3D Movie Creation from Discrete Event Simulation Software Models of Manufacturing Industries

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Movies made from simulation tools can be used to present results of simulation models to people who have no knowledge about simulation or how to validate and optimize models. This is why it is important to present models that reproduce reality as accurately as possible. One important mean to achieve this is to capture the 3D depth which humans become aware of due to our set of two eyes. Actual simulation models include 3D-objects but are normally viewed in 2D on regular computer screens. There is a gap in terms of perceiving reality here. Nowadays the movie industry use stereoscopy to fill this gap. However industrial companies are not as far in this technological use yet. This paper presents a method to include stereoscopy when watching simulation models created with different programs. The method involves accessing the code which describes camera point of view in the simulation software and record two movies of the same scenario with slightly different camera positions and angles. Afterwards the two recordings can be integrated to create a stereoscopic movie.