{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130683"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130683","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Physically accurate collisions in StarLogo Nova","abstract":"StarLogo Nova is a blocks-based programming language for students that helps teach programming by allowing users to model their own physical simulations and create games. In many simulations and games, it may be useful to have physically accurate elastic, inelastic, or partially inelastic collisions. However, StarLogo's current collision detection system relies on detecting overlapping objects after they have already collided, so it cannot simulate such collisions. We create a new continuous-time collision detection algorithm which computes the exact time two objects collide and processes collisions in time order. To verify it is possible to add physically accurate collisions to StarLogo using this algorithm, we test the continuous collision algorithm in the GlowScript, using elastic, inelastic, and partially elastic collision behavior. The new algorithm can be integrated into the execution model and new blocks can be added for different types of physically accurate collisions in order to bring accurate collisions to StarLogo.","abstract_html":"StarLogo Nova is a blocks-based programming language for students that helps teach programming by allowing users to model their own physical simulations and create games. In many simulations and games, it may be useful to have physically accurate elastic, inelastic, or partially inelastic collisions. However, StarLogo's current collision detection system relies on detecting overlapping objects after they have already collided, so it cannot simulate such collisions. We create a new continuous-time collision detection algorithm which computes the exact time two objects collide and processes collisions in time order. To verify it is possible to add physically accurate collisions to StarLogo using this algorithm, we test the continuous collision algorithm in the GlowScript, using elastic, inelastic, and partially elastic collision behavior. The new algorithm can be integrated into the execution model and new blocks can be added for different types of physically accurate collisions in order to bring accurate collisions to StarLogo.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chao, Megan(Megan C.)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Eric Klopfer."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021","date_published":"2021","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:34Z","subjects":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130683","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Eric Klopfer."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130683"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, February, 2021","Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (page 56)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["StarLogo Nova is a blocks-based programming language for students that helps teach programming by allowing users to model their own physical simulations and create games. In many simulations and games, it may be useful to have physically accurate elastic, inelastic, or partially inelastic collisions. However, StarLogo's current collision detection system relies on detecting overlapping objects after they have already collided, so it cannot simulate such collisions. We create a new continuous-time collision detection algorithm which computes the exact time two objects collide and processes collisions in time order. To verify it is possible to add physically accurate collisions to StarLogo using this algorithm, we test the continuous collision algorithm in the GlowScript, using elastic, inelastic, and partially elastic collision behavior. The new algorithm can be integrated into the execution model and new blocks can be added for different types of physically accurate collisions in order to bring accurate collisions to StarLogo."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M. Eng."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Physically accurate collisions in StarLogo Nova"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Eric Klopfer."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science","EECS"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:creator":["Chao, Megan(Megan C.)"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-05-24T19:40:18Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-05-24T19:40:18Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021"],"dc:description":["Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, February, 2021","Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (page 56)."],"dc:description.abstract":["StarLogo Nova is a blocks-based programming language for students that helps teach programming by allowing users to model their own physical simulations and create games. In many simulations and games, it may be useful to have physically accurate elastic, inelastic, or partially inelastic collisions. However, StarLogo's current collision detection system relies on detecting overlapping objects after they have already collided, so it cannot simulate such collisions. We create a new continuous-time collision detection algorithm which computes the exact time two objects collide and processes collisions in time order. To verify it is possible to add physically accurate collisions to StarLogo using this algorithm, we test the continuous collision algorithm in the GlowScript, using elastic, inelastic, and partially elastic collision behavior. The new algorithm can be integrated into the execution model and new blocks can be added for different types of physically accurate collisions in order to bring accurate collisions to StarLogo."],"dc:description.degree":["M. Eng."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130683"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:title":["Physically accurate collisions in StarLogo Nova"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:34Z"}