Simulation in robotics

Simulation has been recognized as an important research tool since the beginning of the 20th century. However, the good times for simulation started with the development of computers and now the simulation is a powerful visualization, planning, and strategic tool in different areas of research and development. The simulation has also a very important role in robotics. Different tools are used for the analysis of kinematics and dynamics of robotic manipulators, for off-line programming, to design different control algorithms, to design mechanical structure of robots, to design robotic cells and production lines, etc. In the paper an overview of the simulation in robotics is given and some topics like: how simulation makes things easier, advantages and backdraws of the simulation in robotics, virtual and real world, are pointed out. The scope of the lecture is the role of the simulation, simulation in different fields of robotics, integrated environment for dynamic simulation of robot manipulators, the simulation of robot manipulators in MATLAB/Simulink (a case study), and simulation and visualization of robot systems using general dynamic engines and graphic languages. (C) 2008 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.