Timor Python: A Toolbox for Industrial Modular Robotics

Development of controllers, novel robot kinematics, and learning-based applications of robotics today happens almost exclusively in simulation first before being implemented in the real world. In particular, Modular Reconfigurable Robots (MRRs) are an exciting innovation in industrial robotics, promising greater flexibility, improved maintainability, and cost-efficiency compared to traditional manipulators. However, there is no tool or standardized way to simulate and model assemblies of modules in the same way it has been done for robotic manipulators for decades. We introduce the Toolbox for Industrial Modular Robotics (Timor), a python toolbox to bridge this gap and integrate modular robotics in existing simulation and optimization pipelines. Our open-source library comes with various examples as well as tutorials and can easily be integrated with existing simulation tools - not least by offering URDF export of arbitrary modular robot assemblies, enabling rapid model generation.

cRoK: A Composable Robotics Benchmark

Selecting an optimal robot and configuring it for a given task is currently mostly done by human expertise or trial and error. To evaluate automatic selection and adaptation of robots to specific tasks, we introduce a benchmark suite encompassing a common format for robots, environments, and task descriptions. Our benchmark suite is especially useful for modular robots, where the creation of the robots themselves creates a host of additional parameters to optimize. The benchmark defines this optimization and facilitates the comparison of solution algorithms. All benchmarks are accessible through a website to conveniently share, reference, and compare solutions.