Multi-contact representation for a force-reflecting manipulating simulator: preliminary experiments

This paper presents an algorithm for estimating the interaction forces between model objects contacting at multiple points. The authors´ previous work addressed the interaction forces that arise between two convex polyhedra, and the development of an efficient algorithm for detecting the interaction and for estimating the interaction forces. To deal with the general case of multiple contacts, the authors consider the non-convex objects as a set of convex polyhedral parts. The problem of calculating the interaction forces with multiple contacts can be divided into multiple problems involving the calculation of the interaction forces arising between two convex objects making a single contact. By implementing this algorithm on a parallel processing system, the authors constructed a real-time operating simulator. Preliminary experiments, involving the placement of a cube in a corner, were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the system