filename     : no_pdf
entry        : article
journal	 : The Visual Computer
pages        : 188-202
year         : 2005
month        : April
title        : Level-of-Detail for cognitive Real-time Characters
subtitle     :
author       : Christoph Niederberger and Markus Gross
booktitle    : The Visual Computer
ISSN/ISBN    : ISSN: 0178-2789 (Paper) 1432-8726 (Online)
editor       : Nadia Magenat-Thalmann
publisher    : Springer-Verlag GmbH
publ.place   : 
volume       : 21, Number 3
issue        : 
language     : English
keywords     : Level-of-Detail, Multiagent Systems, Behavior Modeling, Real-time Behavior
abstract     : We present a solution for real-time simulation of artificial environments containing cognitive and hierarchically organized agents at constant rendering frame-rates. We introduce a level-of-detail concept to behavioral modeling, where agents which populate the world can be both reactive and proactive. The disposable time per rendered frame for behavioral simulation is variable and determines the complexity of the presented behavior. A special scheduling algorithm distributes this time to the agents depending on their level-of-detail such that visible and nearby agents get more time than invisible or distant agents. This allows for smooth transitions between reactive and proactive behavior. The time available per agent influences the proactive behavior which becomes more sophisticated because it can spend time anticipating future situations. Additionally, we exploit the use of hierarchies within groups of agents that allow for different levels of control. We show that our approach is well-suited for simulating environments with up to several hundred agents with reasonable response times and the behavior adapts to the current viewpoint.