CARDSFlow: An End-to-End Open-Source Physics Environment for the Design, Simulation and Control of Musculoskeletal Robots

Motivated by the similar structure and actuation mechanism to humans and animals, the study of musculoskeletal robots has gained attention in recent years. However, the unilateral actuation property of muscles and high complexity of the mechanical system imposes great challenges on the design and control of such robots. An open-source realistic simulation platform for theoretical testing would therefore be advantageous for the research community of musculoskeletal robots. In this paper, an end-to-end open-source framework for the design, simulation and control of the general class of musculoskeletal robots (CARDSFlow) is presented. The framework consists of three advantageous features: 1) 3D computer-aided designs of musculoskeletal robots can be automatically converted for use with Gazebo and CASPR; 2) realistic physics simulation of musculoskeletal robots within Gazebo; and 3) integration of CASPR cable-driven robot controllers with CARDSFlow through the ROS platform. Simulation results on a two-link planar robot and the Roboy robot arm are presented to demonstrate the convenience to design and simulate musculoskeletal robots using CARDSFlow.