Preventing character limbs from passing through one another

Unity Engine
1

Hi,

I have a character that I am animating using skeletal joint orientation information from a Kinect. I’m not particularly interested in applying physics to the character, but I would like to prevent one limb from colliding (and passing through) another. Ragdoll physics would seem to prevent limb collision as a byproduct of applying force-interactions between the segments of the ragdoll. Is there a way to get limb collision prevention for free, but without applying general physics to the ragdoll? It doesn’t seem to me that I can freely animate the character AND have it be under the influence of the physics engine.

Are there any other techniques I might be able to apply here to detect and prevent limbs from passing through one another? Any other tips in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
_matt

2

Check out articles on powered ragdoll. you could translate the kinect data into motor forces that power the ragdoll, possibly with some additional hacks to ensure the ragdoll doesn’t get too far from the Kinect data.

3

Would it be feasible to set rotation limits on some of the joints to ensure that corresponding limbs don’t cross into each other’s space? Like restricting the arm’s rotation to a hemisphere around the shoulder socket. It’s not physically accurate but it might be good enough (and simple enough) for some scenarios.

4

Both good suggestions. Thank you, I’ll take a look and report back. Off hand, setting joint constraints seems like an easier task.