A parallel block iterative method for interactive contacting rigid multibody simulations on multicore PCs

Abstract

A hybrid, asynchronous, block parallel method to approximately solve complementarity problems (CPs) in real-time on multicore CPUs is described. These problems arise from interactive real-time simulations of systems of constrained, contacting rigid bodies, which are useful in virtual operator training systems for instance. A graph analysis phase identifies components which are weakly coupled using simple heuristics. Each component is then solved in parallel using either a block principal pivot or a projected block Gauss-Seidel method running in separate threads. Couplings which generate forces between the subsystems are handled iteratively using a Gauss-Seidel process which communicates updates between the interacting subsystems asynchronously. Preliminary results show that this approach delivers good performance while keeping overhead small. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.