Articulated Bodies

Simulating the dynamics of an articulated body can be approached in several

ways, but the approach that has proven to be most useful in computer animation

is the algorithm due to Featherstone [1983], who developed it for use in robotics.

This algorithm was elaborated for practical use in graphics by Mirtich [1996a], and

a particularly efficient implementation is described in Kokkevis [2004]. Here, we

will follow closely the approach elaborated by Mirtich, because it is probably the

easiest to follow. The reader wishing a fuller explanation of the method is directed

to Chapter 4 of Mirtich’s thesis [Mirtich, 1996b].