Bullet Visualization

A web based interface to visualize and debug rigid bodies created using Bullet SDK.
Contributions are welcome 😄

Web View

In Action

Building the project

Server

• Integrate the following dependencies into your own C++ code:
  • nlohmann::json
  • net11 (Original whizzter/net11)
  • glm
  • And Bullet (obviously).
• Clone this repository using the command: git clone https://github.com/malhotraprateek/bullet-visualization.git.
• Navigate to bullet-server-code-reference folder.
• Integrate files present in the folder into your own C++ application.
  (See todo comments in code for more information)
• Make a test run by navigating to http://localhost:4321/physicsdata in your browser to check if the physics server is up.

NOTE: It is not a requirement to use the server reference files or create the server using C++, provided you follow the steps mentioned in the todo comments and have a good working knowledge of websocket communications.

Client

• Clone this repository using the command: git clone https://github.com/malhotraprateek/bullet-visualization.git.
• Navigate to bullet-visualization folder.
• Run npm install.
• Run npm run build.
• Double click on index.html to open the visualizer in your default browser.
• Click on Start Polling button to start rendering debug data from Bullet.
  Ensure the server is already up and running.

Internals

• Client-Server communication uses web sockets.
• Three.js is used to render to the browser (WebGL).
• Polling rate can be controlled by the slider provided.
  This functionality has been given to avoid framerate drops and stuttering on the server.

Disclaimers

• The visualizer can only handle debug lines for now.
• This project is not built for use in production environments.
• This project may not be feasible for applications with a very large number of rigid bodies as the debug information is transferred over network.
  For most projects it should be fine though.
• The client and server has not been tested to run on separate machines.
  Even so, there should not be anything inhibiting it.