CALIPER: A universal robot simulation framework for tendon-driven robots

The development of increasingly complex robots in recent years has been characterized by an extensive use of physics-based simulations for controller design and optimization. Today, a variety of open-source and commercial simulators exist for this purpose for mobile and industrial robots. However, existing simulation engines still lack support for the emerging class of tendon-driven robots. In this paper, an innovative simulation framework for the simulation of tendon-driven robots is presented. It consists of a generic physics simulator capable of utilizing CAD robot models and a set of additional tools for simulation control, data acquisition and system investigation. The framework software architecture has been designed using component-based development principles to facilitate the framework extension and customization. Furthermore, for inter-component communication, the operating-system and programming language independent Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) [1] has been used which simplifies the integration of the framework into existing software environments.

[1]  Olivier Michel,et al.  Cyberbotics Ltd. Webots™: Professional Mobile Robot Simulation , 2004 .

[2]  Mitsuo Kawato,et al.  Internal models for motor control and trajectory planning , 1999, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[3]  Morgan Quigley,et al.  ROS: an open-source Robot Operating System , 2009, ICRA 2009.

[4]  Owen Holland,et al.  Architectures for functional imagination , 2009, Neurocomputing.

[5]  Chen Rong-zheng.  The Design and Realization of Online Game Interface Module Based on Object-oriented Graphics Rendering Engine (OGRE) , 2009 .

[6]  A. Boeing,et al.  Evaluation of real-time physics simulations systems , 2007 .

[7]  Cyril S. Ku,et al.  Design Patterns , 2008, Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering.

[8]  Andrew Howard,et al.  Design and use paradigms for Gazebo, an open-source multi-robot simulator , 2004, 2004 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37566).

[9]  Christopher G. Lasater,et al.  Design Patterns , 2008, Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering.

[10]  Rob Knight,et al.  ECCE1: The first of a series of anthropomimetic musculoskeletal upper torsos , 2010, 2010 10th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots.

[11]  Wolfram Burgard,et al.  Body schema learning for robotic manipulators from visual self-perception , 2009, Journal of Physiology - Paris.

[12]  Thomas Bräunl,et al.  Evaluation of real-time physics simulation systems , 2007, GRAPHITE '07.

[13]  Remi Arnaud,et al.  COLLADA: Sailing the Gulf of 3D Digital Content Creation , 2006 .

[14]  W. Marsden.  I and J , 2012 .

[15]  Ralph Johnson,et al.  design patterns elements of reusable object oriented software , 2019 .

[16]  R Blumhardt.  FEM - crash simulation and optimization , 2001 .

[17]  David R. Nadeau,et al.  VRML 2.0 Sourcebook , 1995 .

[18]  Jared Jackson.  Microsoft robotics studio: A technical introduction , 2007, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine.

[19]  Clemens A. Szyperski,et al.  Component software - beyond object-oriented programming , 2002 .

[20]  Ayman Habib,et al.  OpenSim: Open-Source Software to Create and Analyze Dynamic Simulations of Movement , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[21]  Ashish B. Shah,et al.  Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) , 2015 .

[22]  Lakmal Seneviratne,et al.  Adaptive Control Of Robot Manipulators , 1992, Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[23]  Takashi Suehiro,et al.  A Software Platform for Component Based RT-System Development: OpenRTM-Aist , 2008, SIMPAR.

[24]  Chi-Sang Poon,et al.  Pacemakers handshake synchronization mechanism of mammalian respiratory rhythmogenesis , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[25]  Rob Knight,et al.  The Anthropomimetic Principle , 2006 .

[26]  W Leontief,et al.  New Approaches in Economic Analysis , 1985, Science.

[27]  Alois Knoll,et al.  Physics-based modeling of an anthropomimetic robot , 2011, 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.