Awesome Robotics Libraries
A curated list of robotics libraries and simulators.
Contents
Legend : π’ commit within 1 yr Β· π‘ commit within 3 yr Β· π archived Β· β GitHub stars as of 2026-10-11. Entries are ordered by stars; inactive entries (archived, or no commits for 3+ years) are folded at the end of each category.
Communication middleware, robot software frameworks, runtime services such as launch and diagnostics, and agent orchestration for robots.
π’ ROS 2 - Version 2.0 of the Robot Operating System (ROS) software stack. β 6.1k
π’ Dimensional - Agentic operating system for physical space. β 4.6k
π’ YARP - Communication and device interfaces applicable from humanoids to embedded devices. β 603
π’ ros2_medkit - Fault management and diagnostics gateway for ROS 2 with a REST API. β 276
π’ Robot Control Stack (RCS) - ROS-free Gymnasium framework unifying MuJoCo sim and real robots for robot learning. β 164
π‘ Micro-ROS for Arduino - a Micro-ROS fork available in the Arduino Library Manager. β 14
Rock - Software framework for robotic systems.ROS - Flexible framework for writing robot software.
Open robot platforms and hardware designs, and drivers or firmware for sensors and actuators.
π’ iCub - Open-source cognitive humanoid robotic platform for embodied cognition research. β 121
Inactive (3): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Linorobot - ROS compatible ground robots. β 1.1k Β· last commit 2022
onine - Service Robot based on Linorobot and Braccio Arm. β 50 Β· last commit 2018
AutoRally - High-performance testbed for advanced perception and control research. β 791 Β· last commit 2021
Robot description formats (URDF, SDF, MJCF, USD), their parsers and exporters, and robot model collections.
π’ MuJoCo Menagerie - Collection of well-tuned MuJoCo models for research and development. β 4.2k
π’ phobos - Add-on for Blender creating URDF and SMURF robot models. β 908
π’ onshape-to-robot - Converting OnShape assembly to robot definition (SDF or URDF) through OnShape API. β 638
π’ urdf - XML format for representing a robot model. β 137
SDF - XML format that describes objects and environments for robot simulators, visualization, and control. [bitbucket ]
Forward and inverse kinematics and rigid-body dynamics algorithms, without contact time-stepping.
π’ pinocchio - Fast and flexible algorithms for rigid-body dynamics with analytical derivatives. β 3.8k
π‘ Robotics Library - Self-contained C++ library for robot kinematics, planning, and control. β 1.2k
π’ KDL - Orocos Kinematics and Dynamics Library for kinematic chains. β 904
π‘ RBDL - Rigid Body Dynamics Library based on Featherstone algorithms. β 708
π’ PyDy - Multibody dynamics analysis with symbolic Python using SymPy. β 416
π‘ RigidBodyDynamics.jl - Julia library for rigid body dynamics algorithms. β 312
π’ idyntree - Library for estimation and whole-body dynamics of floating-base robots. β 234
π’ RBDyn - Rigid body dynamics algorithms using spatial algebra with Eigen. β 224
π’ ARTE - Matlab toolbox focussed on robotic manipulators. β 106
RobWork - Framework for simulation and control of robot systems. [gitlab ]
Inverse Kinematics
π’ IKBT - A python package to solve robot arm inverse kinematics in symbolic form. β 220
π’ ssik - Analytical inverse kinematics for 6R and 7R revolute robot arms, returning every IK branch. β 188
π’ Kinpy - A simple pure python package to solve inverse kinematics. β 181
Inactive (6): archived or no commits for 3+ years
RelaxedIK - Real-time Synthesis of Accurate and Feasible Robot Arm Motion. β 254 Β· last commit 2023
Robopy - Python robotics toolbox inspired by Peter Corke's Robotics Toolbox. β 229 Β· last commit 2021Trip - A python package that solves inverse kinematics of parallel-, serial- or hybrid-robots. β 43 Β· last commit 2022trep - Simulation and optimal control using variational integrators. β 20 Β· last commit 2023π metapod - Template-based robot dynamics library using spatial algebra. β 14 Β· last commit 2018
Lively - A highly configurable toolkit for commanding robots in mixed modalities. β 8 Β· last commit 2023
Embeddable engines that time-step rigid, soft, fluid, or particle dynamics with contact. See also Comparisons .
π’ Genesis - Generative and universal physics platform for robotics with GPU-accelerated parallel simulation. β 30k
π’ MuJoCo - Multi-joint dynamics with contact for physics-based simulation and control. β 15.6k
π’ Bullet - Real-time physics simulation for games, visual effects, and robotics. β 14.8k
π’ Newton - GPU-accelerated differentiable physics engine built on NVIDIA Warp for robotics simulation. β 5.7k
π’ PhysX - NVIDIA physics engine for real-time rigid body and vehicle simulation. β 4.8k
π’ Drake - Planning, control, and analysis toolbox for nonlinear dynamical systems. β 4.2k
π’ Brax - Massively parallel differentiable rigid body physics engine in JAX for robotics and RL. β 3.2k
π’ CHRONO::ENGINE - Multi-physics simulation of rigid and flexible bodies, granular, and fluid systems. β 3.1k
π’ Simbody - Multibody dynamics library for biomechanical and mechanical systems. β 2.6k
π‘ ReactPhysics3d - Open-source 3D physics engine for rigid body simulation and collision detection. β 1.8k
π’ DART - Dynamic Animation and Robotics Toolkit for multibody simulation and planning. β 1.2k
π’ Newton Dynamics - Real-time physics engine for rigid body simulation. β 1k
π’ siconos - Nonsmooth dynamical systems modeling and simulation platform. β 186
π’ MBSim - Multi-body simulation environment for flexible and rigid systems. β 53
IBDS - Impulse-based dynamics simulation for rigid bodies and particle systems.MBDyn - General-purpose multibody dynamics analysis software. [code ]ODE - Open Dynamics Engine for simulating rigid body dynamics. [bitbucket ]
Soft, Fluid & Multiphysics
π’ PositionBasedDynamics - Position-based methods for simulating deformable objects and fluids. β 2.3k
π’ Kratos - Framework for building parallel multi-disciplinary simulation software. β 1.4k
π’ SOFA - Simulation Open Framework Architecture for medical and physics simulation. β 1.3k
π’ Ptera Software - Open-source package for analyzing flapping-wing flight. β 270
ARCSim - Adaptive remeshing cloth and shell simulator for thin deformable objects.
Inactive (8): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Fluid Engine Dev - Jet - Fluid simulation engine for computer graphics applications. β 2.1k Β· last commit 2022nphysics - 2D and 3D rigid body physics engine written in Rust. β 1.6k Β· last commit 2021Tiny Differentiable Simulator - Header-only differentiable physics engine for robotics. β 1.4k Β· last commit 2023
π qu3e - Lightweight 3D physics engine for rigid body dynamics. β 994 Β· last commit 2021
π Flex - GPU-based particle simulation for rigid bodies, fluids, and deformables. β 814 Β· last commit 2021
π RaiSim - Cross-platform physics engine for robotics and reinforcement learning. β 328 Β· last commit 2020
Moby - Multi-body dynamics simulation for rigid bodies with contact. β 37 Β· last commit 2021MBSlib - Lightweight multibody system dynamics library. β 11 Β· last commit 2016
Simulation applications with worlds, sensors, rendering, and robot middleware bridges.
π’ AirSim - Simulator based on Unreal Engine for autonomous vehicles. β 18.5k
π’ PyBullet - An easy to use simulator for robotics and deep reinforcement learning. β 14.8k
π’ CARLA - Open-source simulator for autonomous driving research. β 14.5k
π’ Webots - Development environment to model, program, and simulate robots and mechanical systems. β 4.7k
π’ Isaac Sim - NVIDIA's GPU-accelerated robotics simulation platform with PhysX 5 and RTX rendering. β 4.2k
π’ Habitat-Sim - Simulation platform for research in embodied artificial intelligence. β 3.8k
π’ Unity - Game engine with open-source robotics simulation tools and tutorials. β 2.6k
π‘ AI2-THOR - Interactive household environment for embodied AI with Unity backend. β 1.8k
π’ Gazebo Sim - Open source robotics simulator (formerly Ignition Gazebo). β 1.5k
π’ Rigs of Rods - Soft-body vehicle simulator using beam physics. β 1.3k
π’ SAPIEN - Physics-rich simulation environment for articulated objects and manipulation. β 851
π’ Hexapod Robot Simulator - Open-source hexapod robot inverse kinematics and gaits visualizer. β 796
π’ mvsim - Lightweight multi-vehicle 2D simulator with ROS integration. β 416
π’ ARGoS - Physics-based simulator designed to simulate large-scale robot swarms. β 321
π’ CoppeliaSim - Formaly V-REP. Virtual robot experimentation platform. β 152
π‘ MARS - Machina Arte Robotum Simulans β a cross-platform simulation environment. β 69
π‘ PyBullet_Industrial - PyBullet extension for simulating robotic manufacturing processes like milling and 3D printing. β 56
π‘ AVIS Engine - Fast simulation software for autonomous vehicle development. β 22
Neurorobotics Platform - Internet-accessible simulation of robots controlled by spiking neural networks. [bitbucket ]Simbad - Java 3D robot simulator with custom controller and sensor support.
Commercial
Actin Simulation - Real-time robot simulation and control software.Artiminds - Planning, programming, operation, analysis and optimization.Kineo - Path planning and trajectory optimization for industrial robotics.Robot Virtual Worlds - Virtual reality software for educational robotics.RobotDK - Simulation and OLP for robots.RobotStudio - ABB's simulation and offline programming software for robotics.Virtual Robotics Toolkit - 3D virtual environment for programming and testing robots.Visual Components - 3D manufacturing simulation and visualization platform.
Inactive (2): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Path planning, trajectory generation and time-parameterization, task and behavior planning, and navigation stacks.
π’ ROS Motion Planning - ROS planner and controller plugins for mobile robot navigation. β 3.6k
π’ OMPL - Open motion planning library. β 2.2k
π’ MoveIt! - Motion planning framework. β 2.1k
π’ cuRobo - A CUDA accelerated library containing a suite of robotics algorithms that run significantly faster. β 1.9k
π’ Ruckig - Real-time, time-optimal and jerk-constrained online trajectory generation. β 1.4k
π’ Python Motion Planning - Python implementations of path planners, trajectory trackers, and curve generators. β 1.1k
π’ TOPP-RA - Time-parameterizing robot trajectories subject to kinematic and dynamic constraints. β 933
π’ Fields2Cover - Robust and efficient coverage paths for autonomous agricultural vehicles. β 909
π’ OpenRAVE - Open Robotics Automation Virtual Environment for planning and simulation. β 821
π’ Klampt - Robot planning, control, and simulation with visualization support. β 437
π’ The Kautham Project - A robot simulation toolkit for motion planning. β 24
CuiKSuite - Applications to solve position analysis and path planning problems.HPP - Path planning for kinematic chains in environments cluttered with obstacles.
Inactive (7): archived or no commits for 3+ years
trajopt - Framework for generating robot trajectories by local optimization. β 466 Β· last commit 2017ROS Behavior Tree - Behavior tree implementation for ROS-based robot task planning. β 365 Β· last commit 2018
GPMP2 - Gaussian Process Motion Planner 2. β 358 Β· last commit 2022
LibrePilot - Open-source autopilot for UAVs and other autonomous vehicles. β 358 Β· last commit 2019AIKIDO - Solving robotic motion planning and decision making problems. β 235 Β· last commit 2023π pymanoid - Humanoid robotics prototyping environment based on OpenRAVE. β 234 Β· last commit 2024
TopiCo - Time-optimal Trajectory Generation and Control. β 146 Β· last commit 2021
Model-based control: MPC, trajectory optimization, whole-body and task-space control.
π’ OCS2 - Efficient continuous and discrete time optimal control implementation. β 1.5k
π’ Crocoddyl - Optimal control library for robot control under contact sequence. β 1.3k
π‘ TrajectoryOptimization - A fast trajectory optimization library written in Julia. β 400
π’ Bioptim - Python framework for musculoskeletal optimal control in biomechanics. β 120
π‘ Ungar - Expressive and efficient implementation of optimal control problems using template metaprogramming. β 108
Inactive (3): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Control Toolbox - Open-Source C++ Library for Robotics, Optimal and Model Predictive Control. β 1.7k Β· last commit 2021towr - A light-weight, Eigen-based C++ library for trajectory optimization for legged robots. β 1.1k Β· last commit 2021FROST - Fast Robot Optimization and Simulation Toolkit for hybrid dynamical systems in MATLAB. β 170 Β· last commit 2021
General-purpose numerical solvers (LP, QP, NLP, least squares, black-box) and modeling layers.
π’ Ceres Solver - Large scale nonlinear optimization library. β 4.6k
π’ pymoo - Multi-objective Optimization in Python. β 3k
π’ CasADi - Symbolic framework for algorithmic differentiation and numeric optimization. β 2.3k
π’ NLopt - Nonlinear optimization. β 2.3k
π’ OSQP - The Operator Splitting QP Solver. β 2.2k
π’ Ipopt - Large scale nonlinear optimization library. β 1.8k
π’ Pagmo - Scientific library for massively parallel optimization. β 937
π‘ OptimLib - Lightweight C++ library of numerical optimization methods for nonlinear functions. β 898
π’ ifopt - An Eigen-based, light-weight C++ Interface to Nonlinear Programming Solvers (Ipopt, Snopt). β 867
π’ qpsolvers - Quadratic Programming solvers in Python with a unified API. β 760
π’ hpipm - High-performance interior-point-method QP solvers (Ipopt, Snopt). β 710
π’ Optimization Engine (OpEn) - Embedded nonconvex optimization with code generation for real-time control, with ROS support. β 651
π’ SCS - Numerical optimization for solving large-scale convex cone problems. β 638
π’ ProxSuite - The Advanced Proximal Optimization Toolbox. β 596
π’ libcmaes - Blackbox stochastic optimization using the CMA-ES algorithm. β 372
π‘ limbo - Gaussian processes and Bayesian optimization of black-box functions. β 270
π‘ EXOTica - Generic optimisation toolset for robotics platforms. β 164
π’ SHOT - A solver for mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems. β 135
π‘ RobOptim - Numerical Optimization for Robotics. β 66
π’ lpsolvers - Linear Programming solvers in Python with a unified API. β 26
π’ eigen-qld - Interface to use the QLD QP solver with the Eigen3 library. β 17
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years
sferes2 - Evolutionary computation. β 170 Β· last commit 2021
Linear algebra, Lie groups, spatial transforms, and spatial data structures such as nearest-neighbor search.
π’ nanoflann - Nearest Neighbor search with KD-trees. β 2.7k
π‘ Sophus - Lie groups using Eigen. β 2.5k
π’ manif - Small c++11 header-only library for Lie theory. β 1.8k
π’ HYPRE - Parallel solvers for sparse linear systems featuring multigrid methods. β 865
π‘ Fastor - Light-weight high performance tensor algebra framework in C++11/14/17. β 844
π’ spatialmath-python - Python classes for pose and orientation in 2D/3D with spatial operations toolbox. β 646
π‘ kindr - Kinematics and dynamics library for rigid body transformations. β 618
π’ SpaceVelAlg - Spatial vector algebra with the Eigen3. β 81
Inactive (4): archived or no commits for 3+ years
FLANN - Fast Library for Approximate Nearest Neighbors. β 2.4k Β· last commit 2022linalg.h - Single header public domain linear algebra library for C++11. β 968 Β· last commit 2023
Octree - Fast radius neighbor search with an Octree. β 378 Β· last commit 2019
Cover-Tree - Cover tree data structure for quick k-nearest-neighbor search. β 64 Β· last commit 2017
SLAM, odometry, factor graphs, filtering and sensor fusion, calibration, and mapping.
π‘ Cartographer - Real-time SLAM in 2D and 3D across multiple platforms and sensor configurations. β 8k
π’ RTAB-Map - RGB-D Graph SLAM approach based on a global Bayesian loop closure detector. β 4k
π’ GTSAM - Smoothing and mapping (SAM) in robotics and vision. β 3.7k
π’ mrpt - Mobile Robot Programming Toolkit for SLAM, navigation, and computer vision. β 2.2k
π‘ ElasticFusion - Real-time dense visual SLAM system. β 1.9k
π’ fuse - General architecture for performing sensor fusion live on a robot. β 882
π’ FusionCore - ROS 2 UKF fusing GPS, IMU, and wheel odometry with adaptive noise and GPS outlier rejection. β 377
π’ fiducials - Simultaneous localization and mapping using fiducial markers. β 285
Mapping
π’ OctoMap - Efficient Probabilistic 3D Mapping Framework Based on Octrees. β 2.4k
π’ libpointmatcher - Iterative Closest Point library for 2-D/3-D mapping in Robotics. β 1.8k
π’ Bonxai - Brutally fast, sparse, 3D Voxel Grid (formerly Treexy). β 884
π‘ wavemap - Fast, efficient and accurate multi-resolution, multi-sensor 3D occupancy mapping. β 573
Inactive (7): archived or no commits for 3+ years
ORB-SLAM2 - Real-time SLAM library for Monocular, Stereo and RGB-D cameras. β 10.2k Β· last commit 2017
LSD-SLAM - Real-time monocular SLAM. β 2.7k Β· last commit 2014DSO - Novel direct and sparse formulation for Visual Odometry. β 2.5k Β· last commit 2021voxblox - Flexible voxel-based mapping focusing on truncated and Euclidean signed distance fields. β 1.7k Β· last commit 2021
Kintinuous - Real-time large scale dense visual SLAM system. β 953 Β· last commit 2022
AprilSAM - Real-time smoothing and mapping. β 239 Β· last commit 2021
SRBA - Solving SLAM/BA in relative coordinates with flexibility for different submapping strategies. β 75 Β· last commit 2016
Image and point-cloud processing, detection, pose estimation and tracking, and visual servoing.
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Grasp synthesis, detection, and planning, and dexterous manipulation.
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years
GraspIt! - Simulator for grasping research that can accommodate arbitrary hand and robot designs. β 221 Β· last commit 2020
Robot foundation models (VLA), imitation and reinforcement learning libraries, learning environments, and benchmarks.
π’ LeRobot - Pretrained models, datasets, and simulation environments for real-world robotics in PyTorch. β 28.1k
π’ Stable-Baselines3 - Reliable implementations of reinforcement learning algorithms in PyTorch. β 13.9k
π’ Gymnasium - Developing and comparing reinforcement learning algorithms. β 12.7k
π’ CleanRL - Single-file implementations of deep reinforcement learning algorithms. β 10.5k
π’ Isaac Lab - GPU-accelerated open-source framework for robot learning built on NVIDIA Isaac Sim. β 8.3k
π’ ManiSkill - Robot simulation and manipulation learning package powered by SAPIEN. β 3.4k
π‘ Legged Gym - Isaac Gym environments for legged robot locomotion training. β 3.1k
π’ robosuite - A modular simulation framework and benchmark for robot learning. β 2.6k
π‘ Humanoid-Gym - Reinforcement learning environment for humanoid robot locomotion. β 2.1k
π’ rl_games - High-performance RL library used in Isaac Gym environments. β 1.4k
π’ SKRL - Modular reinforcement learning library with support for multiple ML frameworks. β 1.1k
π‘ AllenAct - Python/PyTorch-based Research Framework for Embodied AI. β 384
General Machine Learning
π’ mlpack - Scalable C++ machine learning library. β 5.7k
π‘ DyNet - The Dynamic Neural Network Toolkit. β 3.4k
π‘ DLL - Deep Learning Library (DLL) for C++. β 688
Inactive (7): archived or no commits for 3+ years
π Ivy - Unified Machine Learning Framework. β 14.2k Β· last commit 2026
tiny-dnn - Header only, dependency-free deep learning framework in C++14. β 6k Β· last commit 2018π gym-gazebo - OpenAI Gym environments for the Gazebo simulator. β 845 Β· last commit 2019
Fido - Lightweight C++ machine learning library for embedded electronics and robotics. β 464 Β· last commit 2017MiniDNN - A header-only C++ library for deep neural networks. β 434 Β· last commit 2021
RLLib - Temporal-difference learning algorithms in reinforcement learning. β 211 Β· last commit 2016
gym-dart - OpenAI Gym environments using the DART physics engine. β 140 Β· last commit 2020
Logging, storing, converting, and visualizing robot data, dataset tools, and teleoperation for data collection.
π’ Any4LeRobot - A collection of utilities and tools for LeRobot. β 1.2k
π’ ReductStore - High-performance, time-indexed object storage for robotics and industrial IoT. β 373
π’ LeRobot Episode Scoring Toolkit - One-click tool to score, filter, and export higher-quality LeRobot datasets. β 77
Foxglove Studio - A fully integrated visualization and debugging desktop app for your robotics data.
Inactive (1): archived or no commits for 3+ years
Related curated lists and collections.
Inactive (6): archived or no commits for 3+ years
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