- Webots
Infobox Software
name = Webots 5
latest_release_version = Webots 5.9.2
latest_release_date = June 19, 2008
developer = Cyberbotics Ltd.
operating_system =Windows 2000 ,Windows XP ,Windows Vista ,Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 (Universal binary), and mostLinux distributions: Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, Debian, etc. (x86 and x86-64 packages)
genre =Robotics suite
license = Proprietary
website = [http://www.cyberbotics.com/ Cyberbotics Web page]Webots is a professional
robot simulator widely used in academic and education.The Webots project started in 1996, initially developed by Dr. Olivier Michel at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL ) inLausanne ,Switzerland .Webots uses the ODE (
Open Dynamics Engine ) for detecting of collisions and for simulating the rigid body dynamics. The ODE library allows to accurately simulate the physical properties of objects, such as velocity, inertia, friction, etc.A large collection of robot models comes in the software distribution, these models can be modified whenever needed. In addition it is also possible to build new models from scratch. When designing a robot model, the user specifies both the graphical and the physical properties of the objects. The graphical properties are: the shape, the dimensions, the position and orientation, the colors, the texture, etc. of the object. The physical properties are: the mass, the friction factor, the spring and
damping constants, etc.Webots includes a set of sensors and actuators frequently used in robotic experiments, e.g.
proximity sensors , light sensors, touch sensors,GPS ,accelerometer s, cameras, emitters and receivers, servo motors (rotational & linear), position and force sensor, LEDs, grippers, etc.The robot controller programs can be written in C, C++, Java and Python or interfaced with other languages. The
AIBO ,Nao_(robot) andE-puck robot models can also be programmed with theURBI language (URBI license required).Webots offers the possibility to take
PNG screen shots and to record the simulations asMPEG (Mac/Linux) andAVI (Windows) movies. Webots worlds are stored in .wbt files which have a format very similar toVRML . It is also possible to import and export Webots worlds or objects in theVRML format. Another useful feature is that the user can interact with a running simulation at any time, i.e. it possible to move the robots and other object with the mouse.Controller Programming Example
This is a simple example of C/C++ controller programming with Webots: a trivial collision avoidance behaviour. Initially, the robot runs forwards, then when an obstacle is detected it rotates around itself for a while and then resumes the forward motion.
#include
#include
#includeDeviceTag ds; // distance sensor
// controller initializationstatic void reset(void) { ds = robot_get_device("ps0"); // get handle distance_sensor_enable(ds, 64);}
// control loopstatic int run(int ms) {
int v = distance_sensor_get_value(ds); // read sensor
// if obstacle detected: if (v > 512) { differential_wheels_set_speed(400, -400); // turn around return 1280; // for 1280 milliseconds }
// otherwise differential_wheels_set_speed(600, 600); // go straight return 64; // for 64 milliseconds}
int main() { robot_live(reset); // initialization robot_run(run); // start control loop return 0;}
Main Fields of Application
* Fast prototyping of wheeled and legged robots
* Research on robot locomotioncite web
publisher = Biologically Inspired Robotics Group
date = 2007
url = http://birg2.epfl.ch/publications/fulltext/sDegallier07.pdf
title = Hand placement during quadruped locomotion in a humanoid robot: A dynamical system approach
format = PDF ]
*Swarm intelligence (Multi-robot simulations)cite web
publisher = Swarm-Intelligent Systems Group
date = 2008
url = http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/118629
title = Distributed Adaptation in Multi-Robot Search using Particle Swarm Optimization] cite web
publisher = DISAL - Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory
date = 2008
url = http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/125777/files/Cianci_SIS2008.pdf
title = Assembly of Configurations in a Networked Robotic System: A Case Study on a Reconfigurable Interactive Table Lamp
format = PDF]
*Artificial life andevolutionary robotics
* Simulation of adaptive behaviourLouis-Emmanuel Martinet, Benjamin Fouque, Jean-Baptiste Passot, Jean-Arcady Meyer, and Angelo Arleo, Modelling the Cortical Columnar Organisation for Topological State-Space Representation, and Action Planning, In M. Asada et als (Eds.): SAB 2008, LNAI 5040, pp. 137-147, 2008, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008.] Mannella F., Mirolli M., Baldassarre G., A computational model of the amygdala nuclei's role in second order conditioning. In M. Asada et al. (eds.), From Animals to Animats 10: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on the Simulation of Adaptive Behavior (SAB2008), pp. 321-330. LNAI 5040 Berlin: Springer.]
*Self-Reconfiguring Modular Robotics cite web
publisher = Biologically Inspired Robotics Group
date = 2008
url = http://birg2.epfl.ch/publications/fulltext/aSproewitz08.pdf
title = An active connection mechanism for modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems based on physical latching
format = PDF ]
* Experimental environment forcomputer vision
* Teaching and robot programming contestsIncluded Robots Models
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