V-Rep. Presentation no.

V-Rep. Entities II
Highlights
V-Rep. Entities II
• Scene Objects
• Joints
• Dummies
• Graphs
• Proximity sensors
Scene Objects

The main elements in V-REP that are used for

building a simulation scene are scene objects
(objects in short). Objects are visible in the scene
hierarchy and in the scene view. In the scene view,
objects have a three dimensional representation as
illustrated in following figure:
Scene Objects |

[Object types in V-REP and their three dimensional representation]

Scene object properties
The scene object properties dialog is located at
[Menu bar --> Tools --> Scene object properties].
You can also open the dialog with a double-click on
an object icon in the scene hierarchy, or with a click
on its toolbar button:

[Scene object properties toolbar button]

Scene Objects |

The scene object properties dialog

displays properties related to objects
(i.e. scene objects). The dialog is
context sensitive and its content will
mainly depend on the scene object
selection state: only the properties of
the last selected object will be
displayed.

[Scene object properties dialog, currently displaying the object common properties]
Joints
A joint is an object that has at least one
intrinsic Degree of Freedom (DoF). Joints are
used to build mechanisms and to move
objects as can be seen in following figures:

[Robotic manipulator (left) and visible joints/motor (right)]

Scene Objects |Joints

Compared to another object, a joint has two reference frames (visible only if
the joint is selected). The first one is the regular reference frame that is fixed
and that other objects also have. The second reference frame is not fixed, and
will move relative to the first reference frame depending on the joint position
(or joint value) that defines its configuration.
Scene Objects |Joints

4 types of joints are supported:

[Revolute joint, prismatic joint, screw and spherical joint]

Scene Objects |Joints

Revolute joints: revolute joints have one DoF and are used to describe
rotational movements (with 1 DoF) between objects. Their configuration
is defined by one value that represents the amount of rotation about
their first reference frame's z-axis. They can be used as passive joints, or
as active joints (motors).
Scene Objects |Joints

Prismatic joints: prismatic joints have one DoF and are used to describe
translational movements between objects. Their configuration is defined
by one value that represents the amount of translation along their first
reference frame's z-axis. They can be used as passive joints, or as active
joints (motors).
Scene Objects |Joints

Screws: screws, which can be seen as a combination of revolute joints

and prismatic joints (with linked values), have one DoF and are used to
describe a movement similar to a screw. A pitch parameter defines the
amount of translation for a given amount of rotation. A screw
configuration is defined by one value that represents the amount of
rotation about its first reference frame's z-axis. Screws can be used as
passive joints, or as active joints (motors).
Scene Objects |Joints

Spherical joints: spherical joints have three DoF and are used to describe
rotational movements (with 3 DoF) between objects. Their configuration
is defined by three values that represent the amount of rotation around
their first reference frame's x-, y- and z-axis. The three values that define
a spherical joint's configuration are specified as Euler angles.
Scene Objects |Joints

A joint is used to allow for a relative movement between its

parent and its children. When a parent-child relationship is built
between a joint and an object, the object is attached to the
joint's second reference frame, thus, a change of the joint's
configuration (intrinsic position) will directly be reflected onto
its children. New joints can be added to a scene with
[Menu bar --> Add --> Joints].
Dummies
A dummy object is the simplest object available: it is a point
with orientation, and it can be seen as a reference frame.
Used alone, they are not that useful, however when used in
conjunction with other objects or calculation modules, they
can be of crucial importance; dummies are multipurpose or
helper objects. Following figure shows a dummy:

[Dummy]
Scene Objects |Dummies

Dummies are collidable, measurable and detectable objects. This means

that dummies:

• can be used in collision detections with other collidable objects that are
volume based, such as octrees.
• can be used in minimum distance calculations with other measurable
objects.
• can be detected by proximity sensors.
Scene Objects |Dummies

By default, the collidable, measurable and detectable property of a

dummy is turned off (see object common properties).

Dummies can be added to the scene with

[Menu bar --> Add --> Dummy], or created from a shape object in the
vertex edit mode.
Graphs
Graphs are objects that can be used to record,
visualize or export data from a simulation.
They are very powerful and flexible. The user
can select from a multitude of data types
applied to specific objects to record.
Scene Objects |Graphs

Data is recorded as a data stream (sequential list of data values) that can
be visualized in three different ways:
• Time graphs: a time graph of a single data stream (time vs data stream).
• X/Y graphs: a graph that combines two data streams (data stream A vs
data stream B).
• 3D cu rves: a 3D graph that combines three data streams in time (time
vs (data stream A, data stream B, data stream C)).
Scene Objects |Graphs

[Examples of graphs]
Scene Objects |Graphs

A graph is added to the scene with [Menu bar --> Add --> Graph]. What
you see is the three dimensional representation of the graph. If a 3D curve
was defined for that graph, that curve is directly visible as can be seen in
following figure:

[A graph object]
Scene Objects |Graphs

Data streams recorded by a graph can be exported to a *.csv file (Comma

Separated Values) that can easily be imported by various applications (e.g.
Excel). In the scene, select the graphs you want to export the data from,
and select [Menu bar --> File --> Export --> Selected graphs as CSV...].

The unit of exported data streams will be in meters, kilograms, seconds

and degrees (or a combination of those).
Proximity Sensors
V-REP offers a very powerful and efficient way to
simulate proximity sensors. The user can model
almost any type of proximity sensor, from
ultrasonic to infrared, and so on. The scene
objects that allow for this functionality are
proximity sensors (which are different from vision
sensors), which can detect detectable entities.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

Following figures illustrates simulations using proximity sensors:

[Mobile robots using proximity sensors]

Proximity sensors are added to the scene with [menu bar -->
Add --> Proximity sensor].
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors come in 6 different types and can be customized to a

large extent:

[Ray-type, pyramid-type, cylinder-type, disk-type and cone- or randomized ray-type proximity sensors]
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Ray-type: the ray-type proximity sensor is ideally suited for very simple
modeling of a proximity sensor, or for modeling of a laser range finder.
They are the fastest proximity sensors.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Randomized ray-type: the randomized ray-type proximity sensor

operates as a ray-type sensor that randomly sweeps a cone volume. It
has a similar appearance as the cone-type proximity sensor.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Pyramid-type: the pyramid-type proximity sensor is ideally suited for

simple modeling of a proximity sensor with a detection volume that is
rectangular. They are very fast.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Cylinder-type: the cylinder-type proximity sensor is ideally suited for

simple modeling of a proximity sensor with a detection volume that is
revolute. They are very fast.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Disk-type: the disk-type proximity sensor allows precisely modeling of a

proximity sensor with a revolute-scanning detection volume.
Depending on the selected precision and operation mode, they can be
a little bit more calculation intensive.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

• Cone-type: the cone-type proximity sensor allows for the best and
most precise modeling of most proximity sensors. Depending on the
selected precision and operation mode, they can be a little bit more
calculation intensive.
Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors operate in a geometrically exact manner: they perform

an exact distance calculation between their sensing point (small sphere)
and any detectable entity that interferes with its detection volume (they
don't perform a simple collision detection between the sensing volume
edges like most other simulation software, but an exact distance
calculation within the detection volume). Each proximity sensor will
compute following minimum distance:

Sensing point <-- --> (detectable entity ∩ detection volume)

Scene Objects |Proximity Sensors

[Minimum distance calculation between sensing point and (detectable entity ∩ detection volume)]
Following Highlights
V-Rep. Presentation no. 10

V-Rep. Entities III

• Scene Objects
• Vision sensors
• Force sensors
• Paths
• Octress
• Point clouds
• Entities Collections