scikit-robot: A Flexible Framework for Robot visualization and programming in Python

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Scikit-Robot is a lightweight pure-Python library for robotic kinematics, motion planning, visualization and control.

Installation

You may need to install some dependencies by apt-get install:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libspatialindex-dev freeglut3-dev libsuitesparse-dev libblas-dev liblapack-dev

Then,

pip install scikit-robot

If you would like to use Pybullet Interface, open3d and fast-simplification for mesh simplification,

pip install scikit-robot[all]

Command Line Tools

Scikit-robot provides a unified command-line interface through the skr command, which consolidates all robot-related tools into a single entry point.

Using the skr Command

You can use the skr command with various subcommands:

# View all available commands
skr --help

# Visualize URDF models
skr visualize-urdf ~/.skrobot/pr2_description/pr2.urdf --viewer trimesh

# Convert URDF mesh files
skr convert-urdf-mesh robot.urdf --output converted_robot.urdf

# Change URDF root link
skr change-urdf-root robot.urdf new_root_link output.urdf

# Calculate URDF hash
skr urdf-hash robot.urdf

# Modularize URDF files
skr modularize-urdf robot.urdf --output modular_robot.urdf

# Visualize mesh files
skr visualize-mesh mesh_file.stl

# Convert wheel collision models
skr convert-wheel-collision robot.urdf --output converted.urdf

Legacy Commands (still supported)

For backward compatibility, the original commands are still available:

# These commands work the same as their skr equivalents
visualize-urdf ~/.skrobot/pr2_description/pr2.urdf --viewer trimesh
convert-urdf-mesh robot.urdf --output converted_robot.urdf

Visualize URDF

To visualize a URDF model and inspect your robot's configuration:

skr visualize-urdf ~/.skrobot/pr2_description/pr2.urdf --viewer trimesh

If you experience performance issues with the default viewer, try pyrender for smoother visualization:

skr visualize-urdf ~/.skrobot/pr2_description/pr2.urdf --viewer pyrender

Running these commands should open a viewer displaying your robot's 3D model. Below is a sample image of what you should expect.

Create Your Own Robot Model (URDF)

If you want to build your own robot from scratch, you can refer to the How to Create URDF from CAD Software documentation.

Features

• Loading robot model from URDF (examples/robot_models.py)
• Forward and inverse kinematics (examples/trimesh_scene_viewer.py examples/pr2_inverse_kinematics.py)
• Collision detection
• Interactive viewer (examples/trimesh_scene_viewer.py)
• Pybullet and ROS command interface (examples/pybullet_robot_interface.py)
• Forward and inverse dynamics
• Path planning (examples/collision_free_trajectory.py)