Awesome Collision Detection
A curated list of collision detection libraries, algorithms, papers, and related resources.
Contents
- Libraries
- Mesh Processing
- Papers
- Books
- Articles
- Other Awesome Lists
- Comparisons
- Contributing
- Star History
- License
Legend: 🟢 commit within 1 yr · 🟡 commit within 3 yr · 💀 archived · ⭐ GitHub stars as of 2026-10-12. Software entries are ordered by stars; inactive entries (archived, or no commits for 3+ years) are folded at the end of each category.
Libraries
Collision detection, distance query, and proximity query libraries. See also Comparisons.
- 🟢 MuJoCo - Physics simulator with contact, collision, and distance queries for robotics and control. ⭐ 15.6k
- 🟢 Bullet - Real-time physics SDK with collision detection for games, robotics, and simulation. ⭐ 14.8k
- 🟢 Box2D - 2D physics engine with collision, distance, ray cast, and shape cast queries. ⭐ 10.4k
- 🟢 tinyc2 - Single-header 2D collision detection library for primitive shapes. ⭐ 5.1k
- 🟢 PhysX - NVIDIA physics SDK with scene queries, contact generation, and collision detection. ⭐ 4.8k
- 🟡 ReactPhysics3d - C++ 3D physics engine with rigid body collision detection. ⭐ 1.8k
- 🟢 FCL - Flexible Collision Library for collision, distance, and continuous collision queries. ⭐ 1.8k
- 🟢 Parry - Rust collision detection and geometric query library from Dimforge. ⭐ 879
- 🟢 coal (HPP-FCL) - Collision detection and distance query library derived from HPP-FCL. ⭐ 650
- 🟢 python-fcl - Python bindings for FCL collision, distance, and continuous collision queries. ⭐ 271
- 🟢 pytorch_volumetric - PyTorch utilities for volumetric signed distance fields and differentiable collision queries. ⭐ 250
- 🟢 OpenGJK - GJK-based minimum distance library with bindings for multiple languages. ⭐ 206
- 🟢 Tight-Inclusion - Conservative continuous collision detection library with minimum separation support. ⭐ 161
- 🟢 Kraft - Object Pascal physics engine with discrete and optional continuous collision detection. ⭐ 132
- ODE - Open Dynamics Engine with rigid body simulation and collision detection. [bitbucket]
Some libraries, such as ODE and Bullet, are physics engines that can also be used as collision detection libraries.
Inactive (12): archived or no commits for 3+ years</summary>
- 💀 qu3e - Lightweight 3D rigid body physics engine with collision detection. ⭐ 993 · last commit 2021
- ncollide - Rust collision detection library for 2D and 3D geometric queries. ⭐ 925 · last commit 2022
- libccd - Small C library for collision detection between convex shapes using GJK and EPA. ⭐ 652 · last commit 2018
- BEPUphysics 1 - Pure C# physics engine with broadphase and narrowphase collision detection. ⭐ 434 · last commit 2021
- collision-rs - Rust collision detection library with broadphase and narrowphase queries. ⭐ 129 · last commit 2021
- CCD-Wrapper - Wrapper and benchmark for continuous collision detection algorithms. ⭐ 61 · last commit 2022
- JitterPhysics - C# rigid body physics engine with collision detection support. ⭐ 47 · last commit 2021
- OZCollide - Legacy collision detection library. ⭐ 4 · last commit 2017
- ColDet - 3D Collision Detection.
- GIMPACT - Tools for geometry processing and collision detection.
- OPCODE - Optimized Collision Detection.
- SOLID - Collision detection of 3D objects undergoing rigid motion and deformation.
</details>
Mesh Processing
Geometry processing libraries useful for collision-ready meshes and convex approximations.
- 🟢 libigl - A simple C++ geometry processing library. ⭐ 5.1k
- 🟢 CoACD - Approximate convex decomposition for collision-aware mesh approximation. ⭐ 1.2k
- 🟢 cinolib - A generic programming header only C++ library for processing polygonal and polyhedral meshes. ⭐ 1.1k
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years</summary>
- bounding-mesh - Implementation of the bounding mesh and bounding convex decomposition algorithms for single-sided mesh approximation. ⭐ 351 · last commit 2019
</details>
Papers
Research papers on collision detection, distance and proximity queries, and supporting algorithms.
Collision Detection and Distance Computation
- GJK++: Leveraging Acceleration Methods for Faster Collision Detection (2023), Montaut et al. [pdf, code, benchmarks]
- Collision Detection Accelerated: An Optimization Perspective (2022), Montaut et al. [pdf, code, benchmarks]
- A fast procedure for computing the distance between complex objects in three-dimensional space (1988) Gilbert, Johnson and Keerthi [pdf]
Differentiable Collision Detection
- Differentiable Collision Detection: a Randomized Smoothing Approach (2022), Montaut et al. [pdf, code]
Triangle-triangle Test
- A faster triangle-to-triangle intersection test algorithm (2013), L.-Y. Wei.
- Efficient triangle-triangle intersection test for OBB-based collision detection (2009), J.-W. Chang et al. [pdf]
- A fast triangle to triangle intersection test for collision detection (2006), O. Tropp et al. [pdf]
- A failure case was reported in Stack Overflow.
- Faster Triangle-Triangle Intersection Tests (2006), O. Devillers et al. [pdf, code]
- A Fast Triangle-Triangle Intersecion Test (1997), T. Muller. [pdf, code]
Mesh Collision
- Robust contact generation for robot simulation with unstructured meshes (2013), K. Hauser. [pdf, web]
- Approximate Convex Decomposition for 3D Meshes with Collision-Aware Concavity and Tree Search (2022), X. Wei et al. [pdf, project, code, video]
Penetration Depth Computation
- PolyDepth: Real-time Penetration Depth Computation using Iterative Contact-Space Projection (2012), C. Je et al. [pdf]
Proximity Query / Signed Distance Field
- Local Optimization for Robust Signed Distance Field Collision (2020), M. Macklin et al. [pdf, slides, video]
- Hierarchical hp-Adaptive Signed Distance Fields (2016), D. Koschier et al. [pdf, video]
- Voxblox: Building 3d signed distance fields for planning (2016), H Oleynikova et al. [pdf, code]
- Signed distance fields for polygon soup meshes (2014), H. Xu and Jernej Barbic. [pdf]
- Fast Proximity Queries with Swept Sphere Volumes (1999), E. Larsen et al. [pdf, web]
Continuous Collision Detection
- Hierarchical and Controlled Advancement for Continuous Collision Detection of Rigid and Articulated Models (2013), M. Tang et al. [pdf, web]
- Efficient Geometrically Exact Continuous Collision Detection (2012), T. Brochu et al. [pdf]
- C2A: Controlled Conservative Advancement for Continuous Collision Detection of Polygonal Models (2009), M. Tang et al. [pdf]
- Continuous Collision Detection for Articulated Models using Taylor Models and Temporal Culling (2007), X. Zhang et al. [pdf, web]
- Interactive continuous collision detection for non-convex polyhedra (2006), X. Zhang et al. [pdf, web]
Nearest Neighbor
- Faster cover tree (2015), M. Izbicki et al. [pdf, code]
- Fast Approximate Nearest Neighbors with Automatic Algorithm Configuration (2009), M. Muja and D. Lowe. [pdf, code]
- Cover Tree for Nearest Neighbor (2006), A. Beygelzimer et al. [pdf, web, code]
Comprehensive Collision Detection Library
- FCL: A General Purpose Library for Collision and Proximity Queries (2012), J. Pan et al. [pdf, code]
Survey
- Collision Detection: A Survey (2007), S. Kockara et al. [pdf]
- 3D collision detection: a survey (2001), P. Jiménez et al. [pdf]
Books
Books on collision detection algorithms and their implementation.
- Real-Time Collision Detection, CRC Press 2004 (amazon)
- Collision Detection in Interactive 3D Environments, CRC Press 2003 (amazon)
Articles
Articles, talks, tutorials, and blog posts about collision detection and related geometry algorithms.
Overview & Tutorial
- Video Game Physics Tutorial - Part II: Collision Detection for Solid Objects by Nilson Souto
- GPU Rigid Body Simulation (GDC 2013), Erwin Coumans
- OpenCL accelerated rigid body and collision detection (RSS 2011), Erwin Coumans
- Contact Generation (GDC 2010), Erwin Coumans
Benchmark
- spatial-collision-datastructures - Benchmark of various spatial data structures for collision detection.
- Continuous Collision Detection (code) Project page for continuous collision detection papers, implementations, benchmarks, and datasets.
Narrow-phase
- Algorithm table for narrowphase algorithms
- 3D Collision detection by Miguel Casillas
- Collision Detection (code) by Jeff Thompson - This book explains the algorithms behind those collisions using basic shapes like circles, rectangles, and lines so you can implement them into your own projects.
- Note: The Gibert-Jonson-Keerthi algorithm by Christer Ericson
Space Partitioning
- Benchmark of various spatial data structures for collision detection
- Bounding volume hierarchy
- Bounding Volume Hierarchy Optimization through Agglomerative Treelet Restructuring (paper, code) by Leonardo R. Domingues and Helio Pedrini.
- Dynamic AABB Tree by Randy Gaul
- Efficient BVH Construction via Approximate Agglomerative Clustering (pdf) by Yan Gu et al.
- Octree vs BVH by Thomas Diewald
Other Awesome Lists
Related curated lists and collections.
- 🟢 Awesome Robotics Libraries - This is a list of various libraries and software for robotics. It’s also attempting to provide some comparisons for selected libraries and software. ⭐ 3.1k
Contributing
Contributions are very welcome! Please read the contribution guidelines first. Also, please feel free to report any error.
Star History
</a>
License
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years</summary>
- bounding-mesh - Implementation of the bounding mesh and bounding convex decomposition algorithms for single-sided mesh approximation. ⭐ 351 · last commit 2019
</details>
Papers
Research papers on collision detection, distance and proximity queries, and supporting algorithms.
Collision Detection and Distance Computation
- GJK++: Leveraging Acceleration Methods for Faster Collision Detection (2023), Montaut et al. [pdf, code, benchmarks]
- Collision Detection Accelerated: An Optimization Perspective (2022), Montaut et al. [pdf, code, benchmarks]
- A fast procedure for computing the distance between complex objects in three-dimensional space (1988) Gilbert, Johnson and Keerthi [pdf]
Differentiable Collision Detection
- Differentiable Collision Detection: a Randomized Smoothing Approach (2022), Montaut et al. [pdf, code]
Triangle-triangle Test
- A faster triangle-to-triangle intersection test algorithm (2013), L.-Y. Wei.
- Efficient triangle-triangle intersection test for OBB-based collision detection (2009), J.-W. Chang et al. [pdf]
- A fast triangle to triangle intersection test for collision detection (2006), O. Tropp et al. [pdf]
- A failure case was reported in Stack Overflow.
- Faster Triangle-Triangle Intersection Tests (2006), O. Devillers et al. [pdf, code]
- A Fast Triangle-Triangle Intersecion Test (1997), T. Muller. [pdf, code]
Mesh Collision
- Robust contact generation for robot simulation with unstructured meshes (2013), K. Hauser. [pdf, web]
- Approximate Convex Decomposition for 3D Meshes with Collision-Aware Concavity and Tree Search (2022), X. Wei et al. [pdf, project, code, video]
Penetration Depth Computation
- PolyDepth: Real-time Penetration Depth Computation using Iterative Contact-Space Projection (2012), C. Je et al. [pdf]
Proximity Query / Signed Distance Field
- Local Optimization for Robust Signed Distance Field Collision (2020), M. Macklin et al. [pdf, slides, video]
- Hierarchical hp-Adaptive Signed Distance Fields (2016), D. Koschier et al. [pdf, video]
- Voxblox: Building 3d signed distance fields for planning (2016), H Oleynikova et al. [pdf, code]
- Signed distance fields for polygon soup meshes (2014), H. Xu and Jernej Barbic. [pdf]
- Fast Proximity Queries with Swept Sphere Volumes (1999), E. Larsen et al. [pdf, web]
Continuous Collision Detection
- Hierarchical and Controlled Advancement for Continuous Collision Detection of Rigid and Articulated Models (2013), M. Tang et al. [pdf, web]
- Efficient Geometrically Exact Continuous Collision Detection (2012), T. Brochu et al. [pdf]
- C2A: Controlled Conservative Advancement for Continuous Collision Detection of Polygonal Models (2009), M. Tang et al. [pdf]
- Continuous Collision Detection for Articulated Models using Taylor Models and Temporal Culling (2007), X. Zhang et al. [pdf, web]
- Interactive continuous collision detection for non-convex polyhedra (2006), X. Zhang et al. [pdf, web]
Nearest Neighbor
- Faster cover tree (2015), M. Izbicki et al. [pdf, code]
- Fast Approximate Nearest Neighbors with Automatic Algorithm Configuration (2009), M. Muja and D. Lowe. [pdf, code]
- Cover Tree for Nearest Neighbor (2006), A. Beygelzimer et al. [pdf, web, code]
Comprehensive Collision Detection Library
- FCL: A General Purpose Library for Collision and Proximity Queries (2012), J. Pan et al. [pdf, code]
Survey
- Collision Detection: A Survey (2007), S. Kockara et al. [pdf]
- 3D collision detection: a survey (2001), P. Jiménez et al. [pdf]
Books
Books on collision detection algorithms and their implementation.
- Real-Time Collision Detection, CRC Press 2004 (amazon)
- Collision Detection in Interactive 3D Environments, CRC Press 2003 (amazon)
Articles
Articles, talks, tutorials, and blog posts about collision detection and related geometry algorithms.
Overview & Tutorial
- Video Game Physics Tutorial - Part II: Collision Detection for Solid Objects by Nilson Souto
- GPU Rigid Body Simulation (GDC 2013), Erwin Coumans
- OpenCL accelerated rigid body and collision detection (RSS 2011), Erwin Coumans
- Contact Generation (GDC 2010), Erwin Coumans
Benchmark
- spatial-collision-datastructures - Benchmark of various spatial data structures for collision detection.
- Continuous Collision Detection (code) Project page for continuous collision detection papers, implementations, benchmarks, and datasets.
Narrow-phase
- Algorithm table for narrowphase algorithms
- 3D Collision detection by Miguel Casillas
- Collision Detection (code) by Jeff Thompson - This book explains the algorithms behind those collisions using basic shapes like circles, rectangles, and lines so you can implement them into your own projects.
- Note: The Gibert-Jonson-Keerthi algorithm by Christer Ericson
Space Partitioning
- Benchmark of various spatial data structures for collision detection
- Bounding volume hierarchy
- Bounding Volume Hierarchy Optimization through Agglomerative Treelet Restructuring (paper, code) by Leonardo R. Domingues and Helio Pedrini.
- Dynamic AABB Tree by Randy Gaul
- Efficient BVH Construction via Approximate Agglomerative Clustering (pdf) by Yan Gu et al.
- Octree vs BVH by Thomas Diewald
Other Awesome Lists
Related curated lists and collections.
- 🟢 Awesome Robotics Libraries - This is a list of various libraries and software for robotics. It’s also attempting to provide some comparisons for selected libraries and software. ⭐ 3.1k
Contributing
Contributions are very welcome! Please read the contribution guidelines first. Also, please feel free to report any error.
Star History
</a>
License
- A failure case was reported in Stack Overflow.
- Bounding Volume Hierarchy Optimization through Agglomerative Treelet Restructuring (paper, code) by Leonardo R. Domingues and Helio Pedrini.
- Dynamic AABB Tree by Randy Gaul
- Efficient BVH Construction via Approximate Agglomerative Clustering (pdf) by Yan Gu et al.
- Octree vs BVH by Thomas Diewald