Speaker: Francois Faure (University Joseph Fourier)
SOFA is a new open source framework primarily targeted at medical simulation research. Based on an advanced software architecture, it allows to (1)~create complex and evolving simulations by combining new algorithms with algorithms already included in SOFA; (2) modify most parameters of the simulation~--~deformable behavior, surface representation, solver, constraints, collision algorithm, etc.~--~by simply editing an XML file; (3) build complex models from simpler ones using a scene-graph description; (4) efficiently simulate the dynamics of interacting objects using abstract equation solvers; and (5) reuse and easily compare a variety of available methods. In this paper we highlight the key concepts of the SOFA architecture and illustrate its potential through a series of examples.