Measurement-Based Interactive Simulation of Viscoelastic Solids

Animation of viscoelastic solids in entertainment and medical applications as well as scientific simulation can be improved through observations of real world objects. This paper presents a method for simulating viscoelastic solids in real-time for visual and haptic display along with a method for determining the parameters of the the underlying model from automated physical measurements of real world objects. The viscoelastic model is a novel extension of the discrete Green’s function matrix for linear elasticity, which combines static behavior represented by Green’s functions with dynamic behavior expressed by differential equations inspired by particle systems. We describe a novel estimation method of dynamic contact behavior for heterogeneous complex objects based on these measurements. For this estimation, our method relies only on measurement data previously used in the acquisition of less realistic elastostatic models. In this way our method allows more physically accurate realism in animation of viscoelastic solids without large additional computational costs or any measurements besides those associated with related methods for elastostatic solids.