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FAQ
Animations and Simulation software
(comparison):
Animations Programs
So-called animation programs are often compared to silux.
Animation programs are programs that illustrate the movements
of a machine, possibly in a very realistic way. These presentations
are produced in that the user of the program can pre-program
the movements of individual objects. The user could for example
say which spatial path an object should follow and how it
should turn itself along this path. There are also more refined
animation programs where a number of so-called joints can
also be taken into account so that even relatively complex
mechanical movements can be shown and recorded. There are
also programs that allow for the inclusion of pseudo-physical
movements so that the individual movements of the object are
animated such that they seem to be continuously accelerating
and decelerating.
However, none of the programs of this class have anything
to do with silux because with these programs it is always
the user that determines how each detail specifically and
how the machine as a whole moves. No physics at all are involved
in this process. All current film industry programs operate
by these methods. In the film "The Making of Jurassic
Park", it was mentioned that it took the programmers
of the crucial scenes up to several months until the movements
of a dinosaur looked real, that is, until one got the impression
that this was really how a dinosaur moved. With these methods,
everything works according to the following principle: try
and try again until it looks real.
Laboratory Model
Programs that have been developed at the institutes of technical
universities, universities for applied sciences or other universities
form another class of simulation tools. Mostly these programs
spring from the results of Ph.D. or undergraduate theses of
groups of students. Programs that have been developed by individual
companies for their own needs also fall into this category.
Common to all of these programs is the fact that they are
generally not developed into marketable products. These programs
are often created for the solution of concrete tasks and as
soon as these tasks have been solved, there is no incentive
or no funding and time to fully develop a generally useful
product. It is generally known that a program that is between
20 and 30% complete fulfils its purpose as a laboratory model
for the task at hand. After this point however, it is a rocky
and time-consuming path to a marketable program. Most of these
programs also lack the necessary documentation that is naturally
extremely important for a "product".
In summary, one can say that this class of programs does
not represent any marketable products. In
this regard, they do not represent any competition for silux.
Special Programs
Other kinds of simulation programs are programs for certain
very limited tasks. A large number of special simulation programs
for very specific specialized tasks have already been developed.
There is, for example, a program that is used for simulations
relating to track vehicles (Simplex) and one for the dynamic
simulation of the road performance of automobile suspensions.
silux has great chances of breaking into the market even
where these special programs are being used because of its
new approach and its comparatively lower costs, if not free
of charge. silux has furthermore advantages over these specialized
programs because of its uncomplicated and quick operation.
Symbolic Simulation Programs
We will use the program SIMULINK as a representative of this
group. In principle, it has to do with a purely mathematical
simulation program. Similarly to a spreadsheet program, the
user links boxes, formulas and numerical results. This does
not however take place in a table with columns and rows as
with a spreadsheet program: the boxes or cells are linked
as a network. The user can then program each cell with partially
pre-programmed functions as conventionally used in electronics,
electrical engineering or mathematical physics.
Other Topics:
Scientific/mathematical explanations
Pop-Science Explanation
Summary
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