ITcon Vol. 16, pg. 3-22, http://www.itcon.org/2011/2

Using game engines for physical – based simulations – a forklift

submitted:April 2010
revised:October 2010
published:January 2011
editor(s):Turk Z.
authors:Jhih Ren. Juang, Graduate Student,
Computer-Aided Engineering Group, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
jrjuang@caece.net

Wei Han. Hung, Graduate Student,
Computer-Aided Engineering Group, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
magic@caece.net

Shih Chung. Kang, Assistant Professor, Computer-Aided Engineering Group, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
sckang@caece.net
summary:The detailed simulation of construction operations remains a challenging task in construction practice. A tremendous number of labor-hours are required to set key frames of an animation step-by-step and considerable computational power is needed to render an animation frame-by-frame. This research aims to utilize a game engine, which has been a rapidly evolving field for over a decade, to reduce the effort required by developers. The process of developing a construction simulation was separated into three main steps: 3D model construction, setup of physical properties, and creation of interactive logic. The Blender game engine was selected as the implementation tool, and a forklift simulation was created to demonstrate the concept. With a keypad, users could control a virtual forklift to simulate the manipulation of an actual forklift. The simulation result shows the advantages of developing a game engine-based construction simulation. The quality of the simulation’s graphics provides a high degree of realism, and the interactivity requirements between user and computer are satisfied.
keywords:virtual construction, physics-based simulation, physics engine, game engine, Blender
full text: (PDF file, 1.14 MB)
citation:Jhih Ren Juang, Wei Han Hung and Shih Chung Kang (2011). Using game engines for physical – based simulations – a forklift, ITcon Vol. 16, Special issue Use of Gaming Technology in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, pg. 3-22, https://www.itcon.org/2011/2