Graduate students from the gLab presented approaches to generate realistic collision sounds for games at the Austrian science fair “Lange Nacht der Forschung” on November 7, 2009.

Collision sounds are an essential part of physics-based computer games, such as racing simulations. Playing the appropriate sound when two cars collide or a solid object hits a wall is no trivial task and usually requires a large number of different, prerecorded sounds.
gLab students Martina Karrer and Wolfgang Lenzelbauer presented an alternative approach where collision sounds are generated dynamically, based on actual physical parameters. Their application (based on gLab’s engine Cogaen) enables the use of a tablet pen to scratch a variety of different objects. This triggers the generation of an appropriate sound based on the intensity of the interaction.

“Lange Nacht der Forschung” is an initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research to display current research topics of universities and research facilities to a wider audience.

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