Supporting Content Generation in Virtual Environments Based on Optimization

Huimin Liu, Purdue University

Abstract

Content generation in virtual environments is becoming increasingly important with the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies and growing demand for immersive experiences. This raises a problem of efficient content generation to meet with higher requirements for both the quantity and quality of the contents that could be used inside virtual environments. This dissertation explored the possibilities of formulating design problems as computational problems based on optimization theory in different scenarios, and explored what can be viable application cases, as well as what can be viable cost terms for each application case based on the theory. In total four application scenarios are included. The optimization theory used in this dissertation is the Markov chain Monte Carlo optimization method called “simulated annealing”. By doing this we can transform a design problem to a computation problem and use computational methods to quickly solve the problem and generate content. This dissertation contains the papers published by the author during her Ph.D. Each published article included in this dissertation deals with a specific application case based on optimization theory. The author investigated four distinct application cases. The first case centered on the synthesis of drills for virtual reality racket sports. The second case focused on designing virtual reality game level layouts, based on the layout of a real-world environment. The third case explored collaborative gameplay design, with the aim of synthesizing game levels that require a predetermined degree of collaboration between two players to complete. The aim of the fourth application case was to create virtual reality fire evacuation training drills that could be used for training purposes in simulated environments. Different cost terms are proposed based on different application cases to synthesize contents that align with the design intent.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Mousas, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Design|Information Technology|Kinesiology|Operations research|Recreation

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