Robot Simulation for Control Design

Abstract

The simulation is widely used in all fields of robotics from kinematics and dynamics to industrial applications. Actually, advanced robot systems require sophisticated simulation tools which can model accurately enough the physical world at a sufficient speed and allow the user interaction. New challenges in the simulation of the robotic systems are multi-body dynamics that computes robot and object motions under the influence of external forces, fast collision detection and contact determination, realistic visualization of the robot and environment, and haptic interaction. The advanced simulation tools are the foundation for the design of sophisticated robot systems, for the application of robots in complex environments and for the development of new control strategies and algorithms. The simulation being once a tool for the analysis of a robot system and task planning, has become an open platform for developing new robot systems. Not only that the modern simulation tools can simulate and visualize the real world in a very realistic way, they allow to go beyond the reality. Namely, the researchers may build experimental environments according to their own imagination, using robots and technologies which are not available yet. In the end, we believe that the simulation in robotics has reached a very important role and by using different simulation software, the current and future capabilities of complex robotic systems can be significantly improved.