ARCADE
A framework that brings dynamic level-of-detail adjustment from computer graphics into behavior simulation — abstracting and refining detail based on the user's perception to save compute.
- Simulation
- AI
- Level of Detail
- Research
My role
Designed and built ARCADE for my MSc thesis: a framework that carries the graphics idea of level-of-detail into behavior simulation, dynamically abstracting and refining simulation detail based on the user's perception and knowledge of the environment.
Outcome
Published at AIIDE (2019) and the subject of my MSc thesis — the adaptive level-of-detail approach ran simulations up to 37× faster while keeping them consistent.
Abstraction and Refinement for Computer-Assisted Detailed Evolving simulations (ARCADE) is a framework for dynamic simulation-detail adjustment. Rooted in the level-of-detail idea widely used in today’s game engines, ARCADE ventures into the more complex realm of behavior simulation — addressing the challenges of adjusting detail without breaking fidelity.
Highlights
- Dynamic level of detail — seamlessly switch detail based on the user’s perspective, running simulations up to 37× faster without compromising fidelity.
- Simulation control — the simulator selects actions from the transition model while the visualizer manages depiction and interaction.
- Flexibility & portability — with no standard way to encode behavior, ARCADE improves the portability of simulation solutions.
How it works
Abstraction. When the player’s perception of the environment reduces, ARCADE lowers the level of detail to save computation — entities collapse into simpler stand-ins that still evolve consistently.
Refinement. When immersion increases, it raises the level of detail to account for added nuance — the abstract state is expanded back into fully detailed entities.
Dynamic detail adjustment. ARCADE continually monitors the user’s knowledge and perception to decide when to transition between detail levels, and its action management determines potential entity substitutions within the world state.
Demo
Want something built like this? I'm available for contract work.