Halfspace experimental IDE for solid modeling with distance fields
Matt Keeter released Halfspace, an experimental IDE for solid modeling using distance fields powered by the Fidget geometry kernel.
read it The writeup offers a detailed look into building a cross-platform web and native CAD application with Rust, wgpu, and distance fields.
summary
Halfspace is an experimental IDE for solid modeling using distance fields, built as a showcase app for the Fidget geometry kernel. It allows users to design models using pre-defined primitives and Rhai scripts while surfacing underlying distance fields to prevent continuity and gradient errors. The application targets both native platforms and the web using a shared stack featuring Rust, egui, and wgpu for GPU-accelerated rasterization and compute.
key points
- Halfspace exposes distance fields directly in the GUI to diagnose C0 discontinuities and gradient issues that cause incorrect shading.
- The application uses a cross-platform stack built on Rust, egui, and wgpu, running GPU compute for rasterization on both web and native targets.
- It integrates the Fidget geometry kernel and Rhai scripting to support incremental, parameterizable model creation and mesh export.
who should read it
Graphics programmers, CAD developers, and engineers interested in custom geometry kernels and cross-platform Rust and WebGPU applications.
discussion warm
consensus
Commenters enthusiastically appreciate Matt Keeter's long-running independent research into implicit surfaces and note his previous academic thesis as essential reading.
Note that Matt Keeter has been at this for quite a while now, very generously sharing his efforts and research:
https://www.mattkeeter.com/research/
In particular, his thesis is well-worth reading: https://www.mattkeeter.com/research/thesis.pdf
It points to Matt Keeter's extensive prior research and links his foundational academic thesis on implicit surfaces.
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