A Survey on Position Based Dynamics

Abstract

The physically-based simulation of mechanical effects has been an important research topic in computer graphics for three decades. In recent years position-based simulation methods have become popular. In contrast to classical approaches these methods compute the position changes in each simulation step directly, based on the solution of a quasi-static problem. Therefore, position-based approaches are fast, stable and controllable which make them well-suited for use in interactive environments. However, these methods are generally not as accurate as force-based methods but provide visual plausibility. Hence, the main application areas of position-based simulation are virtual reality, computer games and special effects in movies and commercials.