9.18 - Using the Contact Fusion Controller

This is a general overview of how the contact fusion controller works.

The DtContactFusionController provides a means for collating sensor data from multiple sources into one merged, easily accessible list. It has a DtSensorContactListMultiInputPort. This multiple input port allows the controller to gather sensor contacts from multiple sensors or from spot reports. It runs through each incoming list and adds new contacts or merges existing contacts. When a merge occurs, the contact with the highest detection level is used for non time-sensitive information, like force type and object type. For time sensitive information, like position and velocity, the contact that is the most recent is used. The controller's fused contact list is just a pointer to an entity's state repository objectContactList. This ensures the list stays current. Having the list in the state repository also allows quick access for any component on the entity. When the list is updated with new data, stale data is removed.

The figure below shows the detection process of the signature sensor.