NVIDIA Boosts Robotics with Isaac Sim 4.0 and Isaac Lab

The
era
of
AI-powered
robots
has
advanced
significantly
with
NVIDIA’s
latest
release
of
Isaac
Sim
4.0
and
Isaac
Lab,
according
to
the
NVIDIA
Technical
Blog.
These
tools
are
designed
to
enhance
the
development,
simulation,
and
deployment
of
AI-based
robots.

New
NVIDIA
Isaac
Sim
4.0
Features

Isaac
Sim
4.0
offers
a
range
of
new
features
to
accelerate
robotics
workflows:

• Faster
  installation
  with
  PIP
• Improved
  usability
  with
  wizard-based
  import
  and
  system
  compatibility
  checker
• New
  assets,
  environments,
  and
  robots
• Enhanced
  PhysX
  features
  such
  as
  mimic
  joints
  and
  TGS
  solver
• Multi-GPU
  and
  multi-node
  capabilities
  for
  reinforcement
  learning

These
enhancements
aim
to
streamline
the
process
of
designing,
simulating,
testing,
and
training
AI-based
robots
in
a
virtual
environment
that
adheres
to
the
laws
of
physics.

Get
Started
Faster
with
PIP
Install

Isaac
Sim
can
now
be
installed
using
Python
package
managers
like
PIP,
simplifying
the
setup
process.
The
new
Compatibility
Checker
app
provides
instant
feedback
on
system
requirements,
ensuring
smooth
installation.

Improved
Usability
with
Wizard-Based
Import

The
new
wizard
in
Isaac
Sim
guides
developers
through
importing
and
tuning
robots
in
virtual
environments.
This
tool
supports
various
import
options,
including
CAD
files
and
sensor
setups.

Additional
Asset
Libraries

Isaac
Sim
4.0
includes
new
assets
for
simulations,
such
as
prebuilt
warehouse
models
and
various
robot
models
from
companies
like
Boston
Dynamics
and
Universal
Robots.
Humanoids
and
sensors
from
companies
like
Ouster
and
Velodyne
are
also
included.

New
PhysX
5.4
Features
for
Mimicking
and
Inspecting
Joints

PhysX
5.4
introduces
features
like
the
Mimic
Joint,
which
allows
for
modeling
coupled
joint
positions
in
robots.
The
Physics
Inspector
feature
helps
in
authoring
single
articulations
and
maximal
joints,
improving
collision
checks
and
degrees
of
freedom
before
actual
simulation.

Enhanced
Physics
Simulation

The
latest
TGS
solver
updates
improve
solver
convergence
and
collision
fidelity.
New
reporting
features
expose
data
related
to
solver
convergence
quality,
aiding
in
simulation
tuning.

More
Support
for
Sensor
Simulation

Isaac
Sim’s
library
of
realistic
sensor
models
now
includes
RTX
support
for
non-visual
materials,
enabling
advanced
sensor
modeling.
Performance
improvements
to
OmniGraph-based
sensor
pipelines
reduce
overhead
by
running
only
when
needed.

Accelerating
Reinforcement
Learning
with
Isaac
Lab

Isaac
Lab
is
an
open-source
framework
designed
to
simplify
robot
learning
workflows.
It
supports
multi-GPU
and
multi-node
training,
offering
higher
FPS
and
quicker
model
convergence.
Tiled
rendering
helps
visualize
multiple
scenarios
in
a
single
view.

Ecosystem
Adoption

Leading
robotic
developers
like
Boston
Dynamics
and
Agility
Robotics
are
integrating
Isaac
Lab
to
develop
next-generation
robots.
These
companies
leverage
Isaac
Sim
for
testing
robots
in
realistic
environments
and
generating
synthetic
data
for
model
training.

Isaac
Lab
is
available
under
the
BSD-3
license
on
GitHub.

More
Support
for
ROS
Developers
in
Isaac
Sim

The
latest
Isaac
Sim
version
includes
enhanced
functionality
for
ROS
developers,
such
as
URDF
import
from
ROS2
nodes
and
support
for
ROS2
launch,
Quality
of
Service,
and
publisher/subscriber
workflows.

For
more
information,
visit
the

NVIDIA
Technical
Blog.

Image
source:
Shutterstock