Bounding Box
A "
bounding box" refers to the
collision shape of a
prim or
avatar as percieved by
Second Life's physics engine,
Havok. While
you see a humanoid avatar, Havok sees your
agent as a box--the dimensions of which can be determined by the
llGetAgentSize and
llGetBoundingBox functions.
Q: Does Havok use bounding boxes for prims also?
A: No, Havok calculates physics collisions based on the actual surface of the object. Unfortunately, in practice, this is somewhat broken. When Havok 2.x+ is added to SL, the precision will be much greater than it currently is.
The limitations of the
precision of the physics engine will cause objects to 'float' over other objects, get 'stuck' between them or 'bounce' off them prematurely. It will also allow objects to pass through other objects, if they travel fast enough.
Physics |
Havok |
Collisions |
Precision