docs/modules/simulation/intro.md

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Module 2: Gazebo & Unity - The Digital Twin

This module focuses on simulation environments that serve as "digital twins" for physical robots. Simulation is a critical component of robotics development, allowing for safe, cost-effective testing and development before deployment on physical hardware.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand physics simulation concepts and their importance in robotics
• Build and configure simulation environments in Gazebo
• Implement sensor simulation for cameras, LIDAR, IMUs, and other robot sensors
• Create high-fidelity rendering and visualization using Unity
• Design human-robot interaction scenarios in simulation
• Integrate Gazebo and Unity for comprehensive simulation workflows

Module Structure

This module contains 4 chapters that will progressively build your understanding of simulation:

1. Chapter 1: Physics Simulation Basics - Fundamentals of physics simulation
2. Chapter 2: Sensors and Environment Building - Creating sensor models and environments
3. Chapter 3: High-Fidelity Rendering & Human-Robot Interaction - Visualization and interaction
4. Chapter 4: Integrating Gazebo and Unity - Combining simulation platforms

Why Simulation Matters

Simulation plays a crucial role in humanoid robotics development:

• Safety: Test complex behaviors without risk of damaging expensive hardware
• Cost-effectiveness: Experiment with different scenarios without physical deployment
• Repeatability: Consistent environments for algorithm testing and debugging
• Speed: Accelerate development by running simulations faster than real time
• Synthetic Data: Generate training data for AI systems

Prerequisites for This Module

• Basic understanding of physics concepts (motion, forces, collisions)
• Completion of Module 1 (ROS 2 concepts)
• Familiarity with 3D graphics concepts helpful but not required

Getting Started

Begin with Chapter 1: Physics Simulation Basics to explore the fundamentals of physics simulation in robotics.