An Architecture for Hierarchical Collision Detection

We present novel algorithms for efficient hierarchical collision detection and propose a hardware architecture for a single-chip accelerator. We use a hierarchy of bounding volumes defined by k-DOPs for maximum performance. A new hierarchy traversal algorithm and an optimized triangle-triangle intersection test reduce bandwidth and computation costs. The resulting hardware architecture can process two object hierarchies and identify intersecting triangles autonomously at high speed. Real-time collision detection of complex objects at rates required by force-feedback and physically-based simulations can be achieved.