Project Grant 2209794

The National Science Foundation Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure awarded $410,164 under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering federal grant program to The University of Iowa from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025. The funding supports augmenting the open-source Chrono computer simulation platform to enable simulating autonomous agents and human-autonomous agent interaction.

Specifically, the award enhances Chrono in several ways. It enables generating machine learning training data quickly and inexpensively. It facilitates comparing competing autonomous system designs and assessing tradeoffs. It also gauges candidate design robustness through testing scenarios in simulation. These tasks are accomplished by upgrading Chrono to leverage computational dynamics innovations such as a faster differential algebraic equations solver and approaches for flexible-body dynamics and frictional contact problems. The enhanced Chrono platform will empower research in robotics, biomechanics, and automotive fields through increased capability for physics-based simulation of autonomous agents operating in complex environments.