Proximity Queries and Penetration Depth Computation on 3D Game Objects
Gino van den Bergen · 2001
This paper discusses methods for performing proximity queries (collision detection, distance computation) and penetration depth computation on a large class of convex objects. The penetration depth of a pair of intersecting objects is the shortest vector over which one object needs to be translated in order to bring the pair in touching contact. The class of objects includes convex primitives such as polytopes (line segments, triangles, convex polyhedra) and quadrics (spheres, cones, cylinders), as well as shapes derived from these primitives by affine transformation and spherical expansion (inflating an object by a given offset). 1.