STARK Documentation

Welcome to the STARK documentation. STARK is a C++ and Python simulation platform for simulating rigid and deformable objects in strongly coupled scenarios. Check out the STARK GitHub repo and the STARK ICRA’24 paper.

These pages give a high-level overview of the main concepts and show how to use the library. They are not a doxygen-style exhaustive documentation, but rather a guide on how the library works and how to use it effectively.

STARK is built on top of SymX, a symbolic math engine that handles differentiation, evaluation, and optimization via a Newton solver. This makes STARK very easy to expand with new models, which makes it a great platform to do research with. Plus, STARK already ships with many ready-to-use models through a convenient interface, scripting utilities, and a Python API.

Note that if you need something simpler or more customizable than STARK, consider using SymX directly.

Table of Contents

Getting Started

• Hello World
• Setup
• Architecture

Core Concepts

• Settings
• Input / Output
• Simulation Loop

Physics Models

• Problem Representation
• Presets
• Deformables
• Rigid Bodies
• Rigid Body Constraints
• Frictional Contact
• Attachments

Advanced

• Extending STARK