Real-time simulation of small-scale impact debris using hierarchical particle systems

Impact between polygonal meshes is ubiquitous in any animated graphical system and the results of this impact need to be visualised if realism is to be maintained. Mesh destruction and deformation can be computationally expensive to perform on arbitrary meshes, and are therefore not suited to real-time, interactive requirements. We present a system for modelling small-scale debris generated by the collision of arbitrary polygonal meshes, based on hierarchical particle systems. The technique automatically generates debris characteristics by sampling the mesh and texture parameters at the point of impact. We sacrifice physical realism to achieve interactive performance rates, focussing instead on visual realism based on empirical measurement. We present promising results, at little computational cost, making the technique useful as a compliment to mesh destruction techniques or as a stand-alone debris system for real-time applications where physical accuracy is not paramount