Efficient contact determination between geometric models

Abstract

The problem of interference detection or contact determination between two or more objects in dynamic environment is fundamental in computer graphics, robotics, and virtual environments. Most of the earlier work is restricted to either polyhedral models or static environments. In this paper, we present efficient algorithms for contact determination and interference detection between geometric models undergoing rigid motion. The set of models include polyhedra and surfaces described by algebraic sets or piecewise algebraic functions. The algorithms make use of temporal and spatial coherence between successive instances and their running time is a function of the motion between successive instances. The main characteristics of these algorithms are their simplicity and efficiency. They have been implemented; their performance on many applications indicates their potential for real-time simulations. Contact determination, Collision detection, Visual simulations, Animation, Robotics, Geometric models, Coherence, Voronoi regions, Closest features and points.