Using Game Engine to Enhance Mobility Modeling in Network Simulations

Mobility modeling is important for network simulation. However, Random Waypoint model and its variants fail to satisfactorily depict mobile users' movement patterns with fidelity. Two features of a game engine, namely character AI and pathfinding can be utilized to enhance mobility modeling in network simulations. This demo builds a virtual scene of typical office environment with multiple employees. Movements of the virtual characters are firstly generated and visualized using Random Waypoint model, and then using alternative approaches combining AI-based control with pathfinding. Through comparison it can be clearly observed that the latter improves simulation fidelity significantly.