See Your Robot Work,
Before You Build It

A digital twin is a high-fidelity virtual replica of your robot and its environment that runs the same software and physics as the real system. With MoveIt Pro, the twin runs the actual perception, motion planning, and control algorithms you will deploy to hardware, so you can build and validate a robotics application before the physical robot exists.

A regular simulation often uses simplified or placeholder logic to approximate behavior. A digital twin runs the same deployable runtime and AI algorithms as the physical robot inside an accurate physics engine, so the results transfer to hardware with minimal changes. The goal is a low sim-to-real gap, not just a visual approximation.

Hardware is expensive, slow to procure, and risky to iterate on. A digital twin lets you validate reach, cycle time, perception, and control in days, without waiting on hardware lead times or risking damage. You de-risk the hardest technical challenges and prove feasibility before committing capital, then move to hardware with a working application already in hand.

We run the same hybrid AI perception, motion planning, and control stack in the twin that runs on the physical robot, inside an accurate physics engine (MuJoCo) with calibrated cameras, sensors, and drivers. Because the runtime is identical, moving from simulation to hardware typically requires only minimal tuning.

We always have to create some level of simulation in MoveIt Pro, in order to use the software’s capabilities. However the fidelity and complexity of that simulation can vary based on needs and budget. We always assist our customers in setting up their initial robot configuration with MoveIt Pro, which does result in a basic digital twin being created.

Ideally yes, but if you have your requirements really clearly set out, it’s possible to just start with a digital twin.

It usually takes us 1 to 3 weeks.

It depends on what phase of engagement you’re in with PickNik. For Phase 1, we typically use lower fidelity for a quick-turnaround prototype. For Phase 2, we refine the physics, cameras, and drivers to give you a low sim-to-real gap.

The twin becomes the foundation for the rest of your program. We co-develop the MVP on hardware (Phase 2), move to an initial production deployment (Phase 3), and harden it into a commercial-grade system (Phase 4). Because the runtime is the same, the prototype carries directly into the deployed product.

You do. PickNik provides MoveIt Pro and our engineering expertise to build your application, while you own, develop, and maintain your intellectual property.

Typically your robot’s URDF or CAD, a description of the task and requirements, and the sensors and end effectors involved. From there we set up your robot configuration in MoveIt Pro and build the digital twin. The clearer your requirements, the faster we can move.

We can do both. Where possible we prefer that you provide CAD files and URDF of your environment, but we can also capture it with phone scanning apps such as Polycam or Scaniverse.

The main need is a ROS 2 driver for those robots and sensors, which most vendors now provide. PickNik, or your team, can of course develop any missing ROS 2 drivers. From there, there is some basic onboarding of that hardware to MoveIt Pro, which typically takes a few days. We are happy to do this for your team, or we can train your team to do it using our online documentation.

We use the MuJoCo physics engine under the hood, though we have built a lot of capabilities on top of this library. We can also support third-party simulators for an additional cost, including NVIDIA Isaac Sim.

Yes! For example, MoveIt Pro can save point clouds with perspective from multiple angles and after adjusting the object’s orientation with a gripper. This data can be readily processed by tools like COCOAnnotatorNG, and then used to train your ML model.

Yes. The digital twin is a MoveIt Pro configuration your team can run, extend, and iterate on. We can also train your team to build new Behaviors and Objectives, or keep co-developing it with you.

Yes. We have built digital twins across manipulation domains including bin picking, assembly, palletizing, mobile manipulation, automotive surface treatment, lab automation, and on-orbit satellite servicing. If your application involves a robot arm or mobile manipulator, MoveIt Pro can model it.

Absolutely, we will be able to understand the kinematic reachability, sensor placement, and other design requirements before buying, shipping, and installing hardware.

For sure, we believe high fidelity concept videos are key to effectively communicating to various types of stakeholders, which is why we always recommend a Digital Twin be created.