'Arc Blanc' is a framework that can simulate ocean waves and ocean surface conditions in real time, just like the real ocean.

A research team including the University of Poitiers in France has developed a framework called ' Arc Blanc ' that can simulate waves on the ocean surface in real time by making full use of the multi-threaded power of the CPU and GPU.

[2503.03326] Arc Blanc: a real time ocean simulation framework

Arc Blanc: a real time ocean simulation framework - paper.pdf
(PDF file) https://jcgt.org/published/0014/01/05/paper.pdf

Arc Blanc: a real time ocean simulation framework (JCGT)
https://jcgt.org/published/0014/01/05/

The oceans, which cover about 70% of the Earth, are of great scientific, industrial, and military interest, and the field of computer graphics has developed numerous ocean simulators. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a wave forecasting service called ' WaveWatch III ,' and this data is used for surfing forecasts, etc.

However, previous papers on ocean simulators have only described the components required for implementation, with little explanation of how they are interconnected.

However, a research team led by David Algis, a computer graphics expert at the University of Poitiers, said, 'We bring all the components together, describe in detail all their interactions, and propose a comprehensive real-time framework to simulate the relationship between solids and fluids.' Arc Blanc was announced.

Below is a time-lapse video by Arc Blanc. You can see that it simulates not only the waves, but also the starry sky and the movement of the sun in detail.

Time-lapse video by 'Arc Blanc', a framework that can reproduce real-time wave movements - YouTube


The video for 'Crossing Boat' is below. The waves generated by a boat moving through the ocean are realistically depicted.

A video of a crossing boat created with 'Arc Blanc', a framework that can reproduce real-time wave movements - YouTube


Below is a video showing a boat moving away from the camera with a wide field of view. The position of the sun and the shadow of the boat stretching along it are precisely simulated.

A video of a boat gradually moving away created with 'Arc Blanc', a framework that can reproduce real-time wave movements - YouTube


In addition, the bulletin board site Hacker News points out that Arc Blanc is intended only for video games and visual effects, not for scientific and operational simulation of the ocean.