CS599 Physically Based Modeling for Interactive Simulation and Games
Spring 2011

There will be two programming homework assignments, and a programming class project.

In each assignment, the student will program an interactive computer graphics simulation, related to the material covered in class. Tentative topics are a mass-spring system simulation, and a dynamic simulation of rigid bodies with constraints.

Students will be able to select their individual topic for the final project.  Examples: implement a SIGGRAPH paper of your choice, implement an elaborate demo using a physics game engine (e.g., Havok), a fluid solver, a collision detection algorithm, a robotic rigid multi-body system, a real-time sound simulator, a fast FEM deformable object simulation, a simulation in CUDA, etc.

Backgrounds in OpenGL or Direct3D are going to be very helpful for the homework assignments and the project. There will be at least one programming assignment in OpenGL and C. Students who do not have experience with OpenGL can still take the course, but they have to be ready to spend additional time to gain the necessary OpenGL proficiency to program the assignments.

Scribe notes

Every student will be taking scribe notes in one lecture during the semester, establishing a common reference point for the class. The quality of the scribe notes will be a factor in the student's class participation grade. The scribe notes should accurately represent the material discussed in class. Expected length of the notes is 1-2 pages. For example, see the following notes for a lecture in the CMU machine learning course. The notes are due 1 week after the lecture, and must be submitted by email to the instructor. In order to reserve a lecture to scribe, students should send an email to the instructor. If a student does not have a lecture assigned by Thursday, Jan 28, he or she will be assigned one by the instructor.

All scribe notes will be published publicly on the course website, so that the rest of the class can use them to review the class material. By default, the student's name will be included with the notes - but a student may, at his or her discretion, request for the notes to be made anonymous. Doing so will have no effect on the student's grade.

All the assignments and the note-scribing must be done individually. The project can be done either individually, or in a group of two students. All assignments, scribe notes, and the project must be completed to pass the course.

·      Assignments: 20% each (40% total)

·      Project: 50%

·      Class participation: 10%

The project grade will include the quality of the project proposal, project progress report, project milestone results, final project report, and the mandatory in-class project presentation.

Late policy

All work submitted after the deadline will receive a substantial score deduction, including potentially a zero score. Exceptions will be granted only under most dire circumstances and must be discussed with and approved by the instructor in advance.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Academic integrity

All students are expected to maintain the utmost level of academic integrity. Passing off anyone else's (whether it be a fellow student or someone outside the university) work as your own is a serious infraction, and will lead to appropriate sanctions. Files that are clearly the same, or altered copies of each other, will receive zero credit and the USC Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards will be notified. Please consult the USC Student Conduct Code for details on what is and is not appropriate, and for the possible consequences of infractions.

USC Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.