TideBox is one of several development projects we have ongoing. It is being developed by Seed Software students in Computer Science, University of Hull, and they are currently working in a ‘sprint’ period where they dedicate a chunk of their time to the project. They sent us a report for the blog to summarise their progress, but first, check out the video they send showing the development scene –
TideBox (Humber in a Box 2) is a user-interactive application designed for demonstration purposes to simulate the Lisflood hydrodynamic model in real-time using Unreal Engine 4, C++ and Blueprints.
The current build features the use of a custom built data parser that allows us to take real-world DEM terrain and hydrological data of the Humber area and convert it into a .csv format that can be easily imported into Unreal Engine 4 and read into the application at run-time using Blueprints.
The heightmap data is then mapped onto a procedural mesh during a process in which each vertex’s position is deformed in the Z-direction (up) in order to generate a realistic terrain mesh that stands as a recreation of the imported data.
The data pipeline that enables this to happen has been purposely designed to be highly flexible and should allow for a wide range of data domains to be imported without issue.
Around the simulation room are a variety of panels that display useful information about the current scenario. In the first scenario, these include: old maps of Hull and the surrounding area as well as various facts about tidal flow.
There are three camera modes featured in the current build: the visitor camera, the table camera and the floating camera.
- The visitor camera acts as the default camera and simulates how a human might view the simulation. For this reason, this camera will be the only camera available in VR mode.
- The table camera prevents user movement but allows them to toggle between various preset positions that overlook important and key areas of the simulation.
- The floating camera acts as a free camera that is able to fly around and capture the scene from anywhere inside the simulation room.
A day-night cycle has been implemented to act as an indication to the demonstration supervisor that the current demonstration slot is coming to a close.
The current development roadmap seeks to include a full implementation of the Lisflood hydrodynamic model that interacts with the terrain in real-time, the inclusion of various flooding scenarios and full VR support.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Thanks,
Sam Ivill (and the TideBox team)
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