Robot Simulation Compatible With Solidworks

[The CADDy]

I am a CAD member on my team and we are looking for ways to up or game in Robot simulation. We have already experimented with Solidworks motion study and simulation and now we are looking to take a step to controllable robot simulation. Something similar to what 3539(Byting Bulldogs) did with Gazebo last year. Any suggestions on what program we should run that would be the easiest to run with solidworks(if possible) or any extra advice you may have with robot simulation.

[gblake]

Caddy,

I think you will be able to get better advice if you can clarify what questions you want the simulation to answer, and clarify what you mean when you write "run with solidworks". I'll guess that most of us aren't familiar with what 3539 did last year.

Also, when you searched for past discussions, What did you dislike about the options your search turned up? What was missing from them?

Remember, simulators that don't answer questions are just games. Know your questions.

Blake

[The CADDy]

Thank you Blake for the feedback,

You are right I was kind of vague with my wording so I will try and clarify.

Our team designs our robot using Solidworks 2015-2016. Last year we were able to create assemble the robot on CAD, and have all the correct mates so that we could show actions that our actual robot would be performing. Using solidworks we performed motion studies(mainly just to visualize the robot's moving components) and stress tests on certain parts(to the best of our abilities)

While at worlds last year another CAD member and I visited team 3539's pit and saw that they were able to "simulate" their robot on the Stronghold field and drive it around using a controller. To clarify this is not actual "simulation " because it is not answering any questions (from what I saw), but it was still a very nice way to model and visualize the moving robot without actually driving the physical one itself.

In the off season I have been trying to get a better understanding of how they were able to accomplish this. From what I understand you have to have some sort of CAD model imported into the program and then program the model in some way. I am far from getting a grasp on the whole concept that is why I came here for answers.

So the question i should ask is: Is there anyway to take a CAD model of a FRC robot and control that in a "game" format? and if so what would be the best program to use?

My end goal here is to have a drivable robot on the computer. Something similar to what Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio does.

[Lireal]

The two that I know about are FRCSim and Autodesk Synthesis. Both should work well with Solidworks, and provide an opportunity for you to test your code as well, but FRCSim needs to be run on Ubuntu.

[The CADDy]

Thank you I appreciate the help. I'll try and familiarize myself with these and figure out which one is the best fit

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Lireal

The two that I know about are FRCSim and Autodesk Synthesis. Both should work well with Solidworks, and provide an opportunity for you to test your code as well, but FRCSim needs to be run on Ubuntu.

Originally Posted by The CADDy

...

In the off season I have been trying to get a better understanding of how they were able to accomplish this. From what I understand you have to have some sort of CAD model imported into the program and then program the model in some way. I am far from getting a grasp on the whole concept that is why I came here for answers.

So the question i should ask is: Is there anyway to take a CAD model of a FRC robot and control that in a "game" format? and if so what would be the best program to use?

My end goal here is to have a drivable robot on the computer. Something similar to what Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio does.

Based on your reply, I'll second what Lireal wrote, and add a little to it.

Because you don't seem to want to just drive a virtual robot for fun, or for show & tell, I'm guessing that you do want to learn something from the simulation. Here is a list of possible topics to explore. If I'm wrong about your goal, there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a little eye-candy. However, keep in mind that even if all you want is that eye-candy, it can have different levels of sophistication/fidelity.

Some of these topics require a sophisticated simulation. Some don't. Some require one type of simulation, others require a different type. Some simulations need to run in "real" time. In others, matching real world time isn't important. The two tools Lireal named are good for some parts of this list, not so much for others.

• Do any of our moving parts collide unexpectedly?
• Will our robot tip over when we drive it hard?
• Given a known battery & motor(s) condition, how fast will we be able to accelerate/brake?
• Given a known battery & motor(s) condition, what will our top speed be?
• Given a known battery & motor(s) condition, what will our manipulators be able to do?
• Assuming perfect game pieces, how likely is capturing one with our manipulator/intake?
• Assuming perfect game pieces, how likely is putting one into a goal with our manipulator/shooter?
• Given a known battery, motor(s), wheel tread, and field surface condition, how much force can we exert in a pushing contest?
• Given a known battery, motor(s), wheel tread, and field surface condition, will we be able to get past an obstacle?
• What sort of measurements should we expect to receive from sensors we use?
• What commands should we issue in autonomous to accomplish a task?
• Will our software (software changes) work when we try them in the real robot?
• Which maneuvers/operations should we try to bundle into single commands/macros, and which should the operator have to carry out without help?
• What visual or tactile feedback will the drive team and human player need during matches to be most effective?
• What physical control devices should our Driver Station expose to the drivers?
• How should we divide responsibilities among the members of the drive team and what type of collaboration should they practice (among themselves, and with other teams).
• Given a "typical" robot that roughly approximates one you might build, how many places can it visit and/or how many tasks can it accomplish during a match?
• Is zone defense likely to fare better or worse than man-to-man defense in the 2017 game?
• Should scoring methods focus on quality or quantity?
• What should scouts record during a match (for alliance selection, or for driver advice), and how many scouts does it take to collect that information accurately?
• etc.

Those are some of the topics a team with enough "bandwidth" can explore using simulators. One way to use a list like this is to ask whether each/any simulator you consider using will help with each/any topic in the list.

Blake
PS: Simulators can include humans rolling around a big room in chairs, paper dolls on a drawing, supercomputers lighting up a video wall/room/cockpit, or spreadsheets computing electrical motor or "pneumatics" performance (mechanical, thermal, etc effects).