Abstract.A model for real-time generation of deep-water waves is suggested. It is based on a lattice-Boltzmann (LB) technique. Computation of wave dynamics and (ray-traced) rendering for a lattice of size 1024 2 can be carried out simultaneously on a single graphics card at 25 frames per second. In addition to the computational speed, the LB technique is seen to offer a simple and physically accurate method for handling both dispersion and wave reflection from obstructing objects.

Open source Linux has become increasingly popular as a vehicle for incorporating hands-on experience with a real system into both undergraduate and graduate operating systems courses. System virtualization tools, such as VMWare, Xen, VirtualBox, and KVM, allow students to freely experiment with kernel modifications without requiring dedicated hardware and without generating significant concern for the ill-effects of system crashes. Nevertheless, certain kernel projects that are highly desirable from an educational standpoint remain unavailable under standard approaches to virtualization. One such project that is known to carry substantial instructional value is the design and implementation of an SMP-safe driver for a high-performance graphics card. Standard virtualization tools export only a minimally-capable, SVGA graphics adapter, which is an inadequate architecture for such a project. This paper describes an extremely simple, kernel-independent, software tool for use by instructors of operating systems courses. The tool provides a virtual, high-performance graphics card that is suitable for Linux device driver design and implementation. The code for the virtual card, which is relatively short, is easily modified by instructors to present different interfaces each semester. The code for both the virtual card and a sample Linux 3.2.36 driver for it may be freely downloaded from

A problem that arises naturally in the real-time simulation of race car motion is the calculation of tire/track intersection points, given track geometry, a wheel hub position, and a wheel plane normal. The challenge arises from handling very large track models, which may comprise millions of polygons, and still meeting tight timing constraints, which require more than 5,000 lookups/second. Three methods of solution are proposed, and the performance and reliability of each is discussed.