Webots overviewWebots is a development environment used to model, program and simulate mobile robots. With Webots the user can design complex robotic setups, with one or several, similar or different robots, in a shared environment. The properties of each object, such as shape, color, texture, mass, friction, etc., are chosen by the user. A large choice of simulated sensors and actuators is available to equip each robot. The robot controllers can be programmed with the built-in IDE or with third party development environments. The robot behavior can be tested in physically realistic worlds. The controller programs can optionally be transferred to commercially available real robots. Webots is used by over 1039 universities and research centers worldwide. With Webots, you take advantage of a proven technology that has been codeveloped by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, thoroughly tested, well documented and continuously maintained for over 16 years. The development time you save is enormous!
Philosophy behind WebotsMobile robotics is a complex research area in which many advanced technologies and open research issues are combined all together. Technologies include electronics, mechanics, computer hardware and software. It is often difficult to master perfectly every technology, and hence mobile robotics projects require an important investment. Realistic simulations and fast prototyping of mobile robots help reducing the amount of time and hardware spent in developing mobile robotics applications. Moreover, such software tools allow researchers and students to focus on the most interesting parts of their robotics projects and hence achieve more advanced results.