When modeling a robot in simulation, we need to represent its visual meshes, collision meshes, and physical properties. But how can we bring our robots into these environments? The Unity Editor can be used to create endless permutations of virtual environments. By testing in this simulated ecosystem, users can iterate on designs quickly before testing in the real world and ultimately deploying to production.Ī robotics simulation consists of setting up a virtual environment - a basic room, as in this example, or something more complex, like a factory floor with conveyor belts, bins, tools, and parts - and adding to this environment a virtual representation of the robot to be trained or tested. In a simulation, developers build a virtual world that mirrors the real robot’s target use case. Roboticists often architect a robot application as a modular set of ROS nodes that can be deployed both to real robots and to computers that interface with simulators. A vibrant user community contributes many open source packages for common functionalities that can bootstrap the development of new systems. It provides standard formats for robot descriptions, messages, and data types used by thousands of roboticists worldwide, for use cases as varied as industrial assembly, autonomous vehicles, and even entertainment. One of the most common frameworks for robot software development is the Robot Operating System (ROS).
Ensuring that these three elements in the simulation are as close as possible to the real world is vital for valid testing and training.
Key elements of effective robotics simulation include the robot’s physical attributes, the scene or environment where the robot operates, and the software that runs on the robot in the real world.
Simulating also makes it easier to test edge cases or scenarios that may be too dangerous to test in the real world. Validating the application in simulation before deploying to the robot can shorten iteration time by revealing potential issues early. Because it is costly and time-consuming to develop and test applications using a real robot, simulation is becoming an increasingly important part of robotic application development.
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