276 Chapter 12 Collision Detection
12.4 Spatial Partitioning
Several different approaches to coarse collision detection fall under the banner of
spatial partitioning. The distinction between the data structures used in spatial parti-
tioning algorithms (I’ll call these spatial data structures) and bounding volume hier-
archies is somewhat blurry.
A bounding volume hierarchy groups objects together based on their relative posi-
tions and sizes. If the objects move, then the hierarchy will move too . For different sets
of objects, the hierarchy will have a very different structure.
A spatial data structure is locked to the world. If an object is found at some loca-
tion in the world, it w ill be mapped to a particular position in the data structure.