Algorithm for Fast Calculating the Nearest Distance Between Space Point and Arbitrary Polyhedron

The algorithm uses dynamic sphere searching technology which takes the given point as sphere center．A potential facet set can be found quickly and accurately and this set is compact enough to accelerate the distance calculation greatly．Compared with the hierarchical presentation approach，this algorithm avoids frequently calculating the distance between the point and hierarchical structure，thus being suitable to be applied to the cases where a great deal of distance calculations are needed，such as distance fields calculation，collision detection in virtual environment and interference test of robots and NC machining．