Click to Launch

New in this version:

• Graphics have been moved to Piccolo.
• Charts are delegated to JFreeChart.
• Water splash to cool off on reset thermal energy button.
• Force Vector Arrows (and labels) should be offset (non-overlapping).
• Especially problematic for small force arrows.
• Force Vector Arrows are much smaller, and opaque.
• Audio (for crashes)
• Improved force arrow colors.
• Checkboxes should allow user to show any combination of energy (on graphs)
• Add vertical & horizontal axes to bar graphs.
• Man is now crushable.
• Wiggle me for applied force.
• Added Advanced control to set initial conditions.:
• Angle, Position, Applied force
• Added in-play-area applied force control.
• text boxes on left hand side.
• Go/Pause/Clear next to the slider (not the energy or work graphs).
• Charts have value readouts.
• Add option to graph Parallel Components of forces
• Plots resize to fill available area (when others are minimized).
• Charts are zoomable.
• The mouse interaction is thresholded.
• On intro panel, all grab bag choices are shown at once.
• Added FBD in advanced control panel.
• Added Minimize buttons for bar graphs.
• Added sparse stripes in the perpendicular direction of the unit vector.
• Implemented for x & y, waiting for feedback.
• The simulation is segregated into 2 Tabs:
• Introduction
• More Features

Bugfixes

• 100% processor while just sitting (graphs visible)
• Simulation should stop at 20 seconds.
• Reset has no warning box.
• Play Button should not be selectable until the user has stopped taking data.
• Applying a force across the surface boundary should recompute the force arrow (it shows up at the wrong (same old) angle).
• Man position should move with block (not merely when applied force changes.)
• Timer should stop after 20 seconds (like moving man).  This is because the x-y graph also stops at that point and it’ll help reduce the heat.
• Chart cursor drags past end of graph.
• There should be a transient wall force upon crash.
• The object ‘sticks’ at the boundary between ramp & ground, causing discontinuity in velocity.
• Visibility of objects in chart needs to be redesigned.
• Chart cursor incorrectly appears when invisible & other chart cursor is dragged.
• Reset should remove ‘warning overheated’ item.
• Wall force and applied force are similar color.
• Sometimes after record, then playback, then grab-to-start-record, the model gets messed up.
• Man is at wrong location during playback.
• The man jumps location when the block changes surfaces.
• Arrow text label centering fails for arrows at angles.
• Text has been moved to where arrows point (not in the center of the arrow)

Finalization:

• Start the block at zero height, halfway along the ramp.
• Performance Enhancement:
• Piccolo incorrectly calls repaint on a region with invisible graphics (when invisible bar charts change).
• Man graphic isn’t changing, but is getting set as dirty region on playback. (These problems can recur.)
• Tested at 1024x768.

Discarded Tasks:

• The Total energy bar should be multicolored showing the addition of all other energy as with the springs and masses bar graphs.  I would not suggest this feature for Net Work because of the negative work done by friction.   VS. Both Applied Work and Total energy having the same (solid) color.
• Since this can’t be done for the work bar, we decided against this.
• Add a Work done by Normal Force bar (even though it’s always zero)?
• This seems like the wrong way to convey this idea.
• If only 4 choices I’d replace crate with sleepy dog: 25kg
• We chose to stay in the above 100kg range to constrain the force arrow vector graphics.

Remaining Features

Graphics:

• Striped Arrow coordinate view stripes for perp & parallel?
• My technique will be difficult for perp & parallel.  We shall confer about the Cartesian arrow graphics before pursuing.

Bugs:

• When reset button changes (in go pause clear), it is not added to dirty regions.
• The height readout of the ramp’s end doesn’t respect the zero-point potential energy height level.

Internal:

• Convert layout code to size-agnostic (not hard-coded).
• Refactor RampLookAndFeel to be field of RampPanel.

Questions:

• Rename or coname Applied Force to Push or Man or Applied (push) or something like that.  I don’t think students will easily make the connection between applied and the push.
• Some other object (not a brick wall) at the top of the ramp?
• Someone else suggested this, I think a brick wall is fine.
• Block incorrectly curves around a 90 degree angle.
• Should we ignore this?
• Or restrict the angle of the ramp?
• Or implement correct crash physics?
• How to cue user when no graphs are visible & time runs out (so that things stop moving?)

Finalizing:

• Performance Enhancement.
• How to render images at high resolution at view scale = 1.0?
• Test at lower resolution.
• Wiggle me to drag the ramp (2^nd panel only).
• Add help.

Extremely Low Priority:

• Water splash should hit the block.
• Running over the man with the block should squash him.
• Reduce overlapping of force vector labels.