A Dynamics Simulator for Soft Growing Robots

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-speed dynamics simulator for soft growing robots, specifically vine robots, capable of modeling complex behaviors and interactions with environment, aiding in control and motion planning.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, fast, multi-link rigid-body simulation framework for vine robots, including methods for parameter fitting from video data to improve realism.

Findings

Simulator runs faster than real time

Qualitative and quantitative agreement with real robot behaviors

Effective parameter fitting from video data

Abstract

Simulating soft robots in cluttered environments remains an open problem due to the challenge of capturing complex dynamics and interactions with the environment. Furthermore, fast simulation is desired for quickly exploring robot behaviors in the context of motion planning. In this paper, we examine a particular class of inflated-beam soft growing robots called "vine robots", and present a dynamics simulator that captures general behaviors, handles robot-object interactions, and runs faster than real time. The simulator framework uses a simplified multi-link, rigid-body model with contact constraints. To narrow the sim-to-real gap, we develop methods for fitting model parameters based on video data of a robot in motion and in contact with an environment. We provide examples of simulations, including several with fit parameters, to show the qualitative and quantitative agreement between simulated and real behaviors. Our work demonstrates the capabilities of this high-speed dynamics simulator and its potential for use in the control of soft robots.