Developing virtual testbeds for intelligent robot manipulators - An eRobotics approach

The continuously widening range of applications of robot manipulators does not only give rise to high performance requirements on robots. It notably implies challenging demands set on robot simulators. These include modeling flexibility and the support of advanced control capabilities, especially in the case of mechanical interaction. This paper focuses on the simulation of compliant robots that can skillfully interact with their environments. To this end, robots in the simulator are endowed with the capability to accommodate external forces. The practical usefulness of the simulator includes the flexible and insightful planning, assessment and enhancement of various interaction scenarios through 3D simulation as well as physical interaction with real robots by using simulated compliant joint trajectories. The approach and results highlight the benefits that can be realized through the synergy between intelligent robotics and virtual reality techniques, as pursued by eRobotics, which strives to provide a comprehensive and versatile software environment for addressing robotics-related issues.