Build a Robot Step by Step

This example goes through the process of building a robot step by step, showing you the different robot components and how functions are called to build it. Code sections are shown, but actual values for dimensions and transformations depend on your robot.

Create a rigid body object.
```
body1 = rigidBody('body1');
```
Create a joint and assign it to the rigid body. Define the home position property of the joint, HomePosition. Set the joint-to-parent transform using a homogeneous transformation, tform. Use the trvec2tform function to convert from a translation vector to a homogenous transformation.ChildToJointTransform is set to an identity matrix.
```
jnt1 = rigidBodyJoint('jnt1','revolute');
jnt1.HomePosition = pi/4;
tform = trvec2tform([0.25, 0.25, 0]); % User defined
setFixedTransform(jnt1,tform);
body1.Joint = jnt1;
```
Create a rigid body tree. This tree is initialized with a base coordinate frame to attach bodies to.
```
robot = rigidBodyTree;
```
Add the first body to the tree. Specify that you are attaching it to the base of the tree. The fixed transform defined previously is from the base (parent) to the first body.
```
addBody(robot,body1,'base')
```

Create a second body. Define properties of this body and attach it to the first rigid body. Define the transformation relative to the previous body frame.

body2 = rigidBody('body2');
jnt2 = rigidBodyJoint('jnt2','revolute');
jnt2.HomePosition = pi/6; % User defined
tform2 = trvec2tform([1, 0, 0]); % User defined
setFixedTransform(jnt2,tform2);
body2.Joint = jnt2;
addBody(robot,body2,'body1'); % Add body2 to body1

Rigid tree body with an additional body, represented as an ellipse, added to the end of the first body.

Add other bodies. Attach body 3 and 4 to body 2.

body3 = rigidBody('body3');
body4 = rigidBody('body4');
jnt3 = rigidBodyJoint('jnt3','revolute');
jnt4 = rigidBodyJoint('jnt4','revolute');
tform3 = trvec2tform([0.6, -0.1, 0])*eul2tform([-pi/2, 0, 0]); % User defined
tform4 = trvec2tform([1, 0, 0]); % User defined
setFixedTransform(jnt3,tform3);
setFixedTransform(jnt4,tform4);
jnt3.HomePosition = pi/4; % User defined
body3.Joint = jnt3
body4.Joint = jnt4
addBody(robot,body3,'body2'); % Add body3 to body2
addBody(robot,body4,'body2'); % Add body4 to body2

Previous rigid tree body with additional two bodies, both attached to the second body

If you have a specific end effector that you care about for control, define it as a rigid body with a fixed joint. For this robot, add an end effector to body4 so that you can get transformations for it.
```
bodyEndEffector = rigidBody('endeffector');
tform5 = trvec2tform([0.5, 0, 0]); % User defined
setFixedTransform(bodyEndEffector.Joint,tform5);
addBody(robot,bodyEndEffector,'body4');
```
Now that you have created your robot, you can generate robot configurations. With a given configuration, you can also get a transformation between two body frames using getTransform. Get a transformation from the end effector to the base.
```
config = randomConfiguration(robot)
tform = getTransform(robot,config,'endeffector','base')
```
```
config = 

  1×2 struct array with fields:

    JointName
    JointPosition


tform =

   -0.5484    0.8362         0         0
   -0.8362   -0.5484         0         0
         0         0    1.0000         0
         0         0         0    1.0000
```
Note
This transform is specific to the dimensions specified in this example. Values for your robot vary depending on the transformations you define.
You can create a subtree from your existing robot or other robot models by using subtree. Specify the body name to use as the base for the new subtree. You can modify this subtree by adding, changing, or removing bodies.
```
newArm = subtree(robot,'body2');
removeBody(newArm,'body3');
removeBody(newArm,'endeffector')
```
You can also add these subtrees to the robot. Adding a subtree is similar to adding a body. The specified body name acts as a base for attachment, and all transformations on the subtree are relative to that body frame. Before you add the subtree, you must ensure all the names of bodies and joints are unique. Create copies of the bodies and joints, rename them, and replace them on the subtree. Call addSubtree to attach the subtree to a specified body.
```
newBody1 = copy(getBody(newArm,'body2'));
newBody2 = copy(getBody(newArm,'body4'));
newBody1.Name = 'newBody1';
newBody2.Name = 'newBody2';
newBody1.Joint = rigidBodyJoint('newJnt1','revolute');
newBody2.Joint = rigidBodyJoint('newJnt2','revolute');
tformTree = trvec2tform([0.2, 0, 0]); % User defined
setFixedTransform(newBody1.Joint,tformTree);
replaceBody(newArm,'body2',newBody1);
replaceBody(newArm,'body4',newBody2);

addSubtree(robot,'body1',newArm);
```

Finally, you can use showdetails to look at the robot you built. Verify that the joint types are correct.

showdetails(robot)

 Idx          Body Name             Joint Name             Joint Type          Parent Name(Idx)   Children Name(s)
 ---          ---------             ----------             ----------          ----------------   ----------------
   1              body1                   jnt1               revolute                   base(0)   body2(2)  newBody1(6)  
   2              body2                   jnt2               revolute                  body1(1)   body3(3)  body4(4)  
   3              body3                   jnt3               revolute                  body2(2)   
   4              body4                   jnt4               revolute                  body2(2)   endeffector(5)  
   5        endeffector        endeffector_jnt                  fixed                  body4(4)   
   6           newBody1                newJnt1               revolute                  body1(1)   newBody2(7)  
   7           newBody2                newJnt2               revolute               newBody1(6)   
--------------------

Build a Robot Step by Step

See Also

Related Topics