| Summary: | A basic problem associated with the development of new techniques in the fields of computer
animation, robotics, and simulation is that many researchers utilize dissimilar constructs to
represent common structures. Attempts to combine various models into one coherent system
can often be painstakingly difficult. This forces the users to expend valuable time re-inventing
previously written code.
To resolve this problem, this thesis presents the RASP (Robotic and Animation Simulation
Platform) toolkit - an extensible collection of primitives, functions, and essential abstractions
for the creation of reusable time-varying simulations. Based on object-oriented principles,
modern patterns of communications, and various simulation techniques, the toolkit defines a
common architecture and set of conventions for researchers to follow when developing simulations.
Through these building blocks, users will be able to borrow, without considerable need
for modifications, code segments and tools from previously developed RASP projects.
The RASP toolkit is highlighted by the following set of features: (a) IMVCD - a framework
for the construction of time-varying systems; (b) Connection Paradigm - a "port"-based
approach to data communication; (c) Hierarchical Temporal Modeling - a top down approach
to temporal management based upon multiple world views and first-class temporal primitives;
and (d) Hybrid Object Construction - a clear design for the development and visualization of
complex objects.
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