A unified simulator for Self-Reconfigurable Robots

Generic simulation platforms such as player/stage are an essential tool in mobile robotics, but until now no similar platforms have been available for the field of self-reconfigurable robots. We here present a generic simulation platform for modular, self-reconfigurable robots: the unified simulator for self-reconfigurable robots (USSR). USSR is based on a physics engine, allowing simulation of both self-reconfiguration and dynamic interaction with the environment. The simulator is implemented as a framework that provides numerous components that can be combined to form new or existing modular robots, allowing easy experimentation: USSR currently includes support for the ATRON, Odin, and M-TRAN modular robots.