Timmy Loffredo
p. 5 Latimer 9/30

I.  Title
	Three Dimensional Dynamic Physics Modelling

II. Problem Statement
	Designing a system that realistically models everyday-life scale physics.

III. Purpose
	The purpose of this project is to create a physics simulator. My first 
goal is to create a simulator that looks real and is 3D. The main application of
this project would be as a physics engine for games, which are just beginning to
take physics seriously. The simulator should at least be able to run something 
like a bowling game, where the only pertinent physics are collisions, gravity, 
and rigid body dynamics. It's a good topic for the Computer Systems Lab because 
the physics part is relatively easy - it's getting a computer to do it and 
graphically display it that is difficult. 
	
IV. Scope
	The scope of the project, by the project's nature, is variable. I will 
start with a simple part, like kinematics for cubes, and then I will grow the 
project into collisions for any polygonal solid. If time is left, will expand 
the project into joints (like your elbow) or curved surfaces.

V. Background
	So far, I have read a series (4) of articles by Chris Hecker that 
present a simple method for creating a 3D physics simulator capable of collisions
for rigid, polygonal solids. During the summer, I made a very simple particle 
physics simulator, and a quick 2D kinematics model to give me an idea of how it
works. My brother provided me, also, with articles on more difficult physics, 
involving something called a "Jacobian matrix," which I've never heard of before.
My work would explicitly follow the principles in the articles until I get a good 
understanding of what I am doing and how I can make it better. Game physics is 
a blossoming field which is likely to become a big focus of computer games very 
soon, when technology makes it appropriate to do intense calculations. Most games 
currently have a semblance of physics but do not actually use a complex physics
engine, they just make common things react the way you would expect them to and 
leave it alone from there. 
	Introductory Chris Hecker articles:
	http://www.d6.com/users/checker/dynamics.htm#articles
	More difficult material:
	http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/baraff/www/pbm/pbm.html

VI. Procedure and Methodology
	My first task, to be completed in the first few weeks, is the research + 
design phase. I will read the difficult material mentioned above and reread the
Chris Hecker articles and physically draw out class diagrams, with a good idea 
of what functions will be in them. The project will be in Java and will make use
of Java 3D, and some of the designing phase will be spent getting to know the 
Java 3D API. I will probably use the eclipse environment to write the project. 
Once the designing phase is done, the programming phase will proceed through 
these stages: 
	
	framework - basic classes 
	kinematics - integrating acceleration into velocity into position
	angular kinematics - kinematics for spin
	dynamics - the handling of arbitrary forces on objects
	collision detection* - when objects are colliding and at what point/edge/face specifically 
	collision handling - how to respond to a known collision
	*a special module for the floor would have to be put in, so everything doesn't constantly
	collide with it; or possibly for all resting objects
	
	After each stage, a test program will ensure that everything is working
perfectly and looks fine graphically. The two criteria for success are (a) that
it looks realistic and (b) that the physics are correct to high precision. At 
first, objects will be rigid-body polygonal solids only, but I will leave open 
the possibility of other object types, if time permits	and it is not too difficult.
	
VII. Expected Results & Value to Others
	I expect my program will be able to handle collisions between rigid-body
polygonal solids. It would be cool to write a simple bowling or billiards game 
that uses my program (note that spheres are easy, even though other curved solids
are much more difficult.) The program itself will be the visual	for presenting 
my results, and I will probably make a demo program that looks fairly impressive,
if all goes well. I'm unsure of how long it will take to accomplish my tasks, 
which is why I made it so flexible. I'm fairly confident I can make at least 
something of value over senior year. As for work breakdowns, and the forms 
pertaining thereto, I don't know what I'll use. A chart/list of the functions 
and classes being fleshed out, with a description of their relation to the project,
should be efficient.