arXiv:2511.02852v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: Fast Fourier Transform-based (FFT) spectral oceans are widely adopted for their efficiency and large-scale realism, but they assume global stationarity and spatial homogeneity, making it difficult to represent non-uniform seas and near-field interactions (e.g., ships and floaters). In contrast, wave particles capture local wakes and ripples, yet are costly to maintain at scale and hard to match global spectral statistics.We present a real-time interactive hybrid ocean: a global FFT background coupled with local wave-particle (WP) patch regions around interactive objects, jointly driven under a unified set of spectral parameters and dispersion. At patch boundaries, particles are injected according to the same directional spectrum as the FFT, aligning the local frequency-direction distribution with the background and matching energy density, without disturbing the far field.Our approach introduces two main innovations: (1) Hybrid ocean representation. We couple a global FFT background with local WP patches under a unified spectrum, achieving large-scale spectral consistency while supporting localized wakes and ripples.(2) Frequency-bucketed implementation. We design a particle sampling and GPU-parallel synthesis scheme based on frequency buckets, which preserves spectral energy consistency and sustains real-time interactive performance.Together, these innovations enable a unified framework that delivers both large-scale spectral realism and fine-grained interactivity in real time.
Expert Commentary: Enhancing Realism in Interactive Ocean Simulations
Simulation of realistic oceans is crucial for various applications in multimedia information systems, animations, artificial reality, augmented reality, and virtual realities. The challenge lies in achieving a balance between efficiency, realism, and interactivity. The traditional Fast Fourier Transform-based spectral oceans provide large-scale realism but suffer from limitations in representing non-uniform seas and near-field interactions such as ships and floaters.
In this study, the researchers introduce a novel approach by combining a global FFT background with local wave-particle (WP) patch regions around interactive objects. This hybrid ocean representation allows for large-scale spectral consistency while supporting localized wakes and ripples, addressing the limitations of both global FFT oceans and wave particle systems.
What sets this approach apart is the frequency-bucketed implementation for sampling particles and parallel synthesis on GPU. By aligning the local frequency-direction distribution with the global FFT background and preserving spectral energy consistency, this method enables real-time interactive performance without compromising on realism.
This research signifies a significant advancement in the field of interactive ocean simulations, bridging the gap between large-scale spectral realism and fine-grained interactivity. By incorporating multi-disciplinary concepts from signal processing, computer graphics, and simulation, this hybrid ocean representation has the potential to enhance a wide range of applications across multimedia systems, animations, artificial reality, augmented reality, and virtual realities.