jim van verth (jim@essentialmath)

Rigid Body Dynamics

Jim Van Verth (jim@essentialmath.com)

Essential Math for Games

Rigid Body Dynamics

• Simplest form of physical simulation

• Gets you a good way towards making a more realistic looking game

• Not that hard, either

Essential Math for Games

Rigid Body

• Objects we simulate will not deform

• Brick vs. clay

• Fixed model: only change position and orientation

Essential Math for Games

Dynamics

• Want to move objects through the game world in the most realistic manner possible

• Applying velocity not enough – need ramp up, ramp down – acceleration

• Same with orientation

Essential Math for Games

Calculus Review

• Have function y(t)

• Function y'(t) describes how y changes as t changes (also written dy/dt)

• y'(t) gives slope at time t

y(t)

y'(t)

y

t

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Calculus Review

• Our function is position:

• Derivative is velocity:

• Derivative of velocity is acceleration

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Basic Newtonian Physics

• All objects affected by forces Gravity Ground (pushing up) Other objects pushing against it

• Force determines acceleration (F = ma)

• Acceleration changes velocity ( )

• Velocity changes position ( )

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Basic Newtonian Physics

• Assume acceleration constant, then

• Similarly

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Basic Newtonian Physics

• Key equations

• Note: force is derivative of momentum P

Remember for later – easier for angular

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Basic Newtonian Physics

• General approach Compute all forces on object, add up Compute acceleration

• (divide total force by mass)

Compute new position based on old position, velocity, acceleration

Compute new velocity based on old velocity, acceleration

Essential Math for Games

Newtonian Physics

• Works fine if acceleration is constant

• Not good if acceleration dependant on position or velocity – changes over time step

• E.g. spring force: Fspring = –kx

• E.g. drag force: Fdrag = –mv

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Analytic Solution

• Can try and find an analytic solution I.e. a formula for x and v In case of simple drag:

But not always a solution Or may want to try different simulation

formulas

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Numeric Solution

• Problem: Physical simulation with force dependant on position or velocity

• Start at x(0) = x0, v(0) = v0

• Only know:

• Basic solution: Euler’s method

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Euler’s Method

• Idea: we have the derivative (x or v) • From calculus, know that

• Or, for sufficiently small h:

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Euler’s Method

• Can re-arrange as:

• Gives us next function value in terms of current value and current derivative

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Final Formulas

• Using Euler’s method with time step h

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What About Orientation?

• Force (F) applies to center of mass* of object – creates translation

• Torque () applies to offset from center of mass – creates rotation

• Add up torques just like forces

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Force vs. Torque (cont’d)

• To compute torque, take cross product of vector r (from CoM to point where force is applied), and force vector F

• Applies torque ccw around vector

r F

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Other Angular Equivalents

• Force F vs. torque • Momentum P vs. angular momentum L

• Velocity v vs. angular velocity • Position x vs. orientation • Mass m vs. moments of inertia J

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Why L?

• Difficult to compute angular velocity from angular acceleration

• Compute ang. momentum by integrating torque

• Compute ang. velocity from momentum

• Since then

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Moments of Inertia

• Moments of inertia are 3 x 3 matrix, not single scalar factor (unlike m)

• Many factors because rotation depends on shape and density

• Describe how object rotates around various axes

• Not easy to compute• Change as object changes orientation

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Computing J

• Can use moments of inertia for closest box or cylinder

• Can use sphere (one factor: 2mr2/5)

• Or, can just consider rotations around one axis and fake(!) the rest

• With the bottom two you end up with just one value… can simplify equations

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Computing J

• Alternatively, can compute based on geometry

• Assume constant density, constant mass at each vertex

• Solid integral across shape

• See Eberly for more details Also at www.geometrictools.com

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Using J in World Space

• Remember, • J computed in local space, must

transform to world space

• If using rotation matrix , use formula

• If using quaternion, convert to matrix

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Computing New Orientation

• Have matrix and vector • How to integrate?

• Convert to give change in Change to linear velocity at tips of basis

vectors One for each basis gives 3x3 matrix Can use Euler's method then

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Computing New Orientation

• Example:

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Computing New Orientation

r gives linear velocity at r

• Could do this for each basis vector

• Better way: Use symmetric skew matrix to compute

cross products Multiply by orientation matrix

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Computing New Orientation

• If have matrix , then

where

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Computing New Orientation

• If have quaternion q, then

• See Baraff or Eberly for derivation

where

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Computing New Orientation

• We can represent wq as matrix multiplication where

• Assumes q = (w, x, y, z)

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Angular Formulas

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Reducing Error

• Keep time step as small as possible

• Clamp accelerations, velocities to maximum values – avoid large forces

• If velocity, acceleration very small, set to zero (avoids little shifts in position)

• Damping acceleration based on velocity (i.e. friction) can help

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Improving Performance

• If not moving, don’t simulate

• Only do as much as you have to

• If you can fake it, do so objects on ground, don’t bother with gravity only rotate around z, don’t bother with J simple drag instead of full friction model

Essential Math for Games

References

• Burden, Richard L. and J. Douglas Faires, Numerical Analysis, PWS Publishing Company, Boston, MA, 1993.

• Hecker, Chris, “Behind the Screen,” Game Developer, Miller Freeman, San Francisco, Dec. 1996-Jun. 1997.

• Witken, Andrew, David Baraff, Michael Kass, SIGGRAPH Course Notes, Physically Based Modelling, SIGGRAPH 2002.

• Eberly, David, Game Physics, Morgan Kaufmann, 2003.