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PyBullet vs. discrete element method

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 3:08 pm
by R15t
Hello,

Bullet shares some similarities with discrete element programs like star ccm+ or edem. Contact detection with sweep and prune, time-stepping and the coloumb friction model come to mind. Even the method used by Bullet to prevent penetration seems not that different and both physic engine and DEM should be parallelizable.
But why can Bullet simulate Rigid Body Dynamics in real time, while DEM calculations can take in some cases more than ten times longer? Is it because of some simplification or are mathematical tricks responsible for this difference? Please point me in the right direction on this question.