Examples Guide

BulletLab ships with 5 working examples that demonstrate real use cases.

Running the Examples

cd BulletLab
python examples/01_differential_drive_rover.py
python examples/02_robotic_arm.py
python examples/03_self_balancing_robot.py
python examples/04_drone_parameter_tuning.py
python examples/05_generic_robot_inspector.py

Example 01 – Differential Drive Rover

File: examples/01_differential_drive_rover.py

Loads the Husky rover (falls back to racecar or R2D2) and drives it through a sequence of forward and turning maneuvers. Logs speed, position, and roll to rover_run.csv.

Demonstrates: - Wheel velocity control - Phase-based motion planning - Telemetry + CSV logging - BulletLabUI control window

Example 02 – Robotic Arm

File: examples/02_robotic_arm.py

Loads the Kuka iiwa arm (fixed to ground) and provides per-joint slider controls in the BulletLab UI. Falls back to animated sinusoidal motion if the UI is not available.

Demonstrates: - Fixed-base arm loading - Position control - Dynamic UI slider generation - Joint limit reading

Example 03 – Self-Balancing Robot

File: examples/03_self_balancing_robot.py

Implements a PD controller to keep a robot upright. The cartpole URDF is preferred; R2D2 is used as a fallback. Gain values (Kp, Kd) are editable in the UI at runtime.

Demonstrates: - PD control loop - Reading roll/pitch from robot.roll/robot.pitch - Adjustable gains via ImGui sliders - Controller data logging

Example 04 – Drone Parameter Tuning

File: examples/04_drone_parameter_tuning.py

Generates a custom quadrotor URDF and applies pybullet.applyExternalForce to simulate thrust. Parameters (thrust, mass, drag, rotor speed) are exposed as ImGui sliders and can be changed live during flight.

Demonstrates: - Custom URDF generation at runtime - applyExternalForce for direct physics manipulation - Live mass modification via robot.links["base_link"].mass - Multi-parameter exploration

Example 05 – Generic Robot Inspector

File: examples/05_generic_robot_inspector.py

Load any URDF by name or path and inspect it:

python examples/05_generic_robot_inspector.py kuka_iiwa/model.urdf
python examples/05_generic_robot_inspector.py r2d2.urdf
python examples/05_generic_robot_inspector.py /path/to/custom/robot.urdf

Demonstrates: - Generic robot discovery - Dynamic joint/link panel generation - RL state vector inspection - Universal telemetry