ABSTRACT
It is today a common experience to navigate huge three-dimensional (3D) environments that reach up to the size of entire cities, whether this is by playing recent video games or by exploring online digital globes. In entertainment applications, the benefit of populating those environments with a population of virtual characters is undeniable. This creates lively game scenes, making them more realistic and attractive; it clearly improves the overall experience with the game. In other kinds of applications, such as the virtual globe, it is noticeable that those huge 3D environments still remain empty of population, even though this can be easily understood for technical reasons.
