Is there a "Volume Select" equivalent in Blender? 3D Studio has a modifier called "Volume Select" that allows using an element's geometry as a sort of selection force field that influences elements in its path. It can be used to transform many at once, as illustrated below.



Is there a way to do this in Blender? If not a modifier, maybe a script? I'm trying to animate a block of cubes that shrink and grow in a pattern and something like volume selecting would help a lot.

Thanks!
Animation Nodes can be used here. The Find Nearest Surface Point node is used to compute the distance between every element and its closest surface point, the distance is then used as the scale of the elements as following:



Evaluating the distance at an interpolation gives you fine control over its rate of change: