GPU-efficient integration of IPC contact and friction

Develop a formulation that integrates Incremental Potential Contact barrier-based contact and continuous collision detection with Semi-Implicit Pairwise Descent contact and friction while preserving GPU efficiency and Hessian-free parallel updates.

Background

The paper’s penalty-based contact formulation does not strictly prevent penetration, limiting robustness in simulations with extreme deformation and complex contact. The authors identify Incremental Potential Contact (IPC), with its barrier formulation and continuous collision detection, as a potential alternative that could enforce nonpenetration while retaining the Hessian-free parallel updates of Semi-Implicit Pairwise Descent. A compatible IPC formulation for contact and friction that does not sacrifice GPU efficiency is left unresolved.

References

To improve robustness in more challenging simulations involving extreme deformation and complex contact, a promising direction is to combine SIPD with IPC, using its barrier formulation and continuous collision detection to enforce nonpenetration while retaining SIPD's Hessian-free parallel updates. Developing a compatible formulation for IPC contact and friction without sacrificing GPU efficiency is left for future work.

— Semi-Implicit Pairwise Descent for Nonlocal Continuum Mechanics  (2609.09834 - Luo et al., 9 Sep 2026) in Conclusion