Crowd Simulation INFOMCRWS Course Introduction Wouter van Toll

Crowd Simulation (INFOMCRWS) Course Introduction Wouter van Toll November 13, 2017

Course website • http: //www. cs. uu. nl/docs/vakken/mcrws/ – – – Latest news Schedule Literature downloads Assignment details Secret page February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 2

In this presentation • Lecturers • Course motivation • Course overview • Assignments February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 3

LECTURERS Who do we think we are? February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 4

About us • dr. Wouter van Toll – Lecturer • Geometric algorithms • Game programming – Did Ph. D research on this topic • Supervised by Marc van Kreveld and. . . • dr. Roland Geraerts – Assistant Professor • Taught this course often • Supervised many students – Did Ph. D research on motion planning February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 5

About you • Who’s following the GMT master? • Who’s about to choose a thesis project? • What do you expect from this course? • Who has exciting hobbies? February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 6

COURSE MOTIVATION Why does this course exist? February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 7

Why this topic? • Path planning / Crowd simulation – Many open questions – Touches many disciplines of computer science • Computational geometry, AI, Animation, Software architecture, . . . • Important research topic in this department – Ph. D and MSc projects – Software • Demo! February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 8

Why this topic? • Interest from the industry • Real-world questions lead to research February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 9

Learning goals • Become an expert on path planning and crowd simulation – Know about history + state of the art – Know where the remaining “gaps” are – Analyze / solve difficult problems in a game context • Further improve your academic skills – Become a critical reader – Give good presentations – Participate in discussions February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 10

COURSE OVERVIEW What are you going to do? February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 11

Main components • Read and discuss state-of-the-art research papers – Prepare abstracts before every session – Give a presentation about 1 paper • Other assignments to get hands-on experience – Find errors in games – Implement a crowd simulation game • No exam, but mandatory attendance February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 12

Schedule (simplified) • Week 46: Introduction lectures – Path planning / Crowd simulation • Week 47: Workshops – Crowd simulation software / Giving presentations • Week 48: Presentations of Assignment 1 by you • Weeks 49 -51 and 2 -4: Paper presentations by you – Exception: Workshop on A* Search • Week 4: Presentations of Assignment 2 by you • Week 5: Nothing! (Exam week) February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 13

PRESENTATION AND Main component of the course ABSTRACTS February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 14

Paper presentation • We’ve chosen 20 papers on various subtopics • They will be presented by you (in the given order) – 2 per day, starting in December – Each presentation takes half a session • You can choose your favourite paper (1 -20) – First come, first serve – Papers 1 -($nr. Students-20): Teams of 2 – Other papers: Individual February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 15

Paper presentation • Guidelines – Summarize the paper’s contents (10’) – Give a critical review of the pros/cons (15’) – Lead a group discussion, answer questions (15’) • Grading criteria – Thoroughness, accuracy, criticality – Ability to answer questions & lead discussion – Overall presentation quality • 15% of your final grade February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 16

Abstracts • Before each presentation session: – Read both papers – Write an abstract for one* of them – Write 3 critical questions for both of them • Components of an abstract – Short summary – Critical assessment • Limitations • Surprising elements • Mistakes / Pitfalls? February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 17

Abstracts • Hand in (1 -page PDF) via Blackboard • Deadline: the corresponding morning, 9. 00 h • Graded (0 -5) on accuracy / criticality • 10 of these assignments in total (1 per session) • 40% of your final grade February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 18

ASSIGNMENT 1 Find errors in games February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 19

Assignment 1 • Study crowd simulation in a modern game • Look for problems, or try to trigger them yourself – Poor collision avoidance – Poor group coherence – Bad handling of dynamic changes • Make videos of the problem(s) • Show your results in a presentation (Week 48) – 3 slides: Game info, Problem description, Analysis – Around 5 minutes per presentation, including videos February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 20

Assignment 1: Examples https: //youtu. be/ABJjdpxe. Mt. E February 24, 2021 https: //youtu. be/IZpg. Mnu_l. Ak INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 21

Assignment 1 • Learning goals – Be critical about the state of the art – Analyze problems, think about possible solutions – It doesn’t matter that you’re not an expert yet : ) • In teams of 2 • 10% of your final grade • Deadline: November 24, 17. 00 h February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 22

ASSIGNMENT 2 Implement a crowd simulation game February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 23

Assignment 2 • Create your own computer game that contains (crowds of) navigating characters – Should solve at least 1 problem from Assignment 1 • Use Unity and the UU Crowd Simulation plug-in – Demo/Workshop next week, to get you started – Weekly support hour • The rest is up to you! – You can use third-party assets etc. if you credit them February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 24

Assignment 2: Examples February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 25

Assignment 2 • Learning goals – Solve difficult problems – Experience the complexity yourself • It’s difficult to simulate the behavior you want • • In teams of 4 35% of your final grade Presentation: January 24 Deadline (game + report): January 26, 17. 00 h –. . . but start early! February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 26

Grade overview February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 27

Bonus assignment • Organize a well-conducted flash mob – Replay a game situation from Assignment 1 • Film the event and people’s reactions • Hand in a movie and a small document • You’re encouraged to work together • Can earn all participants 0. 5 bonus points • Deadline: February 1 February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 28

CLOSING COMMENTS */ February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 29

Blackboard • All deliverables are assignments on Blackboard – Hand in digitally before the deadline • You can view your grades there as well February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 30

How not to fail • You pass the course if you have: – – – a final grade of >= 5. 5 handed in Assignments 1 and 2 handed in at least 8 of the 10 abstracts successfully given your paper presentation missed at most 4 sessions from the schedule February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 31

How not to fail • In short: active participation – Mandatory attendance – 4 papers / 2 abstracts per week – Mandatory assignments • It’s hard work, but (hopefully) fun! – Room for creativity – Room for improving your academic skills February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 32

The final slide • Questions so far? ? • • Contact info – Wouter van Toll W. G. van. Toll@uu. nl www. uu. nl/staff/WGvan. Toll Office: BBG 4. 19 (Mon-Thu) February 24, 2021 INFOMCRWS: Course Organization 33