MuJoCable: Reduced-Order Surface-Routed Cable Transmission for Tendon-Driven Robots

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2609.09612v2
• Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 03:09:21 GMT
• Title: MuJoCable: Reduced-Order Surface-Routed Cable Transmission for Tendon-Driven Robots
• Abstract summary: Tendon transmissions reduce distal inertia and add compliance, yet routing, slack, and friction govern motion and force transfer.<n>We present MuJoCable, which adds a reduced-order, configuration-dependent cable transmission to MuJoCo.
• Score: 10.071262412532642
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Tendon transmissions reduce distal inertia and add compliance, yet routing, slack, and friction govern motion and force transfer. Mainstream rigid-body robotics simulators such as MuJoCo do not jointly resolve moving noncircular contact, unilateral tension, and segment friction. We present MuJoCable, which adds a reduced-order, configuration-dependent cable transmission to MuJoCo. Its routing algorithm jointly optimizes an ordered path across moving analytic and mesh surfaces. A unilateral axial law, directional Capstan propagation, and nodal virtual work map this path to segment tensions and body forces. The warm-started engine plugin applies these forces during simulation and exposes route and load states for design. Pulley benchmarks recover analytical transmission relations with a Capstan-ratio error below 0.5%. On the underactuated 18-joint SpiRobs, MuJoCable reveals friction-driven load growth and proximal redistribution of joint rotation that the native tendon does not represent. Hardware tests on SpiRobs and a tendon-route-coupled finger reproduce observed motion sequences. By making physical threading executable, MuJoCable brings transmission sources of the simulation-to-reality gap into route, cable, and actuator design before fabrication.

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