Sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but isn't FEM used in physics engines because it is an good approximation for the underlying physics? For example, I believe the Drake Physics engine uses FEM to model deformable materials relating to vehicle crashes at Toyota
FEM is just a numerical technique for solving some kinds of differential equations. It doesn't aitomatically make you accurate or not, just like any other stable solver.
Sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but isn't FEM used in physics engines because it is an good approximation for the underlying physics? For example, I believe the Drake Physics engine uses FEM to model deformable materials relating to vehicle crashes at Toyota
FEM is just a numerical technique for solving some kinds of differential equations. It doesn't aitomatically make you accurate or not, just like any other stable solver.