Fast Ray-Axis Aligned Bounding Box Overlap Tests with Plucker Coordinates

Abstract Fast ray-axis aligned bounding box overlap tests can be performed by utilizing Pliicker coordinates. This method tests the ray against the edges comprising the silhouette of the box instead of testing against individual faces. Projection of the edges onto a two-dimensional plane to generate the silhouette is not necessary, which simplifies the technique. The method is division-free and successive calculations are independent and consist simply of dot product operations, which permits vectorization. The method does not compute an intersection distance along the ray to the box, but this can be added as an additional step. Storage of Pliicker coordinates is unnecessary, permitting integration into existing systems. Test results show the technique's performance is up to 93% faster than traditional methods if an intersection distance is not needed.