SoRoSim

A unified simulation and analysis platform for soft, rigid and hybrid robotic systems.
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Updated 19 Feb 2025

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The SoRoSim Toolbox
SoRoSim, or Soft Robot Simulator, is a MATLAB toolbox that uses the Geometric Variable Strain (GVS) approach to provide a unified framework for the modeling, analysis, and control of soft, rigid, and hybrid robots. The toolbox can be used to analyze open-, closed- and branched structures and allows the user to model many different external loading and actuation scenarios. The soft links are modeled as a Cosserat rod, a 1D, slender rod accounting for bend, twist, stretch, and shear. MATLAB GUI assists in creating links, their assembly, the assignment of DoFs, and the definition of external and actuation forces. The new version of the toolbox, Differential_SoRoSim, uses analytical derivatives of the governing equations of GVS for efficient mechanical analysis. We encourage users to make use of this powerful tool.
The examples folder of the toolbox contains some saved linkages and links for which you can run simulations.
Paper and How to cite
Find the overview of the toolbox, validation, and examples of problems that can be analyzed using SoRoSim in our IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine paper, "SoRoSim: A MATLAB Toolbox for Hybrid Rigid-Soft Robots Based on the Geometric Variable-Strain Approach". The Theory behind the toolbox can be found in our IJRR paper "Reduced order modeling of hybrid soft-rigid robots using global, local, and state-dependent strain parameterization"
This work was supported in part by US Office of Naval Research Global under Grant N62909-21-1-2033, and in part by the the Khalifa University of Science and Technology under Grants CIRA-2020-074, RC1-2018-KUCARS.

Cite As

@ARTICLE{9895355, author={Mathew, Anup Teejo and Hmida, Ikhlas Ben and Armanini, Costanza and Boyer, Frederic and Renda, Federico}, journal={IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine}, title={SoRoSim: A MATLAB Toolbox for Hybrid Rigid–Soft Robots Based on the Geometric Variable-Strain Approach}, year={2023}, volume={30}, number={3}, pages={106-122}, keywords={Robots;Mathematical models;Strain;Soft robotics;Robot kinematics;Matlab;Analytical models}, doi={10.1109/MRA.2022.3202488}}

@article{mathew2025reduced, title={Reduced order modeling of hybrid soft-rigid robots using global, local, and state-dependent strain parameterization}, author={Mathew, Anup Teejo and Feliu-Talegon, Daniel and Alkayas, Abdulaziz Y and Boyer, Frederic and Renda, Federico}, journal={The International Journal of Robotics Research}, volume={44}, number={1}, pages={129--154}, year={2025}, publisher={SAGE Publications Sage UK: London, England} }

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2021b
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
Version Published Release Notes
7.0

- Algorithms now use analytical derivatives of the governing equations.
- Discontinued Features:
Closed-chain redundancy is no longer checked.
Actuation force computation for cable-driven systems with always straight cables is temporarily removed.

6.3

- Version number

4.0

- Users can choose basis functions for strain computation
- Custom integration schemes, Point Forces, Plot functions for rigid links added.
- Twist class is revised into SorosimTwist with many new properties and features
-GUI improvement
-Bug Fixes

3.3.1

- Added sources to toolbox description

3.3

- Files added to Basic functions folder to optimize processing speed

3.2

- Faster dynamic simulation
- Faster static equilibrium analysis
- MATLAB integrators such as, ode23, ode113, ode15s, ode23s, ode1, and ode2 incorporated.
- User can now choose a 2nd order Zannah collocation method for strain estimation

3.1

- MATLAB Live Script files added for easier example demonstration
- Running using MATLAB online is enabled
- SoRoSim guide file added to the toolbox folder

3.0.1

- Folder Organization

3.0

- SoRoSim can now model closed-chain and branched robotic structures
- Scaling techniques added for better computational speed and convergence.
- Link and Linkage class file names changed to SoRoSimLink and SoRoSimLinkage.

2.32

- Solving improvements to optimize simulation time
- Updated examples files

2.31

- Adjustments to normalizing Linkages

2.3

- Improved user interface

2.2

Updated Examples

2.1

- Computations of soft links are done after normalization for faster and more stable simulations.
- Large scale problems can now be simulated
- Graphical improvements

2.0

- Toolbox can now handle variable strain problems.
- Graphical and computational improvements.

1.0