GEAR (Geometric Engine for Articulated Rigid-body simulation)



GEAR is a C++ library for kinematics and dynamics of articulated rigid body systems. It uses efficient algorithms based on Lie group and screw theory to solve the following problems:
GEAR uses a joint coordinate system to describe the degree of freedom of an articulated rigid body system. Thus, the joint constraints are inherently considered in the algorithms without having to consider them separately. Closed joint loops are automatically detected and handled as constraints. Additional constraints can also be added to the system. See "Lie group formulation of articulated rigid body dynamics" for the detail of the implemented algorithms.

Download:
https://github.com/junggon/gear (FreeBSD License)

How to compile:
CMake and a C++ compiler are necessary to build GEAR.
Usage:
See gear/examples for a simple 2 dof two-link system and a closed-loop system consisting of 4 revolute joints and 1 prismatic joint. (You might also want to check GMOV and SLOOP which are small projects using GEAR.)

Related Projects:
GEAR has been used in the following projects: