Java 3D, 3D graphical environments and behaviour

  • Authors:

  • Anthony L. Burrows;David England

  • Affiliations:

  • Liverpool John Moores University, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Byrom Street, Liverpool, U.K.;Liverpool John Moores University, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Byrom Street, Liverpool, U.K.

  • Venue:
  • Software—Practice & Experience
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

A brief outline of the structure of the Java 3D API as a means of producing graphical environments is provided. We then go on to examine issues in the development of a behaviour rich scene, in particular the issues of scene animation and collisions between scene objects. The animation issue is examined first, where issues of timing and architecture are considered. The Java 3D requirements for, and view of, collision are discussed next from a general perspective, identifying several problems with the implementation. Four simple scenes using animation and collision detection are examined. In each case a number of difficulties have been identified, partly related to the responsiveness of the operating system in the case of animation, but particularly due to the view and implementation of the collision detection system provided. Collisions often involve modifications to the states of all objects involved in the collision and some of the issues this raises in the context of Java 3D's provision are examined and reported on. Finally, we finish with a summary of our findings and conclusions on the suitability of Java 3D for building environments.