Project summary: Virtual environment synchronisation over the internet
Multiplayer computer games need to be synchronised so that the players get consistent views of what is happening.

This is particularly challenging in physics-based games, where there are dynamic interactions between the players, such as cars crashing, or objects being knocked over by a player. When the players interact over a network like the Internet, it is hard to maintain the necessary synchronisation because of the delays (known as “latency”) in transmitting information between players' machines (clients) and the central server.

In a TCS programme between MathEngine plc, Oxford University Computing Laboratory and the Smith Institute, Faraday Associate Harvey Thompson addressed this problem successfully, both at a fundamental level and in a practical implementation through a software demonstrator.

[Other case studies]

Download 'ProjectSummary_MathEngine.pdf' (108 Kb).