sysml design of simulation game

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SysML Design of Simulation Game

David Hetherington

V1.0 ‐ 9 April 2014 SysML Design of Simulation Game 1

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Introduction


David HetheringtonOdyssey of Homer Career‐ Digital PBX‐ Multimedia Audio‐ Systems Management‐ Software Internationalization‐ Blade Servers‐ Automotive Radar ChipsetCurrent: Bring Modeling to Petroleum Industry

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Initial Inspiration


• Experienced operator had unloaded truck daily for 15 years – no problems.

• Broke leg in a sporting accident.

• Younger replacement was well trained…

• And was spotted by another employee with a walkie‐talkie..

• But misjudged the slope backing down the ramp.

• No serious injuries, but some damage to the forklift.

• Incident investigation revealed a slight slope to the truck bed that the older operator had simply assimilated into his routine.

Could we model this somehow?

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The OSHA Standard


https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9829

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Reformatting the Standard


Copy and paste from website to Excel. Looks nice, but format not ready for SysMLtool input.

Fortunately, a few simple VBA can dramatically reduce the pain of reformatting the data. Use 80/20 rule. Code 20% of VBA that yields 80% of benefit. Do rest by hand.

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Create a New SysML Model


Here we are using MagicDraw by NoMagic to create the model. Sparx Enterprise Architect will work well as well. Papyrus will be problematic because it has no ability to import requirements from a spreadsheet. That means that in any realistic project, the task of inputting (usually hundreds or even thousands of) requirements into a Papyrus model would be onerous.

Most source requirements documents that you will encounter are not written by professional systems engineers. As such, the individual requirements contain too many different concepts. The requirement below is a good example. As such, in our new SysML model we will create packages for “Source” and “Clarified” requirements.

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Narrow Down Requirements


First we narrow down the requirements to those that are relevant to a training game, ie: the truck operations.

Next we notice that the relevant requirements are in four sections…

From which we make package names…

And Load them into the model

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Load Source Requirements into the Model


Now we massage the requirements a little more…

And load them into the model

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Create Clarified Requirements


Create clarified requirements. For example, text that contains two unrelated

subjects should be broken into two separate requirements.

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Create Derive Relationships


Create Derive Requirements Relationships

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Allocate Requirements to Use Cases


(The anchored note is a really handy method for adding the text to a use case. Unfortunately, it is a vendor extension rather than a

part of SysML)

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Model Structure of the Game


We design a basic game structure:1. Welcome Screen2. Some number of Game Levels3. Closing Screen

After starting the game, the player can select a level. If the player “wins”

the level, play proceeds to the next level. If not, the player moves to the Closing Screen. The Closing Screen gives the player his score and also gives him the option of playing the

game again (or exiting).

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Allocate Use Cases to Game Level Instances


Now we can allocate the use cases to specific Game Level instances. We can also make those

specific Game Level instances “satisfy” the clarified requirements.

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Model State Machine for Avoid Edge Level


Now we have a behavior design for the level that we can design to and explore for potential code generation.

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Blender ‐ Overview

• Open source• Amazing 3D rendering• “Toy Story” quality animation

• Built‐In game engine• Challenging to learn, but very functional, and lots of help available on Youtube


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Blender – Model the Forklift


Find a brochure of a real forklift on the internet and use it as a background image in Blender to create a Bézier curve outline of the forklift cab.

After that extrude the outline to create the initial body shell.

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Blender – Model the Forklift


Cut some horizontal holes, slice off pieces, add some surfaces

Add textures and lettering

And add a few more things…

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Avoid Edge Game Level – Create Platform


1. Create a platform 20m by 20m and 1m high.2. Create a ramp up onto the platform 3m wide and 3m long.3. Create 1m wide safety areas all around the platform that are planes

positioned 2cm above the platform.4. Add the forklift to the scene

• Lighting is a headache...• Fonts/Text do not behave well. Convert “Asatte Lift” to a mesh.• Linked objects are a headache for the physics engine. For the moment, I have

joined the forklift components into a single mesh.

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Add Basic Motion


Add keyboard controls to create basic motion of forklift. Very powerful. Note that we only need to push the forklift around. The physics engine will figure out the rest.

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Detect Entry into Ramp – 1 of 2


1. Assign the Forklift object a property “ForkLift”

2. Assign the Ramp a sensor that notices a collision with “ForkLift”

3. Make that sensor send a broadcast message “StatusEnterRamp”

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Detect Entry into Ramp – 2 of 2


The Status Text overlay (a separate blend file) receives the message and runs a script.

Now we have the basic mechanics to implement the rest of the game and also connect the

physics simulation to the Python

scripting.

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Code Generation Issues


Issue Work Around

Not much Python Code

Convert More Logic Bricks to Python

Tools SysML Tools don’t

Generate Python

Work from XMI file

Use XSLT (Saxon)

Use Microsoft Excel Visual

Basic

Final Game does not

Quite Match Model

Update the Model Open Source

Code Generators

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Why Bother With Code Generation?


PowerPoint Compiler

Draw Some Pretty Charts

p

Feed to PowerPoint Compiler

Ship Finished Product

Crack Open a Beer

More Realistic View

Model in SysML

Prototype by Prototype by Hand Using Model

Learn a *LOT*

Update Model to

Match Reality

Custom Design Code Generator

Generate & Hand‐Complete Production Code

Verification and Validation

Ship a Version of Product

This vision is very appealing to marketing guys and non‐

technical executives….

Code generation becomes the path to replication of

patterns and best practices across a large

number of levels of a complex game.

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Future Exploration


Port to Commercial Game Engine Use SysML

Parametrics to Model Physics

Full Implementation

of Code Generator

Add Human Actors

Model Forklift Controls More Accurately

How to Test Fact

Knowledge?

How to Model Forklift and Working Area Inspections?

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Recommended Reading


Not for beginners, but very good working

examples that you can studyBlender Foundations: The

Essential Guide to Learning Blender 2.6 Roland Hess

Good starting point for Blender basics before tackling game programming.

Game Development with BlenderDalai Felinto, Mike Pan

SysML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Systems Modeling LanguageLenny Delligatti

UML and SysML together make a huge subject. This text does a nice job of presenting SysML concisely without getting lost in a forest of discussions of layers of metamodel abstraction.

sysml design of simulation game

Engineering

copyright2014 introduction

dorest byhand

somedamagetothe forklift

couldwe modelthis

brokeleginasporting