Bounding volume
From DmWiki
A bounding volume is a relatively simple shape, such as a box, sphere, or cylinder, that encloses a more complex object. Bounding volumes are used to speed up various intersection tests. Calculate the intersection with the bounding volume is very fast, and if this test fails then there cannot be an intersection with the actual object. If the test succeeds, a second test must be performed against the object itself. Thus, bounding volumes are used in collision detection, frustum culling, ray tracing, and other situations to quickly reject a large number of objects.
The ideal bounding volume would tightly fit against the surface of the object it encloses, so that rejection tests would be as accurate as possible. However, in reality it is necessary to make a compromise between simplicity of the bounding volume and the tightness of fit.
AABBs and OBBs are examples of frequently used bounding volumes, as are spheres and cylinders.
See also
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