10 Particle Flocking

Advanced Algorithms
Hierarchical Kinematic Modeling
Particle Systems
CMPT 466
Computer Animation
Torsten Mller
Forward Kinematics
Inverse Kinematics
Rigid Body Constraints

Basic Particle Forces
Collision
Controlling Groups of Objects

particle systems
flocking behaviour
Mller/Parent/Machiraju
Reading
What is a Particle System?
Chapter 4 of Parents book

William T. Reeves, "Particle Systems A Technique for Modeling a Class of
Fuzzy Objects", pp. 359-376,
(SIGGRAPH 83).
"Particle Animation and Rendering
Using Data Parallel Computation", Karl
Sims, pp. 405-413 (SIGGRAPH 90)
Simply a series of individual particles
Velocity
Position
Color
Lifetime
Used to model complex systems
Fire
Smoke
Fireworks
Planets
Particle Systems
Example
Create fuzzy objects and objects whose

behavior changes with time
tradeoff between physical simulation and
animator control:
want motion to be physically correct
want to have complete control available
It doesnt have to be a dot
Particle Systems
Agents @ work
The right way - perform complete physical

simulations, and determine the forces to
apply to achieve the desired motion. This is
difficult. Both of these are non-trivial.
A practical way - Combine dynamic
simulation with kinematic control by
providing several levels of operations along
this spectrum.
Particle Systems
Particle Systems
Essence of this approach:

positions are generated automatically
evolution of particles is controlled
automatically
individual particles affect final image directly
Scale usually such that aggregate motion of

swarm is more apparent than internal
agent motion
Basic loop:
Create, kill particles
Update positions based on:
Previous positions, velocities, accelerations
Exterior and interior forces
Render particles
Particle Motion
Particle Systems: Example
Motion may be driven by:
Combination of gravity, wind vortex,

collision forces, and pre-computed positions
(e.g., face shape attracts particles to it)
Global exterior forces such as gravity, wind, predetermined path or target position, etc.
Contact interactions with environment
Collisions
Friction
Physical interactions with each
other
Gravity, electrical attraction/

repulsion
Spring connections
Collisions
Interior self determination

AI-like perception-action feedback
Randomness
courtesy of Black Belt Systems
Initial upward and outward velocity

+ gravity = water fountain
from K. Sims movie Particle Dreams (1988)
Particle Systems at the Movies
First notable use (and coinage of name) was

by W. Reeves in Star Trek II: Wrath of
Khan (1982) for the Genesis effect
Particle are created, they move, and then go extinct (so the effect is localized)
XXX (2002)
Avalanche effect by Digital Domain
~150,000 particles
Particle Systems
Differ from other representations:
clouds of particles define objects volume
(NO explicit boundary)
not static - particles are

courtesy of lordoftherings.net
born / change and move / die
non deterministic
The Two Towers (2002)
Soldiers in battle scenes are articulated particles that
each run small AI program to guide motion, actions
stochastic processes create and change

appearance and shape of particles
courtesy of massivesoftware.com
Particle Systems
Particle Systems
For each frame in a particle systems

lifetime, we must:
generate new particles

assign new particles attribute
remove particles past their lifetime
move and transform remaining particles
render the image
particles systems can be trees, i.e. each

particle is actually another P.S.
Reaction to environment
Aging: Time-varying attributes
birth
Source
death
Particles - Generation
Particles - Generation
Number of particles affects the density of

the image
2 ways of controlling # of particles:
control mean # and variance:
Nparts = Nmean + Rand()*Varparts
grow and shrink intensity of system of

particles:
Nmean = Ninit + !Nmean * (f-f0)
(where f is the frame number)
(Rand - random variable often between 0 and 1)
make # of particles depend on screen size of

object:
Nparts = (Nmean + Rand()*Varparts)* f(scr.Area)
Modeling The Particle

We know each particle is independent
Have the following attributes
X and Y coordinates
X velocity
Y velocity
Color, Size (or image)
Lifetime
Shape
Each particle may start with the same or different

location
Each particle usually starts out with a different x
and y velocity Mller/Parent/Machiraju
Particle - Attributes
shape of a system may constrain direction
of initial velocity
These shapes positioned, oriented in a 3D
world
initial position of particle is with respect to
shape of particle system
compute speed by:
speedinit = speedmean + Rand()*Varspeed
for a sphere - particles move outward from

center
for a disk - they move
upward (maybe with
an ejection angle)
Particle Systems
Levels of operations between explicit
kinematic control and physically based
simulations
position operations (kinematics)
velocity operations
acceleration operations (dynamics)
simulate time increment
Particle - Dynamics
To move particle, add velocity vector
can add acceleration factor to simulate
gravity
particles can change color, transparency and
size over time
control these changes by global or local
rate-of-change parameters
Forces
Motion with Dynamics
Unary: gravity, viscosity

N-ary: spring, etc.
Environmental: repulsion forces, reaction to
collisions
simulate time increment Dt:

A = F/m, if using forces
V = V + A!t
P = P + V!t
works ok, if !t is small enough that the

acceleration and velocity are nearly constant
over !t.
Forces
n-ary Forces: Springs
Unary: Global forces applied to particles

independently
2 connected particles a and b exert force on one

another proportional to displacement from resting
length r of spring
Assuming time t, let
a
b
Gravity: Can regard as constant acceleration in

downward direction:
fgravity(t) = m g
!x = xa- xb,
d = displacement, and
!v = va - vb
Drag: Resistance to motion through medium

proportional to speed:
fdrag(t) = -kd v(t)

n-ary: Interaction forces between particles
Then the force on a is:
f a = " k s ( #x " r) + k d #v $ d d
Gravitational attraction
Based on proximity
Electrical charge
Specific to connected particles
Springs
damping constant
spring constant
(stiffness) Mller/Parent/Machiraju(like spring drag)
Spring systems
Cloth Simulation I
Networks of particles connected by springs

can be used to simulate objects with elastic
properties
For example
1-D: Rope, hair
2-D: Cloth
3-D: Jello
courtesy of M. Kass
Angular springs for hair:

Stiffness ! More body
courtesy of F. Pfenning
Spring networks
for cloth
courtesy of R. Bridson (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~rbridson)
Cloth Simulation II
Cloth Simulation III
More cloth simulations
Particle Physics
Accumulate forces
Calculate acceleration
Assume constant acceleration over
delta time
Average velocity
= (vold+ vold+a*dt)/2 = vold + a*dt/2
Positionnew = positionold + v*dt+a*dt2/2
(More than just spring systems are used here)
from http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~gfx/Courses/2002/Animation.spring.02/; creators unknown
Euler and RK Integration

First order (linear) approximation using a
step size of !t :
x ( t + "t ) = x ( t ) + "tf ( x,t )
Passive Update: Steps

Particle is initialized when created with
x(t) = x0 and v(t) = v0
So assume we have x(t) and v(t); now we want:
x(t + dt): Integrate v(t) with ODE solver
v(t + dt): Integrate f(t)/m with ODE solver
Just need to sum component forces acting on

particle at time t to get net force f(t). For example,
for a cannonball shot through the air:
f(t) = fgravity(t) + fdrag(t) + ...
!
from Numerical Recipes
Particle - Extinction
Lifetime assigned as initial attribute
often described in frames
compute by
Lifetime = Lifemean + Rand()*Varlife
delete particle if intensity drops below a

treshold
delete particle if it goes outside an area of
interest
Particle - Rendering
In general a difficult task (e.g. to ray trace
several million particles!)
problems:
particles can be transparent
can obscure other particles and/or other objects
can cast shadows on other particles and/or other
objects
can interact with other objects
Particle - Rendering
simplifying approaches are used
assume each particle is a separate point light
particles have cumulative effect on pixel
if particles are moving, can represent as short
line (a kind of motion blur - this also helps
reduce strobing - i.e. temporal aliasing)
render separately from other types of objects
and composite various scene parts
Some Code
class Particle {
double x, y, xVel, yVel;
int lifeCounter;
Particle(int startx, int starty, int velX, int velY){
x = startx; y = starty;
xVel = velX; yVel = velY;
lifeCounter = 0;
}
}
Some Code
The Only Particle Behavior

A particle should know how to update its position:
void updatePosition( ) {
x = x+xVel; y = y+yVel;
yVel = yVel + GRAVITY+FORCES;
lifeCounter = lifeCounter + 1;
public class ParticleSystem {

Particle[ ] particles;
final static double GRAVITY = 0.1;
int x, y;
int particlesAlive;
ParticleSystem(int numParticles, int startx, int starty) {
particles = new Particle[numParticles];
x = startx;
y = starty;
if (lifeCounter > 100) isAlive = false;
for (int i = 0; i < numParticles; i++) {

double rand = Math.random( )*2*3.14159;
double randX = Math.cos(rand)*5;
double randY = Math.sin(rand)*5;
particles[i] = new Particle(x, y, randX, randY);
}
The Only Particle System

Behavior
public void updateSystem() {
particlesAlive = 0;
for (int i = 0; i<particles.length; i++) {
// Tell particles to update themselves
particles[i].updatePosition();
// Count particles left in system
if (particles[i].isAlive) {
particlesAlive++;
}
}
}
Putting it All Together

ParticleSystem p
while (true) {
for all particles in p
draw p
p.updateSystem( );
}
More Complex Systems
Particle - Genesis
What we saw before works for individual

systems, like a firework
To create a series of fireworks, bring to life
several particle systems!
Must keep track of which systems are still
active
Generate collections of particles on

concentric circles on planet surface
each particle position used as
location for new particle
system of a different type
Serious slowdown
Serious garbage potential
Particle - Genesis
position computed by adding velocity
vector to previous position
Particle - Genesis
velocity vector can be updated with
acceleration vector (e.g. to account for
gravity)
choose randomly:
placing on disk
generation rate
initial velocity
lifetime
Particle - Genesis
Flocking (C. Reynolds,

SIGGRAPH 1987)
color started primarily red, with some green

and blue. Altered over time to fade away,
with red lasting longer to give effect of
cooling of white-hot material
Particles for simulating simple creatures: boids

Birds in flock
Fish in school
Etc.
Other work
Brogan,
hodgins
from C. Reynolds
Not passiveforces are internally generated

Can be combined with external forces
Intentions of each boid depend on

characteristics of local environment
Flocking
Geometric objects
Many objects
Simple motion - e.g., local rules, more
physics, collision avoidance
Consider other members.
Local Control
Perception
Physics
Reasoning and Reaction
Flocking: Local Environment
Boid Flocking Behaviors
Simulating vision in murky water, each

boid only influenced by boids in
neighborhood:
Distance less than some threshold
Angle from heading within peripheral vision
range
Basic (in priority order)

Collision Avoidance: Steer away
from too-close flockmates
Velocity Matching: Align direction
and speed with nearby flockmates
Flock Centering: Attempt to stay
close to nearby flockmates
More control:
Collision avoidance
Velocity matching
Have leader(s) that dont follow rules

above trace spline path to guide things
Randomness and awareness of fixed
obstacles in environment
courtesy of C. Reynolds
Centering
courtesy of C. Reynolds
Local Perception
Limited field of view - modified by speed

Importance by distance, proximity, angle
Avoid bumping into neighbors
Stay close to neighbors
Match velocity of neighbors
Draft behind member immediately ahead
Global Perception
General migratory urge

Drawn to flock center
Follow designated leader
Not realistic, but facilitates control
Physics
Flocking Behaviors: Physics
Flight - thrust, lift, drag, gravity

Perception Forces - flock centering,
migration urge, etc.
Other Forces - wind, collision avoidance
Each behavior generates an acceleration a(t)

directly (no consideration of mass)
Electric charge-like model is followed:
Attractions and repulsions allowed
Magnitude of induced acceleration falls off with
inverse square of distance (0 outside neighborhood)
Component accelerations are combined with

weights for personality control:
a(t) = wavoidaavoid(t) + wmatchamatch(t) + wcenteracenter(t)
Negotiating the Motion
Collision Avoidance
Collision Avoidance
Collision Avoidance
Steer To Avoid
- Simulating Sight
Steer to closest point on
boundary sphere
Steer to closest point on
boundary of silhouette
Steer to first
non-intersecting feeler
Steer to closest background
point of projection.
Flocking - Recap
Fewer members than in particle systems
Knowledge of, and reaction to, other
members
More physics - modeling flight, banking,
etc.
More intelligence - reasoning about path
Emergent Behavior - global behavior from
local rules

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Advanced Algorithms

Hierarchical Kinematic Modeling

Rigid Body Constraints

Controlling Groups of Objects

What is a Particle System?

Chapter 4 of Parents book

Simply a series of individual particles

Used to model complex systems

Create fuzzy objects and objects whose

It doesnt have to be a dot

The right way - perform complete physical

Essence of this approach:

Scale usually such that aggregate motion of

Particle Systems: Example

Motion may be driven by:

Combination of gravity, wind vortex,

Physical interactions with each

Gravity, electrical attraction/

Interior self determination

courtesy of Black Belt Systems

Initial upward and outward velocity

Particle Systems at the Movies

Particle Systems at the Movies

First notable use (and coinage of name) was

Particle Systems at the Movies

not static - particles are

born / change and move / die

stochastic processes create and change

For each frame in a particle systems

generate new particles

particles systems can be trees, i.e. each

Number of particles affects the density of

grow and shrink intensity of system of

(Rand - random variable often between 0 and 1)

make # of particles depend on screen size of

Modeling The Particle

Each particle may start with the same or different

for a sphere - particles move outward from

simulate time increment

Motion with Dynamics

Unary: gravity, viscosity

simulate time increment Dt:

works ok, if !t is small enough that the

n-ary Forces: Springs

Unary: Global forces applied to particles

2 connected particles a and b exert force on one

Gravity: Can regard as constant acceleration in

Drag: Resistance to motion through medium

fdrag(t) = -kd v(t)

Then the force on a is:

Networks of particles connected by springs

Angular springs for hair:

Cloth Simulation III

More cloth simulations

courtesy of R. Bridson (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~rbridson)

(More than just spring systems are used here)

Euler and RK Integration

x ( t + "t ) = x ( t ) + "tf ( x,t )

Passive Update: Steps

Just need to sum component forces acting on

from Numerical Recipes

delete particle if intensity drops below a

The Only Particle Behavior

public class ParticleSystem {