Method and apparatus for spatial simulation acceleration

Abstract

Apparatus and method for detecting unconstrained collisions between three-dimensional moving objects are described. The apparatus and method addresses the problems associated with handling objects with substance passing through each other in three-dimensional space. When objects collide in a three-dimensional simulation, it is important to identify such collisions in real-time so that the behavior of the colliding objects may be adjusted appropriately. Native vertices are stored and novel structure is provided so that the stored words containing native vertices work together to form polygons, or other object primitives, that work together. For triangle object primitives, three vertices form the first triangle primitive, but a second triangle primitive is formed by receiving and storing only one additional vertex, the other two vertices needed to form the second triangle primitive being shared with the first triangle primitive. The apparatus and method also provides structure for storing and communicating polygon vertex relationship information between multiple object primitives and objects, and structure and method for comparing the extent of an object primitive with all other previously stored object primitive extents simultaneous with receipt and storage of the object primitive vertex data. The ability to store each coordinate vertex only once and to share the vertex coordinate information among multiple objects radically reduces the vertex storage requirements, simplifies unconstrained object collision determinations, and increases data throughput so that real-time, or near real-time, computations appropriate for simulation are achieved.