2022/11/17 by Nuno Guedelha, Guedelha, Nuno, Venus Pasandi +7 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Engineering · #Dynamics and Control of Mechanical Systems #Embedded Systems Design Techniques #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence #Robotics (cs.RO)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2211.09716
openalex publication_date 2022/11/17 · openalex created_date 2022/11/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Physics simulators are widely used in robotics fields, from mechanical design to dynamic simulation, and controller design. This paper presents an open-source MATLAB/Simulink simulator for rigid-body articulated systems, including manipulators and floating-base robots. Thanks to MATLAB/Simulink features like MATLAB system classes and Simulink function blocks, the presented simulator combines a programmatic and block-based approach, resulting in a flexible design in the sense that different parts, including its physics engine, robot-ground interaction model, and state evolution algorithm are simply accessible and editable. Moreover, through the use of Simulink dynamic mask blocks, the proposed simulation framework supports robot models integrating open-chain and closed-chain kinematics with any desired number of links interacting with the ground. The simulator can also integrate second-order actuator dynamics. Furthermore, the simulator benefits from a one-line installation and an easy-to-use Simulink interface.