Guide to dynamic simulations of rigid bodies and particle systems. (Q447206)

Physically based modeling is widely used in computer graphics and mechanical engineering for complex systems that are difficult to analyze using conventional theory. The book is a comprehensive introduction to realistic simulations and animations of particles and rigid body systems. It focuses on theoretical and practical aspects of developing physically based dynamic simulation engines that can be used to generate convincing animations of physical events involving particles and rigid bodies. The book contains five chapters and nine appendices. Each chapter presents many algorithms and covers them in considerable depth, yet makes their design accessible to all levels of readers, keeping the explanations as elementary as possible without sacrificing depth of coverage or mathematical rigor. Chapter 1 introduces the computational dynamics topics, describing the general structure of a dynamic simulation engine for non-penetrating particle and rigid body systems. Chapter 2 focuses on the computation of a hierarchical representation of the geometric description of each simulated object and simulated world. This representation is used to speed collision-detection checks by taking advantage of the geometric arrangement of objects, such that collision tests are only carried out on objects that are ``close enough'' to collide. Chapter 3 covers the design and implementation of particle systems as a collection of point mass objects that can collide with each other and with other rigid body objects. Chapter 4 presents theoretical and practical aspects of designing and implementing dynamic simulation engines for rigid body systems. Chapter 5 extends the techniques for rigid bodies to include articulated rigid bodies. The remaining part of the book contains a set of appendices describing the mathematical algorithms used throughout the entire book. A set of exercises is presented at the end of each chapter, with questions ranging from algorithm enhancement to alternate approaches presented in the book. This guide is an essential reading for software developers involved in computer graphics and computer-aided mechanical design and modeling.