NPSNET: Real‐time collision detection and response

Abstract

Abstract The Graphics and Video Laboratory of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is in the process of constructing a three dimensional (3D) virtual world called NPSNET. 1 NPSNET is a low‐cost, commercial workstation‐based 3D visual simulator that uses SIMNET terrain databases and networking. 2 NPSNET is programmed using off‐the‐shelf SGI IRIS graphics workstations, rather than the platform‐specific nodes of SIMNET. Part of the work in constructing the NPSNET world is detecting and resolving collisions in real‐time. Such collision detection and resolution has been accomplished and integrated into the latest version of NPSNET, NPSNET‐2. The detection of vehicle‐weapon, vehicle‐vehicle and vehicle‐stationary non‐vehicle collisions is performed throughout the virtual world.