Collision Detection for Rigid Bodies: A State of the Art Review

Virtual reality applications refer to the use of computers to simulate a physical environment in such a way that humans can readily visualize, explore, and interact with “objects” in this environment. The design of virtual scenes requires realistic physically based simulation algorithms and in particular efficient collision detection routines. Collision detection prevent penetrations between objects. This paper presents an overview of the collision detection procedures for rigid bodies. It divides those procedures in two families that form a general hybrid collision detection algorithm. The first family is used in the first phase known as broad phase that roughly detects collision. The second family is used in the second one known as narrow phase that exactly detects if collision occurs.