Numerical and Geometric Algorithms for Virtual Practical Effects

在我们2010年的《科学》杂志文章中，我们创造了一个术语‘虚拟实际效果’来描述一种新兴的技术艺术家创造数字效果的方法。在基于物理的模拟技术的支持下，艺术家可以利用他们对现实世界的知识(和对现实世界的自然直觉)来虚拟地建立创造所需效果的“物理”机制。与在较低水平上费力地模拟每一种现象相比，虚拟实际效果已经显示出更高的生产率。例如，在《阿凡达》中，同步碰撞的海浪是由模仿真实世界的虚拟波浪发生器产生的，运行在我们编写的水的物理模拟中。这种方法仍处于初级阶段：我的研究项目解决了算法方面的挑战，这些挑战仍然阻碍着视觉效果革命。

In our 2010 Science article, we coined the term 'virtual practical effects' to describe an emerging methodology for technical artists to create digital effects. Supported by physics-based simulation technology, artists can use their knowledge of (and natural intuition for) the real world to virtually build 'physical' mechanisms that create the desired effects. Virtual practical effects has already shown much greater productivity compared to laboriously modelling every phenomenon at a lower level. For example, synchronized crashing ocean waves in 'Avatar' were produced by virtual wave generators modelled after the real thing, running in a physical simulation of the water we wrote. This approach is still in its infancy: my research program tackles the algorithmic challenges still standing in the way of a visual effects revolution.