Rendering Of Physically Simulated Wires

Abstract: Simulating deformable continious objects such as wires requires some discretization method. In this project we look at how to render simulated multiresolution lumped element wires in real time and the challenges that come with it. First we look how to create a 3D wire geometry on they from a set of constantly changing points. By utilising the idea of extrusion, the geometry can be built from a 2D shape. Special care must be taken to avoid twisting artifacts. To get a smooth curvature, we look at cubic spline methods to integrate the wire elements. We illustrate that the Catmull-Rom curve with Chordal parameterization produces well behaved curves for lower curvatures and for non-equidistant control points. Sharp curvatures proves to be a challenging task, we use the Catmull-Romcurve with Centripetal parameterization together with Cardinal spline and show its limitations. Finally we look at how to render wires with more realism by adding texture to it. Many wires have a symmetric pattern, we illustrate how to make use of this by repeating a symmetric pattern image along the wire. The physical stretching of the wire is also considered when applying texture.