A novel and robust contact detection algorithm for arbitrarily shaped blocks

A novel 3D contact detection algorithm for arbitrarily shaped, concave and convex blocks is presented. The algorithm comprises a new neighbouring search technique and a novel method to detect the true contact type between two neighbouring blocks, regardless of their shape. The new neighbouring search technique uses a convenient geometrical plane to reduce the number of searches and an efficient boundary covering to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the solution. The algorithm to detect the true contact type includes three subalgorithms. The first sub-algorithm uses the geometry of concave faces to find the true contact type between a vertex and face. The second sub-algorithm finds multiple intersections and overlaps between an edge and a concave face using the location of the midpoint created by two adjacent intersections or overlapping vertices. The third sub-algorithm uses both current and new vertices made by the intersection between the edges of two faces to create a new edge and vertex configuration, which is used to determine the single or multiple overlapping areas between two concave faces. This novel algorithm is shown to be more accurate and efficient for detecting neighbours and contact types than other commonly used algorithms.