A Blender add-on and CLI tool for creating and editing URDF, SDF, and SMURF robot models in a WYSIWYG environment.
Phobos is a Blender add-on and CLI tool that enables the creation and editing of robot models in a visual, WYSIWYG environment. It solves the problem of manually coding complex robot kinematics by providing an intuitive 3D interface within Blender, allowing users to design robots and export them to standard formats like URDF, SDF, and SMURF for use in robotics frameworks and simulations.
Robotics researchers, engineers, and developers who need to create or modify robot models for simulation in frameworks like ROS, ROCK, Gazebo, or MARS, and prefer a visual design workflow over manual file editing.
Developers choose Phobos because it integrates robot modeling directly into Blender's professional 3D toolkit, offering a visual, error-reducing workflow, automation features for physics properties, and support for multiple export formats—all as open-source software backed by robotics research institutions.
An add-on for Blender allowing to create URDF, SDF and SMURF robot models in a WYSIWYG environment.
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Uses Blender's bone objects and hierarchical graphs to intuitively define robot links and joints, reducing errors common in manual coding, as highlighted in the WYSIWYG editor description.
Exports to standard robotics formats like URDF, SDF, and SMURF, plus mesh formats such as STL and OBJ, ensuring compatibility with frameworks like ROS and Gazebo, per the multi-format export feature.
Auto-generates collision objects and inertia tensors from mass and shape, speeding up the creation of accurate simulation-ready models, as mentioned in the automation tools section.
Leverages Blender's 3D tools for rendering, animation, and custom properties, allowing rich model annotations and visualizations, as noted in the features list.
Installation requires managing Python dependencies in Blender, specific version compatibility (v3.3 LTS), and manual steps like running scripts, which the README admits can be error-prone, especially on Windows.
Major updates like version 2.0.0 necessitate manual model updates, such as converting materials, and the README warns to have backups, indicating potential disruption for existing users.
Entirely reliant on Blender's ecosystem; models and workflows are tied to Blender, making it unsuitable for teams using other CAD or modeling software, limiting flexibility.