Simulation of robot dynamics for grasping and manipulation tasks

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of simulating the dynamics of a robot, which include sensors and actuators, in the context of robot grasping and manipulation. The simulated robot is equipped with tactile sensors using soft contacts and is actuated by angular motors. The simulation is tightly integrated with the real robot, which allows the transparent control of both robots with the same joints' velocity commands, and the perception of the same sensor readings. In order to validate the simulation, three different types of manipulation experiments are performed and recorded, both on the real and on the simulated robots. Results show that the simulated robot replicates the real execution with sufficient accuracy, which enables the simulation tool to be used as a replacement for the real hardware for development and prototyping.