Triangle/Ray Intersection

Fast vectorized triangle/ray intersection algorithm
6K Downloads
Updated 18 May 2018

View License

Ray/triangle intersection using the algorithm proposed by Möller and
Trumbore (1997), implemented as highly vectorized MATLAB code.
The algorithm can work with one and two sided surfaces, as well as, with
infinite lines, rays (lines bounded on one side) and segments (lines bounded on
both sides).
Input (all arrays in in Nx3, where N is number of vertices or rays):
orig : ray's origin
dir : ray's direction
vert0, vert1, vert2: vertices of the triangle
Output:
Intersect - boolean array of length N
t - distance from the ray origin to the intersection point in |dir|
u,v - barycentric coordinates of the intersection point units
xcoor - carthesian coordinates of the intersection point
In addition PointInsideVolume is 3D equivalent to 2D inpolygon function and can test if
array of points is inside or outside any volume defined by the surface grid.

Cite As

Jaroslaw Tuszynski (2024). Triangle/Ray Intersection (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/33073-triangle-ray-intersection), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2017b
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
Acknowledgements

Inspired by: Ray/Triangle Intersection

Inspired: in_polyhedron, RayShapeArticle_FEX.zip

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!
Version Published Release Notes
1.7

small corrections to the interface

1.6.0.0

Minimal changes suggested by Igor in Comments and Ratings

1.5.0.0

correct description: no symbolic toolbox is needed
Major rewrite of the function with additional options and output variables. Also provided PointInsideVolume function

1.4.0.0

documentation improvements and typo correction

1.2.0.0

correct treatment of 3x3 arrays as suggested by Andreas Weber

1.1.0.0

Improvements to border handling

1.0.0.0