SimSpark is a generic simulation system for various multiagent simulations. It supports developing physical simulations for AI and robotics research with an open-source application framework. It is commonly used in academic research and education.

History

The SimSpark project started in 2003 and was based on the building blocks of the ''Spark'' project. It was initially developed by Marco Kögler and Oliver Obst at the University of Koblenz-Landau in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. SimSpark was registered with

SourceForge SourceForge is a web service founded by Geoffrey B. Jeffery, Tim Perdue, and Drew Streib in November 1999. SourceForge provides a centralized software discovery platform, including an online platform for managing and hosting open-source soft ...

in 2004 and has an established code base with development increasing year-over-year.Unknown
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Architecture

Agents communicate with the simulation server via UDP or TCP, and therefore can be implemented in any language that supports such sockets. Multiple software agents can participate in one simulation. Simulations are created within the server using the

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

language and text-based RSG files. SimSpark uses the Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) for detecting collisions and for simulating rigid body dynamics. ODE allows accurate simulation of the physical properties of objects such as velocity, inertia and friction.

Use in RoboCup

SimSpark is the simulation engine for the

RoboCup RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, Itsuki Noda and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI ...

3D Soccer Simulation League. In this simulation two teams play

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

with rules similar to regular soccer. The robots use simulated cameras and other sensors such as accelerometers, gyros and touch and audio sensors. Software agents process signals from these sensors (also known as ''perceptors'') and generate control signals for the 22 hinges within each robot's body in order to achieve whatever forms of motion are required to win a game of soccer. The original soccer robot model was known as ''soccerbot'', but since 2008 it has been replaced with a Nao robot inspired model.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Project Homepage

GitLab Page

SourceForge home page

SourceForge project page

SimSpark Wiki

SimSpark project on ohloh
Robotics simulation software Educational software 2003 software 2003 in robotics