Octrees
An optimized data structure for spacial partitioning
Problem Statement
How can we represent objects in 3-Space such that locations can be queried in a time efficient manner?
Answer
Structure the data so that the we reduce the problem to a simple recursive tree search
How Does it Work?
In 1 Minute :)
Create a tree where each branch is an octant of space
Place each object into the tree based on the values of it's location 3-tuple
Why?
So that you know where things are in relation to each other without doing any vector math
Why?
Two players can't be in melee combat if they are in different branches of the tree
Applications
- GIS
- Pathfinding for drones
- 3D Games (Collision Detection)
- Virtual and Augmented Reality