Vortex Studio is a complete simulation software platform. It features a high-fidelity, realtime

physics engine A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, such as rigid body dynamics (including collision detection), soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics, of use in the domains of computer gr ...

developed by

CM Labs Simulations CM Labs Simulations is a private company established in Montreal in 2001. CM Labs is the developer of the Vortex simulation platform. The Vortex platform is composed of applications for creating interactive vehicle and mechanical equipment simula ...

that simulates

rigid body dynamics In the physical science of dynamics, rigid-body dynamics studies the movement of systems of interconnected bodies under the action of external forces. The assumption that the bodies are ''rigid'' (i.e. they do not deform under the action of a ...

collision detection Collision detection is the computational problem of detecting the intersection (Euclidean geometry), intersection of two or more objects. Collision detection is a classic issue of computational geometry and has applications in various computing ...

, contact determination, and dynamic reactions. It also contains model import and preparation tools, an image generator, and networking tools for distributed simulation, accessed through a desktop editor via a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

. Vortex adds accurate physical motion and interactions to objects in visual-

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...

applications for operator training, mission planning, product concept validation, heavy machinery and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

design and testing, haptics devices, immersive and

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

(VR) environments. The Vortex Studio content creation platform and the

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

SDK have several modules that simulate physics-based particles,

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

, floating bodies, cable systems, earthmoving operations,

grasping A grasp is an act of taking, holding or seizing firmly with (or as if with) the hand. An example of a grasp is the handshake, wherein two people grasp one of each other's like hands. In zoology particularly, prehensility is the quality of an appe ...

, and vehicles (wheeled or tracked). Vortex has a modular architecture: developers can integrate their projects into 3D visualization frameworks and deploy them in environments that contain software-in-the-loop (SIL),

MATLAB MATLAB (an abbreviation of "MATrix LABoratory") is a proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation ...

, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), and

motion platform A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...

components.

History

Vortex Studio is developed by CM Labs Simulations Inc., a private company established in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 2001. CM Labs was created when the management of MathEngine Canada Inc. purchased a portion of the business from MathEngine PLC, the parent company in the UK. MathEngine Canada Inc. was originally the research and development team responsible for creating the Karma physics simulation engine for

computer games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

. CM Labs shifted its focus away from gaming. It now supports two distinct markets, visual simulation for training (VST), targeting Vortex at robotics and heavy-equipment operator training in both commercial and military applications, and heavy equipment prototyping and engineering, targeting mostly manufacturers and academia. Vortex Studio has been under active development ever since the initial launch of the software in 2001. It usually has three releases per year (a, b and c).

Use

Vortex has been employed in a wide range of commercial, military, and academic projects. To date, it has been used to simulate vehicles, robotics, and heavy equipment in hundreds of construction, mining, forestry, marine,

subsea Subsea technology involves fully submerged ocean equipment, operations, or applications, especially when some distance offshore, in deep ocean waters, or on the seabed. The term ''subsea'' is frequently used in connection with oceanography, marin ...

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

ary, academic, and military environments. It has also been used to simulate the movements and behaviour of animals and insects for scientific purposes. Sample examples are: * The

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the militar ...

(EOD) robot simulator developed by the

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

(EADS) for training purposes. EADS uses Vortex to model the physical behaviour of the robot as it maneuvers in its simulated environment, interacting with other objects while processing user commands. * A driverless vehicle designed by

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

’s

Red Team Racing Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to Orange (colour), orange and opposite Violet (color), violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the ...

for the

DARPA Grand Challenge The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for American autonomous vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense. Congress has authorize ...

that uses Vortex for preplanning and onboard navigation to “accurately simulate the vehicle as it navigates the terrain, including both local area constraints and global path planning objectives.” * Heavy-equipment operator training simulators such as tower crane, mobile crane, crawler crane, and

concrete pump A concrete pump is a machine used for transferring liquid concrete by pumping. There are different types of concrete pumps. A common type of concrete pump for large scale construction projects is known as a boom concrete pump, because it uses a ...

for the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario and the

International Union of Operating Engineers The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) is a trade union within the United States-based AFL–CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers (also ...

– Local 721. These simulators are used to prepare operators for proper equipment use and accident avoidance. *

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

’s AnimatLab project, which is a simulation software environment that models how the body and nervous system dynamically interact in a Vortex-governed virtual physical world where relevant

neural In Biology, biology, the nervous system is the Complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its Behavior, actions and Sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its ...

and physical parameters can be observed and manipulated.

Books

* David M. Bourg, Physics for Game Developers. O’Reilly, 2001. * Murilo G. Coutinho, Dynamic Simulations of Multibody Systems. Springer-Verlag, 2001. * Jack B. Kuipers, Quaternions and Rotation Sequences. Princeton University Press, 1998. * Cornelius Lanczos, The Variational Principles of Mechanics. Dover Books, 1986.

References

External links

CM Labs home page

* ttp://www.animatlab.com/ AnimatLab
Dimajix Developer Blog

The Daily Commercial News, May 12, 2008

Visual Interactive Simulation Lecture, Spring 2005, Physics Engines
{{Physics engines Computer physics engines Rigid bodies Virtual reality

History

Use

Books

See also

References

External links