Visually realistic graphical simulation of underwater cable

Abstract

This paper presents different modeling considerations that are important in simulating visually realistic behavior of underwater cables attached to remotely operated vehicles. The proposed methodology has been tested on highly complex models of aquatic environments created using Unreal Engine 4. Current methods and implementations of cable simulations that are widely used in computer graphics are generally suited only to light density mediums such as air. In this paper, we present modifications to the above model required for simulating neutrally buoyant cables in underwater environments. The simulation results presented in this paper successfully demonstrate different behavioral aspects of flexible variable length underwater cables and their variations with respect to modeling parameters using our proposed method.