A particle-systems approach is proposed for rendering obscurants in tactical missile scene generation. Obscurants are currently rendered using arrays of voxels, small homogeneous cubes containing concentration and temperature data. Voxels have been highly successful but they require huge data files and are very slow to render. The particle systems would not replace voxels for high-fidelity applications, but would augment them as a much faster, more convenient alternative. In Phase I, the feasibility of this approach will be demonstrated by showing a simple particle-based obscurant plume being rendered in a three-dimensional infrared scene.
Keywords: Voxels Particle Systems Smoke Obscurants Plumes Countermeasures Rendering Flight Simulation