Rigid Body Contact Problems using Proximal Operators

Kenny Erleben Iterative methods are popular for solving contact force problems in rigid body dynamics. They are loved for their robustness and surrounded by mystery as to whether they converge or not. We provide a mathematical foundation for iterative (PROX) schemes based on proximal operators. This is a class of iterative Jacobi and blocked Gauss–Seidel […]

Improving the GJK algorithm for faster and more reliable distance queries between convex objects

Mattia Montanari, Nik Petrinic, and Ettore Barbieri This article presents a new version of the Gilbert-Johnson-Keerthi (GJK) algorithm that circumvents the shortcomings introduced by degenerate geometries. The original Johnson algorithm and Backup procedure are replaced by a distance subalgorithm that is faster and accurate to machine precision, thus guiding the GJK algorithm toward a shorter […]

All’s Well That Ends Well: Guaranteed Resolution of Simultaneous Rigid Body Impact

Etienne Vouga, Breannan Smith, Danny M. Kaufman, Rasmus Tamstorf, Eitan Grinspun Iterative algorithms are frequently used to resolve simultaneous impacts between rigid bodies in physical simulations. However, these algorithms lack formal guarantees of termination, which is sometimes viewed as potentially dangerous, so failsafes are used in practical codes to prevent infinite loops. We show such […]

kDet: Parallel Constant Time Collision Detection for Polygonal Objects

René Weller, Nicole Debowski and Gabriel Zachmann We define a novel geometric predicate and a class of objects that enables us to prove a linear bound on the number of intersecting polygon pairs for colliding 3D objects in that class. Our predicate is relevant both in theory and in practice: it is easy to check […]

Anisotropic Elastoplasticity for Cloth, Knit and Hair Frictional Contact

Chenfanfu Jiang, Theodore Gast, Joseph Teran The typical elastic surface or curve simulation method takes a Lagrangian approach and consists of three components: time integration, collision detection and collision response. The Lagrangian view is beneficial because it naturally allows for tracking of the codimensional manifold, however collision must then be detected and resolved separately. Eulerian […]

Dynamics-Aware Numerical Coarsening for Fabrication Design

Desai Chen, David I. W. Levin, Wojciech Matusik, Danny M. Kaufman The realistic simulation of highly-dynamic elastic objects is important for a broad range of applications in computer graphics, engineering and computational fabrication. However, whether simulating flipping toys, jumping robots, prosthetics or quickly moving creatures, performing such simulations in the presence of contact, impact and friction […]

Bounce Maps: An Improved Restitution Model for Real-Time Rigid-Body Impact

Jui-Hsien Wang, Rajsekhar Setaluri, Dinesh K Pai, Doug L James We present a novel method to enrich standard rigid-body impact models with a spatially varying coefficient of restitution map, or Bounce Map. Even state-of-the art methods in computer graphics assume that for a single rigid body, post- and pre-impact dynamics are related with a single […]

Efficient and Reliable Self-Collision Culling using Unprojected Normal Cones

Tongtong Wang, Zhihua Liu, Min Tang, Roufeng Tong, and Dinesh Manocha We present an efficient and accurate algorithm for self-collision detection in deformable models. Our approach can perform discrete and continuous collision queries on triangulated meshes. We present a simple and linear time algorithm to perform the normal cone test using the unprojected 3D vertices, […]

Accurate Contact Modeling for Multi-rate Single-point Haptic Rendering of Static and Deformable Environments

Thomas Knott, Torsten Kuhlen Common approaches for the haptic rendering of complex scenarios employ multi-rate simulation schemes. Here, the collision queries or the simulation of a complex deformable object are often performed asynchronously on a lower frequency, while some kind of intermediate contact representation is used to simulate interactions on the haptic rate. However, this can […]

SMASH: Physics-guided Reconstruction of Collisions from Videos

Aron Monszpart, Nils Thuerey, Niloy J. Mitra Collision sequences are commonly used in games and entertainment to add drama and excitement. Authoring even two body collisions in the real world can be difficult, as one has to get timing and the object trajectories to be correctly synchronized. After tedious trial-and-error iterations, when objects can actually be made […]