Glossary
Collider
A collider is a geometric representation of an object used in motion planning and simulation to define its physical boundaries for the purpose of collision detection. In robotic systems, colliders are used to model the shape, size, and position of obstacles, tools, or robot parts within a workspace.
Colliders are essential for planning collision-free paths by informing the motion planner which areas of space should be avoided. Common shapes include spheres, boxes, and cylinders, typically defined by their position, size and orientation.
Code example:
# Sphere collider
sphere_collider = models.Collider(
shape=models.ColliderShape(models.Sphere2(radius=100, shape_type="sphere")),
pose=models.Pose2(position=[-100, -500, 200]),
)Collision-free motion
A planned trajectory that avoids intersecting with any collider defined in the environment.
Collision scene
A collection of colliders and their spatial relationships used to simulate an environment for motion planning and collision detection.
Degrees of freedom (DoF)
Degrees of freedom (DoF) is a term used in robotics to describe the number of independent movements a robot can make. For example, a 6DoF robot can move in six different ways: three translational movements (X, Y, Z) and three rotational movements (roll, pitch, yaw). In the context of Wandelbots NOVA, the term is used to describe the number of joints in a robot arm or the number of axes in a motion group.
Motion group
A motion group is the robot arm or an external axis controlled by the robot controller which they are connected to. Commonly referred to as a robot. The API can interact with virtual and physical motion groups.
Robot
A robot is common language for motion group. A motion group is the robot arm or an external axis controlled by the robot controller which they are connected to. Commonly referred to as a robot. The API can interact with virtual and physical motion groups.
Robot cell
A robot cell contains one or more robot controllers as well as connected periphery.
TCP
Tool center point of an end effector. The default tool center point is the flange where the tool is attached to the motion group. When attaching a tool, you need to define a corresponding tool center point in relation to the flange by specifying a position offset and a relative direction. To execute motion commands, the API uses the TCP as reference for movements, e.g. the tip of a dispenser or the center of a sanding disc.
Robot controller
A robot controller mainly takes care of the networking, kinematics and motion control of the robots and periphery connected to it.
Rotation
Wandelbots NOVA API uses two different ways to describe a 3D rotation: Rotation vector in radians and quaternions.
| Rotation vector order | Quaternion order |
|---|---|
| X = Vector[0], Y = Vector[1], Z = Vector[2] | X = Vector[0], Y = Vector[1], Z = Vector[2], W = Scalar[3] |
Simulation
Simulation is an accurate virtual representation of a robot cell. It is used to test robot programs before deploying them to a physical robot cell.
With Wandelbots NOVA, simulation is uniquely associated with using NVIDIA Isaac Sim. Learn how to simulate with NVIDIA Isaac Sim™ x Wandelbots NOVA here.
Virtualization
Virtualization in Wandelbots NOVA describes all processes and results connected to creating a virtual impression of a physical robot cell. This virtual impression is used to create robot programs and test them in a virtual environment before deploying them to a physical robot cell.
The 3D view in Robot Pad offers a visual representation of the virtual cell and the planned paths.
Not to be confused with simulation.