipitation(rain,snow,sleet,hail)ú Shadowsú AircraftLandinggear(up,down)ú AircraftLighting(navigation,strobe,logo,cabin,taxi,landing)ú FireandSmokeassociatedwithaircraftú Representationofmovingpropellerorrotorú Binocularview
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Shadows
§ Shadowsareessentialfor‘fixing’theaircraftinthescene§ Withoutshadowsaircraftappeartofloat§ Ideallyshadowsshouldworkwitha‘sunandsky’model
toallowshadowstoberealisticallyshown§ Examplesbelowshowmiddayandlateafternoon
shadows
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
OtherEffects- Lighting
§ Essentialairfieldlightingelementsincludeapproach,runwayandtaxiwaylights
§ Truepoollightingaddsrealismtoairfieldandmovingmodels
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
FollowtheGreensCapability
§ Taxiwaylightingcanbedefinedasindividuallycontrolledgroupsandsections
§ RequiredforFollowtheGreenslevelfunctionality§ Needsintelligencebetweensimulator,IGandlighting
control
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Trees– Minimum
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§ Treesarecommonlymodelledas‘stamps’(flatimagessimilartobillboards)
§ Thesecan‘turn’toremainperpendiculartotheviewer
© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
RealisticTrees
§ More‘modern’treesaretrue3Dtrees§ Withmultiplelevelsofdetail§ Usercan‘zoomin’onthedetail§ Evenaffectedbywind!
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Fire&Smoke
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Shown in Imagine Aircraft Editor – allows control over location, size, colour, speed etc. of fire, smoke, explosion, gear…
© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
MoreAdvancedEffects
§ Examplesofsomeoftheotherfeaturesthatcouldaddtosimulation
§ AllareavailableusingImagine
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
FlocksofBirds
§ Ideallywithanimation§ Shouldbecontrollable,ongroundandintheair
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Flaps
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Explosions
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Shown in Imagine Aircraft Editor – allows control over location, size, colour, speed etc. of explosion and other effects (fire, smoke, gear…)
© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
ThunderClouds
§ IndividualCumulo Nimbus(cb)cloudú Withassociatedlightning(sheetorfork)ú Withassociatedsound
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
EscapeChutes
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
SnowAccumulationandClearance
§ Snowaccumulatesasprecipitationobserved- canbeclearedwithsnowclearancevehicle– noterealisticpoollighting
§ Snowre-accumulatesaftervehiclehaspassed
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
DispensingFireAppliance
§ Withcannoncontrolledfromsimulator
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
WaterEffects– Ripples&Reflections
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
RemoteTowerSimulation
§ Inordertosimulatearemotetower,anIGneedssomeadditionalfunctionality:ú InfraRedsimulationú Presentationoflabels
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
OtherEffectsGeneral- 1
§ DynamicViewpoint– abilitytomovetheeyepointorputeyepointwithintargetaircraftorvehicle
§ SunandSkymodel§ GroundFog(lowlevelfog,inadditiontogeneralvisibility)§ FogBank(withdefinedvolumeandmovement)§ Sandstorm(alsowithdefinedvolumeandmovement)
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
OtherEffectsGeneral- 2
§ Windsocksandwindblownobjects§ Flares(fromtowerorvehicle)§ AnimatedAirBridges§ Animatedarresternets,jetbarriers,arrestercables
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
OtherEffectsGeneral- 3
§ FireandSmoke– fromstaticsource§ Characters§ Aircraftandvehiclelabels§ Aircrafttracks§ Visualrepresentationofglideslopes
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
AdvancedEffects– AircraftandVehicles
§ Animatedaircraftlandinggear§ Animatedtrafficonroads(animatedsplines)§ Collisiondetection§ ArresterHook,DragChute
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© Micro Nav Ltd © Micro Nav Ltd
Conclusion
§ IGsvaryinqualityandperformance§ IGrequirementsmustbeappropriateforscenario§ Featuresrequiredalsospecifiedappropriately§ IGanddisplaysystemmustbeconsideredtogether
§ Thankyou
Questions?
Comeandseeusstand542www.micronav.co.uk
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