Computational Modeling of N -body Collisions with Simulation and Experiment

This paper presents an impulse-based model for n-body collisions with or without friction. In the frictionless case, impulses at all the contacts, initialized from solution of a non-linear system, accumulate over different phases (compression and restitution) tracked through numerical integration. Validation over Newton’s cradle is conducted using vision-based velocity estimation with high accuracy. The presence of friction requires a contact mode analysis via solution of a linear system to check for contact mode consistencies with Coulomb’s friction law. Simulation of nine-ball break shots, drawing upon a recent trajectory study [6], yields realistic scenarios. The modeling approach is part of our efforts toward planning for robotic manipulation strategies using impulsive forces.