VRML models. Collision avoidance in robot simulation

[PORRAS]

Hello, all.

I am working on a robot simulation application. Every mechanical part of the robot is a VRML model (they're not simple geometries). The model is displayed in LabView, and the user can move its joints using several controls.

At first, I only want to predict collisions, I mean, to define some kind of distance function between solid parts and create an alert when a certain distance threshold is exceeded. So, I think it's not needed any physical modelling (it won't be any contact, what I want to do is just prevent from them).

In addition, solid parts are not simple models like cylinders or boxes... instead they're more or less complex mechanical models created in Solid Edge and saved into VRML files.

In the future, I may want to improve the application and add dynamic simulation capabilities.

So,

- Do you think I need to use any physics simulation library?

- Which library do you best recommend me, ODE or Bullet?

- Is it possible to import such VRML models (or other similar geometric file types) using these libraries?

Thanks,
Francisco