Point

Point geometry for contact modeling

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  • Library:

  • Simscape / Multibody / Curves and Surfaces

  • Point Block

Description

The Point block exports a 0-D point geometry for modeling contact problems. You can model contacts between the point and many types of geometries, such as all the solids and convex hulls in the Body Element library and the infinite plane in the Curves and Surfaces library. However, you cannot model a contact between a pair of points because there is no penetration, which is necessary for the penalty method, between two points.

Point

Using the point geometry can simplify and speed up contact modeling that involves complex geometries by eliminating unnecessary geometric details. For example, in the Train a Humanoid Walker example, you can simplify the feet-ground contact by using several points to represent the robot feet.

Robot Feet

Ports

Frame

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Local reference frame to use to define the location and orientation of the point.

Geometry frame that represents the point defined by this block. Connect this port to the Spatial Contact Force block to model contacts on the point.

Parameters

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Graphic

Graphic used to visualize the point. Specify this parameter to None to eliminate the point from the model visualization.

Shape of the marker used to visualize the point. The marker shape has no effect on the contact results of the point.

Size of the marker used to visualize the point. The maker size does not scale with zoom level.

Parameterizations to use to specify visual properties. Select Simple to specify diffuse color and opacity. Select Advanced to specify more visual properties, such as Specular Color, Ambient Color, Emissive Color, and Shininess.

Color of the point. Use an [R,G,B] vector when Visual Properties is set to Simple or, optionally, use an [R,G,B,A] vector when Visual Properties is set to Advanced. The vector elements range from 0 to 1. The optional fourth element, A, specifies the color opacity of the point. Omitting the opacity element is equivalent to specifying its value as 1.

Color opacity of the point, specified as a value in the range of 0 to 1. A value of 0 corresponds to completely transparent, and a value of 1 corresponds to completely opaque.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Visual Properties to Simple.

Color of the specular highlights. Use an [R,G,B,A] vector, where each element is in the range of 0 to 1, to specify the color of specular highlights. The optional fourth element, A, specifies the color opacity. Omitting the opacity element is equivalent to specifying its value as 1.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Visual Properties to Advanced.

Color of the shadow areas. Use an [R,G,B,A] vector, where each element is in the range of 0 to 1, to specify the color of shadow areas in diffuse ambient light. The optional fourth element specifies the color opacity. Omitting the opacity element, A, is equivalent to specifying its value as 1.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Visual Properties to Advanced.

Surface color due to the self-illumination. Use an [R,G,B,A] vector, where each element is in the range of 0 to 1, to specify the surface color. The optional fourth element, A, specifies the color opacity. Omitting the opacity element is equivalent to specifying its value as 1.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Visual Properties to Advanced.

Sharpness of specular light reflections, specified as a value in the range of 1 to 128. Increase the shininess value for smaller but sharper highlights. Decrease the value for larger but smoother highlights.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Visual Properties to Advanced.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using Simulink® Coder™.

See Also

Topics

Introduced in R2020b

Simscape Multibody Documentation

Support