Implementation:Haosulab ManiSkill Drive

Knowledge Sources	Haosulab_ManiSkill
Domains	Robotics, Simulation, Physics Constraints
Last Updated	2026-02-15 08:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete tool for managing batched PhysX drive constraints between rigid bodies across parallel simulation environments.

Description

The Drive dataclass wraps physx.PhysxDriveComponent objects, providing a batched interface for creating and configuring 6-DOF drive constraints between pairs of rigid bodies. Drives can apply spring-damper forces/torques along or around each axis.

Key creation methods:

create_from_entities() -- Creates drives from raw SAPIEN entities or rigid body components. Requires bodies1 (child bodies); bodies0 (parent bodies) may be None for world-anchored drives.
create_from_actors_or_links() -- Convenience method that creates drives between Actor/Link struct pairs, automatically extracting underlying objects.

Drive property methods (all decorated with @before_gpu_init):

set_drive_property_x/y/z(stiffness, damping, force_limit, mode) -- Configure linear drive properties for each axis with stiffness, damping, force limit, and mode ("force" or "acceleration").
set_limit_x/y/z(low, high, stiffness, damping) -- Set positional limits for each linear axis.

Additional commented-out methods indicate planned support for: slerp/swing/twist drives, drive targets, velocity targets, cone/pyramid/twist limits.

Usage

Drives are used to create spring constraints, position servos, or velocity controllers between objects. Common in environments that need soft constraints (e.g., tethered objects, spring-loaded mechanisms).

Code Reference

Source Location

Repository: Haosulab_ManiSkill
File: mani_skill/utils/structs/drive.py

Signature

@dataclass
class Drive(PhysxJointComponentStruct[physx.PhysxDriveComponent]):
    @classmethod
    def create_from_entities(
        cls, scene, bodies0=None, pose0=None, bodies1=None, pose1=None, scene_idxs=None
    ) -> "Drive": ...

    @staticmethod
    def create_from_actors_or_links(
        scene, entities0=None, pose0=None, entities1=None, pose1=None, scene_idxs=None
    ) -> "Drive": ...

    def set_drive_property_x(self, stiffness, damping, force_limit=..., mode="force") -> None: ...
    def set_drive_property_y(self, stiffness, damping, force_limit=..., mode="force") -> None: ...
    def set_drive_property_z(self, stiffness, damping, force_limit=..., mode="force") -> None: ...
    def set_limit_x(self, low, high, stiffness=0.0, damping=0.0) -> None: ...
    def set_limit_y(self, low, high, stiffness=0.0, damping=0.0) -> None: ...
    def set_limit_z(self, low, high, stiffness=0.0, damping=0.0) -> None: ...

Import

from mani_skill.utils.structs.drive import Drive

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
scene	ManiSkillScene	Yes	The scene containing the sub-scenes
bodies0	Sequence[Entity]	No	Parent bodies (None for world-anchored)
bodies1	Sequence[Entity]	Yes	Child bodies
pose0/pose1	Pose	No	Drive frame poses
stiffness	float	Yes	Spring stiffness for drive
damping	float	Yes	Damping coefficient for drive

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
Drive	Drive	Batched drive constraint object

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

from mani_skill.utils.structs.drive import Drive
from mani_skill.utils.structs.pose import Pose
import sapien

# Create a spring drive between two actors
drive = Drive.create_from_actors_or_links(
    scene=env.scene,
    entities0=actor_a,
    pose0=Pose.create(sapien.Pose()),
    entities1=actor_b,
    pose1=Pose.create(sapien.Pose()),
)
drive.set_drive_property_x(stiffness=1000, damping=100)
drive.set_drive_property_y(stiffness=1000, damping=100)
drive.set_drive_property_z(stiffness=1000, damping=100)

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