ABSTRACT
The problems of interference detection and distance computation between static or dynamic objects are fundamental to robotics and computer simulated envi ronments. Given two or more geometric models, com posed of polygonal or curved boundaries, the goal is to check whether they overlap or to compute the min imal distance between them. As an integral part of robot motion planning or collision avoidance, the geo metric reasoning system that detects potential contacts and determines the amount of separation between the moving object (s) and the obstacles in the workspace serves as a good indicator for fast proximity queries.
