prl_assets

Reusable manipulation objects for Personal Robotics Lab projects.

This package provides simulation models and metadata for common manipulation objects like cans, bins, and other graspable items. Objects follow the asset_manager metadata format for compatibility with perception and planning pipelines.

Installation

uv add prl_assets

For development:

git clone https://github.com/personalrobotics/prl_assets.git
cd prl_assets
uv sync --dev

Quick Start

Use with asset_manager to load objects:

from asset_manager import AssetManager
from prl_assets import OBJECTS_DIR

# Initialize asset manager with prl_assets objects
assets = AssetManager(OBJECTS_DIR)

# List available objects
print(assets.list())
# ['can', 'recycle_bin']

# Get path to simulation model
can_path = assets.get_path("can", "mujoco")

# Load in MuJoCo
import mujoco
model = mujoco.MjModel.from_xml_path(can_path)

# Get object metadata
meta = assets.get("can")
print(meta["dimensions"])  # [0.066, 0.066, 0.123]
print(meta["mass"])        # 0.05 kg

# Find objects by category
recyclables = assets.by_category("recyclable")

Available Objects

can

Standard aluminum soda/beer can for manipulation tasks.

Property	Value
Dimensions	6.6cm diameter x 12.3cm height
Mass	0.05 kg
Material	Aluminum
Categories	container, recyclable, graspable

recycle_bin

Open-top bin for discarding recyclable items.

Property	Value
Dimensions	25cm x 25cm x 30cm
Mass	0.5 kg
Material	Plastic
Categories	container, receptacle, fixture

Object Structure

Each object follows a standardized directory structure:

objects/
└── object_name/
    ├── meta.yaml          # Object metadata
    ├── object_name.xml    # MuJoCo model
    ├── object_name.usd    # Isaac Sim model (optional)
    └── object_name.png    # Preview image

Metadata Format

The meta.yaml file contains all object properties:

name: can
description: Standard aluminum soda/beer can
category: [container, recyclable, graspable]

# Physical properties
mass: 0.05  # kg
dimensions: [0.066, 0.066, 0.123]  # meters
color: [0.8, 0.1, 0.1]  # RGB
material: aluminum

# Geometric properties for grasp planning
geometric_properties:
  type: cylinder
  radius: 0.033
  height: 0.123

# Simulator-specific configuration
mujoco:
  xml_path: can.xml
  scale: 1.0
  friction: [0.6, 0.005, 0.0001]

# Perception aliases for detection systems
perception:
  aliases: ["can", "soda can", "beer can"]

# Manipulation policy hints
policy:
  grasping:
    affordances: [lift, pour]
    preferred_grasp_type: side_grasp
    difficulty: easy

Adding New Objects

1. Create a new directory under src/prl_assets/objects/
2. Add a meta.yaml with required fields
3. Add simulator model files (e.g., .xml for MuJoCo)
4. Run uv run python scripts/render_objects.py to generate preview image
5. Update this README with the new object

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.