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Arobotics simulator is a simulator used to create an application for a physicalrobot without depending on the physical machine, thus saving cost and time. In some case, such applications can be transferred onto a physical robot (or rebuilt) without modification.

The termrobotics simulator can refer to several different robotics simulation applications. For example, inmobile robotics applications,behavior-based robotics simulators allow users to create simple worlds of rigid objects and light sources and to program robots to interact with these worlds. Behavior-based simulation allows for actions that are more biotic in nature when compared to simulators that are more binary, or computational. Also, behavior-based simulators maylearn from mistakes and can demonstrate theanthropomorphic quality of tenacity.

One of the most popular applications for robotics simulators is for3D modeling and rendering of a robot and its environment. This type of robotics software has a simulator that is a virtual robot, which can emulate the motion of a physical robot in a real work envelope. Some robotics simulators use aphysics engine for more realistic motion generation of the robot. The use of a robotics simulator to develop a robotics control program is highly recommended regardless of whether a physical robot is available or not. The simulator allows for robotics programs to be conveniently written anddebugged off-line with the final version of the program tested on a physical robot. This applies mainly toindustrial robotic applications, since the success of off-line programming depends on how similar the physical environment of a robot is to a simulated environment.

Sensor-based robot actions are much more difficult to simulate and/or to program off-line, since the robot motion depends on instantaneous sensor readings in the real world.

Modern simulators tend to provide the following features:

• Fast robot prototyping:
  • Using the own simulator as creation tool
  • Using external tools
• Physics engines for realistic movements: Most simulators useBullet,ODE orPhysX.
• Realistic 3d rendering: Standard 3d modeling tools or third-party tools can be used to build the environments.
• Dynamic robot bodies with scripting:C,C++,Perl,Python,Java,URBI, andMATLAB languages used by Webots; C++ used byGazebo.

Among the newest technologies available today for programming are those which use a virtual simulation. Simulations with the use of virtual models of the working environment and the robots themselves can offer advantages to both the company and programmer. By using a simulation, costs are reduced, and robots can be programmed off-line which eliminates any down-time for an assembly line. Robot actions and assembly parts can be visualized in a three-dimensional virtual environment months before prototypes are even produced. Writing code for a simulation is also easier than writing code for a physical robot. While the move toward virtual simulations for programming robots is a step forward in user interface design, many such applications are only in their infancy.

• Robotics suites

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