[ODE] Controlling multiple forces in unison for rigid body.

[Kai-Peter Bäckman]

 Dear ODE-list subscribers,

 I have been using ODE in a space simulation setting where rigid bodies are
allowed to dock and undock
and thus form clusters of varying size. Many of these sub-bodies have
thrusters which can be used to
affect force on the complete cluster. To summarize, I have one rigid body
and a list with
<position, maximum force> pairs.

 What I desire is to command the cluster as a single particle: apply linear
force in this direction and angular
force in that. What I need is a algorithm or method that takes as input the
total linear and angular force
desired and gives me a list of coefficients in the range 0..1, one for each
of the above mentioned pairs. The
coefficient describing what fraction of that respective <position, maximum
force> should be applied.

 What is the name of this problem? What solutions exists? Where should one
go for more information?

 Yours sincerely,

 Kai-Peter Baeckman