Optional Features

This section introduces the optional features that can be selected in Choreonoid’s build configuration.

Optional features are enabled/disabled through CMake settings. For information on this operation, please refer to Build Configuration with CMake in Building and Installing from Source Code (Ubuntu Linux) or Build Configuration with CMake in Building and Installing from Source Code (Windows).

For details on the functions and usage of each plugin, see the corresponding pages in Plugins.

Main Options

• ENABLE_GUI

Enables the functions realized on the Choreonoid GUI. This is ON by default and is a required option when using Choreonoid as an application. If you only want to use the library part that does not depend on the GUI, you can shorten the build time by turning this OFF.

• ENABLE_PYTHON

Enables the Python bindings of Choreonoid. The Python bindings make it possible to use the Choreonoid libraries implemented in C++ from Python. For example, by importing the “cnoid.Body” module, which is the Python binding of the Body library, you can write various robotics-related processes centered on the Body class in Python.

In addition, when ENABLE_GUI is ON, the Python plugin and the PythonSimScript plugin for using Python on the Choreonoid GUI are also built.

This is ON by default on Ubuntu. To enable this on Windows, refer to Building Optional Features. For details, see Python Plugin.

• ENABLE_URDF

Enables URDF support. The URDFBodyLoader and the URDF plugin are built, making it possible to load URDF files. This is ON by default. For details, see URDF Plugin.

• ENABLE_SDF

Enables SDF support. The SDFBodyLoader and the SDF plugin are built, making it possible to load model files described in the Simulation Description Format (SDFormat). This is ON by default. For details, see SDF Plugin.

• ENABLE_ASSIMP

Enables Assimp support. Assimp (Open Asset Import Library) is a library for loading 3D model files in various formats, which makes it possible to load files in formats such as Blender, X, and DXF. When the Assimp library is installed, it is automatically detected and this option becomes ON by default. Note that the COLLADA format (.dae) can now be loaded natively by recent versions of Choreonoid, so Assimp is needed less often than before. For details, see Assimp Plugin.

• ENABLE_FREE_TYPE

  Uses the FreeType library to enable rendering text on the scene view. In the current version of Choreonoid, when this option is ON, the distance measurement function displays the measured distance as numeric text on the scene view. This is ON by default on Ubuntu. On Windows, it is OFF by default, and you need to install the FreeType library separately to use it. This procedure is explained in Enabling FreeType Library.

• ENABLE_PHYSX / BUILD_PHYSX_PLUGIN

Builds the PhysX plugin, which makes it possible to use PhysX, a physics engine developed by NVIDIA, in simulation. The PhysX source code is bundled with Choreonoid, and both options are ON by default, so it can usually be built as is. For details, see PhysX Plugin.

• ENABLE_MUJOCO / BUILD_MUJOCO_PLUGIN

Builds the MuJoCo plugin, which makes it possible to use MuJoCo, an open-source physics engine, in simulation. A prebuilt MuJoCo library is bundled with Choreonoid, and both options are ON by default, so it can usually be built as is. For details, see MuJoCo Plugin.

• BUILD_ODE_PLUGIN

Builds the ODE plugin. This plugin makes it possible to use Open Dynamics Engine (ODE), an open-source dynamics library, as a physics engine for simulation. ODE must be installed to use it. When ODE is installed, it is automatically detected and this option becomes ON by default. The Ubuntu package installation script also installs ODE. For details, see ODE Plugin.

• BUILD_BULLET_PLUGIN

Builds the Bullet plugin. This plugin makes it possible to use Bullet Physics, an open-source physics library, as a physics engine for simulation. Bullet must be installed to use it. Like ODE, Bullet is also installed by the Ubuntu package installation script. When Bullet is installed, it is automatically detected and this option becomes ON by default. For details, see Bullet Plugin.

• BUILD_AGX_DYNAMICS_PLUGIN

Builds the AGX Dynamics plugin. AGX Dynamics is a commercial physics engine developed by Algoryx in Sweden, and this plugin makes it possible to use it for simulation. For details, see AGX Dynamics Plugin.

• BUILD_MULTICOPTER_PLUGIN

Builds the Multicopter plugin. This plugin enables the simulation of multicopters. For details, see Multicopter Plugin.

• BUILD_GL_VISION_SIMULATOR_PLUGIN

  Builds the GL vision simulator plugin for simulating vision sensors. This is ON by default. For details, see Vision Sensor Simulation.

• BUILD_GL_CAMERA_EFFECT_PLUGIN

  Builds the GL camera effect plugin, which extends the GL vision simulator plugin so that various effects can be applied to simulated camera images. For details, see GL Camera Effect Plugin.

• BUILD_LIVOX_MID360_PLUGIN

  Builds the LivoxMid360 plugin for supporting the MID360, a LiDAR by Livox. It makes the MID360 available as a device and also supports its simulation. For details, see LivoxMid360 Plugin.

• BUILD_SCENE_EFFECTS_PLUGIN

Builds the scene effects plugin. This plugin makes it possible to render effects such as fire and smoke in the scene. For details, see Scene Effects Plugin.

• BUILD_POSE_SEQ_PLUGIN

Builds the PoseSeq plugin. This plugin provides the choreography function based on key poses. For details, see PoseSeq Plugin.

• BUILD_BALANCER_PLUGIN

Builds the Balancer plugin. This plugin makes it possible to apply automatic balance correction in the choreography function. By using this function when choreographing a biped robot, you can create motions that (theoretically) do not fall over. For details, see Balancer Plugin.

• BUILD_MOCAP_PLUGIN

A plugin for loading and displaying motion capture data. It currently supports motion capture data in the BVH format. For details, see Mocap Plugin.

• BUILD_MEDIA_PLUGIN

Builds the media plugin. This plugin makes it possible to play various media files such as video and audio on Choreonoid. For details, see Media Plugin.

• BUILD_TRAFFIC_CONTROL_PLUGIN

Builds the TrafficControl plugin. This plugin makes it possible to simulate various communication failures such as communication delay, bandwidth limitation, and packet loss. For details, see TrafficControl Plugin.

Sample-related Options

The following are options for building sample data and programs.

• ENABLE_SAMPLES

Enables the samples. In addition to building the basic samples, this makes it possible to build additional samples with the following options. This is ON by default.

• BUILD_SIMPLE_CONTROLLER_SAMPLES

Builds various simulation samples realized with simple controllers. This is ON by default.

• BUILD_HRP4C_HANDLER

Builds the body handler that calculates the analytical inverse kinematics solution of the HRP-4C model.

• BUILD_SUBMERSIBLE_SAMPLE

A sample for a simple simulation of an underwater robot.

• BUILD_WRS2018

Sample models of the “Tunnel Disaster Response and Recovery Challenge” of the World Robot Summit 2018, an international robot competition. For details, see World Robot Summit 2018.

Other Options

Choreonoid has the following options in addition to those listed above. Some of them are not normally displayed in the menu-style CMake configuration tools, and are displayed only when switching to the Advanced Mode.

• BUILD_MANIPULATOR_PLUGIN

• BUILD_COMPETITION_PLUGIN

• BUILD_PCL_PLUGIN

• BUILD_OMPL_PLUGIN

• BUILD_FCL_PLUGIN

• BUILD_FFMPEG_PLUGIN

• BUILD_BODY_MOTION_FILTER_PLUGIN

• BUILD_SCENEEDIT_PLUGIN

• ENABLE_CORBA

These options correspond to experimental or development-stage features, or infrastructure features for specific purposes. For these and any other options, if you do not know what an option is, it is basically recommended not to turn it ON.