Collision detection is essential for many applications involving simulation, behavior and animation. However, it has been regarded as a computationally demanding task and is often treated as an advanced feature. Most commonly used commercial CAD/CAM packages and high performance graphics libraries, such as SGI Performer, provide limited support for collision detection. As users continue to stretch the capabilities of VRML, collision detection will soon become an indispensable capability for

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... applications. In this paper, we present a system for accelerated and robust collision detection and describe its interface to VRML browsers. We demonstrate that it is possible to perform accurate collision detection at interactive rates in VRML environments composed of large numbers of complex moving objects.