ballistic-solver 0.3.3

Numerical launch-angle solver for moving targets under gravity and quadratic drag.

ballistic-solver is a native C/C++ numerical solver that computes launch angles to intercept moving targets under gravity and quadratic air drag, with optional wind.

Unlike vacuum / closed-form solvers, this project simulates the projectile and solves the intercept numerically, aiming for robust real-time use even when trajectories are strongly curved.

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Quick start

Python (PyPI)

pip install ballistic-solver

Requires Python >= 3.10.

import ballistic_solver as bs

result = bs.solve(
    relPos0=(120, 30, 5),
    relVel=(2, -1, 0),
    v0=90,
    kDrag=0.002,
)

print(result["theta"], result["phi"], result["miss"])
print(result["success"], result["status"], result["message"])

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Demo (Unity)

Highly curved trajectories under strong air drag, still converging to a hit against moving targets.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c0c69cdd-0dd4-4606-9c7d-f21dd002d7f7

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Why this solver

Many launch-angle solvers depend on vacuum assumptions or partially linearized models. This project instead simulates the projectile and solves the intercept numerically, targeting robustness in real-time simulations and integration scenarios.

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Key properties

• Moving targets supported
• Strong air resistance (quadratic drag) supported
• Low / High arc selection (since v0.2)
• Wind vector supported (since v0.3)
• Robust in strongly nonlinear regimes (no analytic assumptions)
• Best-effort result returned even without perfect convergence
• Explicit success / failure reporting (+ diagnostic message)
• Stable C ABI for multi-language use
• Header-only C++ core
• Easy install via PyPI: pip install ballistic-solver

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Python API

solve(...)

solve(relPos0, relVel, v0, kDrag, arcMode=0, params=None) -> dict

• relPos0: target relative position at t=0 (x,y,z)
• relVel: target relative velocity (x,y,z)
• v0: muzzle speed (scalar)
• kDrag: quadratic drag coefficient
• arcMode: 0/1 or "low"/"high" (case-insensitive)
• params: optional BallisticParams for advanced tuning (gravity, wind, integrator and solver knobs)

Returned dict keys include:

• success (bool)
• theta, phi (radians)
• miss (closest-approach distance)
• tStar (time of closest approach)
• relMissAtStar (3-vector miss at tStar)
• status (SolveStatus integer)
• message (short diagnostic string)
• plus convergence diagnostics (iterations, acceptedSteps, lastLambda, lastAlpha)

Advanced tuning: BallisticParams

Example (wind + high arc):

import ballistic_solver as bs

p = bs.BallisticParams()
p.g = 9.80665                # gravity
p.wind = (3.0, 0.0, 0.0)     # wind vector
p.dt = 0.01                  # RK4 step
p.tMax = 20.0                # max sim time
p.tolMiss = 1e-2             # hit tolerance
p.maxIter = 20               # LM iterations

result = bs.solve(
    relPos0=(120, 30, 5),
    relVel=(2, -1, 0),
    v0=90,
    kDrag=0.002,
    arcMode="high",
    params=p,
)
print(result["theta"], result["phi"], result["miss"])

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Arc mode (since v0.2)

C ABI convention:

• arcMode = 0 → Low
• arcMode = 1 → High

High arc example:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4334ed87-597e-4ad4-b21e-c1a1a17e8cd8

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Wind (since v0.3)

C ABI convention:

• wind[3] = air velocity vector (same frame as relPos0/relVel)
• Drag uses relative airspeed: v_rel = v_projectile - wind

Wind demo:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1cd998cf-34db-4a74-8817-c6393227ef4e

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C ABI (stable interface)

void ballistic_inputs_init(BallisticInputs* in);
int32_t ballistic_solve(const BallisticInputs* in, BallisticOutputs* out);

See ballistic_solver_c_api.h for BallisticInputs/Outputs definitions and defaults.

This enables usage from:

• C / C++
• Python (ctypes via the C ABI)
• C# / .NET / Unity (P/Invoke)
• Others via FFI

Prebuilt native binaries are provided via GitHub Releases.

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Using prebuilt binaries (C ABI)

Download the archive for your platform from Releases.

Each release contains:

• Shared library

  • Windows: ballistic_solver.dll
  • Linux: libballistic_solver.so
  • macOS: libballistic_solver.dylib

• C ABI header: ballistic_solver_c_api.h

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C# / Unity usage

A C# P/Invoke example is available in:

examples/dotnet/

On Windows, place ballistic_solver.dll next to the executable (or ensure it is discoverable via PATH), then call ballistic_solve via DllImport.

This works directly inside Unity.

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How it works (high level)

1. Simulate projectile motion using RK4 integration with drag (+ wind)
2. Track the closest approach between projectile and target
3. Express the miss at closest approach as an angular residual
4. Solve the nonlinear system using damped least squares (Levenberg–Marquardt)
5. Accelerate Jacobian updates with Broyden-style refinement
6. Return the best solution found

Failure cases are explicitly detected and reported.

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Status codes (SolveStatus)

BallisticOutputs.status / Python result["status"] corresponds to:

• 0 = Ok
• 1 = InvalidInput
• 2 = InitialResidualFailed
• 3 = JacobianFailed
• 4 = LMStepSingular
• 5 = ResidualFailedDuringSearch
• 6 = LineSearchRejected
• 7 = LambdaTriesExhausted
• 8 = MaxIterReached

message contains a short diagnostic string.

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Build from source

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j
ctest --test-dir build

The shared library target is ballistic_solver.

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ABI notes

• Plain C layout across the ABI boundary
• Fixed-size arrays only
• No dynamic allocation across the boundary

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License

MIT License