Fast and Scalable CPU/GPU Collision Detection for Rigid and Deformable Surfaces

Abstract We present a new hybrid CPU/GPU collision detection technique for rigid and deformable objects based on spatial subdivision. Our approach efficiently exploits the massive computational capabilities of modern CPUs and GPUs commonly found in off‐the‐shelf computer systems. The algorithm is specifically tailored to be highly scalable on both the CPU and the GPU sides. We can compute discrete and continuous external and self‐collisions of non‐penetrating rigid and deformable objects consisting of many tens of thousands of triangles in a few milliseconds on a modern PC. Our approach is orders of magnitude faster than earlier CPU‐based approaches and up to twice as fast as the most recent GPU‐based techniques.