GPU Gems 3

Chapter 29. Real-Time Rigid Body Simulation on GPUs

Takahiro Harada University of Tokyo

We can easily calculate realistic object motions and produce high-quality computer animations by using physically based simulation. For example, making an animation, by hand, of a falling chess piece is not difficult. However, it is very hard to animate several thousand falling chess pieces, as shown in Figure 29-1.

When 16,384 chess pieces and 10,922 tori are dropped, the simulation runs at 44 frames/sec and 68 frames/sec, respectively, including rendering time on a GeForce 8800 GTX.

Figure 29-1. Real-Time Simulation Results of Chess Pieces and Tori

In the case ...