Discrete Differential Geometry-Based Simulation Framework for Soft Robotic Structures

Accurate and efficient simulation tools are crucial in robotics, enabling the prediction of system dynamics with varying levels of fidelity and the validation of control strategies before committing to physical experimentation. Developing physically accurate simulation tools is particularly challenging in soft robotics, owing to geometrically nonlinear deformation of the deformable body. A variety of robot simulators tackle this challenge by using simplified modeling techniques like a lumped mass model which leads to physical inaccuracies in real-world applications. On the other hand, state-of-the-art simulation methods for soft structures, like finite element analysis, offer increased accuracy but lead to higher computational costs. In light of this, we present a Discrete Differential Geometry-based simulator that improves the computational speed while also maintaining physical accuracy. Our open-source MATLAB-based simulator models soft robotic structures as rods, shells, or their combinations. The implementations for prevalent forces encountered in robotics, including gravity, contact, kinetic, and viscous friction have been provided. The proposed simulator can help enhance the Sim2Real pathway in soft robotics research.