Robotic Systems · Lecture 13

Choosing and comparing simulation tools

Simeon Nedelchev

Full notes, practice, and references

Workload first

Inverse dynamics, contact rollout, and batched training need different capabilities.

Latency and throughput answer different questions.

Tool roles

MuJoCo: dynamics with contact and actuation.

Pinocchio: rigid-body algorithms.

Drake: multibody modeling and planning tools.

Batch example

One environment in 0.1 ms.

A batch of 1,000 in 2 ms after compilation.

The second result does not establish lower single-environment latency.

Benchmark contract

Same model, timestep, horizon, and outputs.

Compilation and execution have separate timings.

Backend support

Feature compatibility and differentiation depend on the backend.

Unsupported features belong in the report.

Practice

Check numerical agreement before comparing speed.

Reading: MuJoCo MJX Pinocchio algorithms

Reading

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