M3tk: A Robot Mobility and Manipulation Modeling Toolkit

Abstract

In this brief paper, we present an overview of the M3tk software for modeling robotic systems. M3tk contains basic kinematics, inverse kinematics, dynamics and inverse dynamics capabilities for articulated multi-rigid body systems. Written in C++, the software features a core kinematics and dynamics library, a linear algebra library specialized for use with the algorithms in M3tk, and a Graphical User Interface with full 3D visualization. It contains implementations of multiple contact mechanics models and the ability to model terrain through heightfields. M3tk also features an ability to model terrains with spatially distributed properties. There is also an ability to manipulate objects using a joystick. This paper summarizes M3tk without delving into the details of the code.