2010 R&D 100 Winner
Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa, in conjunction with several partners, developed osgBullet to solve the problem of creating physics data from hierarchical CAD data used in engineering processes. The free, open source software provides an integration interface for OpenSceneGraph and Bullet.
Using CAD data, osgBullet constructs a compound rigid body or exact mesh for physics simulation. With the software, users can simultaneously interact with both graphical and physical models of loaded objects, create design scenarios in real-time, experiment with design changes, and instantly see the impact of those changes. The user can interact with the virtual objects as though they were physical prototypes. Debugging, multi-threaded simulation, and level of detail creation tools are included in the software.
In use, the software has cut the time required for engineering design reviews and reduced the need to prototype hardware.
Development partners are Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls; National Energy Technology Laboratory, Morgantown, W.V.; Skew-Matrix, Louisville, Colo.; and U.S. Army Armament Research, Development & Engineering Center, Picatinny, N.J.
Technology
CAD/physics modeling interface
Developers
Ames Laboratory
U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center
National Energy Technology Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Skew Matrix Software
Development Team
The osgbullet Development Team:
Kenneth "Mark" Bryden, Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University
Terry Jordan, National Energy Technology Laboratory
Joe Kleiss, US Army Armament Research, Development & Engineering Center
Joshua Koch, Idaho National Laboratory
Paul Martz, Skew Matrix Software
Douglas McCorkle, Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University
David Muth, Idaho National Laboratory
