Paper: Modeling Groups of Plausible Virtual Pedestrians

by Christopher Peters and Cathy Ennis
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, July/August 2009, pp. 54–63

Crowd simulation is enjoying considerable success in a number of applied domains, most notably in evacuation scenarios in which simulated crowd behaviors can help improve the safety of interior building designs. However, not all applications involving virtual populace have the overarching goal of realistic simulation. In many cases, it's necessary only that viewers perceive the crowd as realistic. In many of the latest movies or video games involving large numbers of virtual actors, liberties can be taken in displaying those far away or otherwise obscured from the eye, if this doesn't noticeably diminish the viewing experience. For example, such simulations can reduce the level of detail or forgo collision avoidance calculations to allow simulation of a larger crowd or enhanced behaviors for individuals deemed most likely to occupy viewers' attention. (Full PDF)