rdiankov/openrave — pull request #255 by robEllenberg (2013-02-11 23:06:16+00:00)
Title: Added Joint Force / Torque feedback to physics 

Implemented the GetJointForceTorque command in PhysicsEngineBase, and added python bindings / ODE implementation. Forces and torques are evaluated at the joint anchor point rather than at the attached link center of mass. The result force/torque information is usable for F/T sensors and joint torque measurement.

To reduce simulation jitter and error, a parameter was added to the ODE XMLReader "numiterations", which controls how many quickstep iterations are allowed per timestep. Some preliminary experiments with openHubo suggest that body jitter is best reduced by a combination of increased iterations and shortened timestep than by either alone.

The change to the physics header requires rebuilding a majority of the code, but it should not change any other functions.