Add Support for Spawn Constraints in Animats #1
Description
In the current state of FARMS, animats are expected to have a free base when spawned into the simulation, while arena elements have a fixed base. However, there are use cases where animats need to be spawned with specific constraints, such as a fixed base or movement restricted to a plane (e.g., for simulations requiring 2D motion).
To address this requirement, the farms_core package should be extended to support additional spawn constraint options for animats. This will include:
- Fixed Base: An option to spawn animats with a fixed base, preventing movement or rotation.
- Planar Movement: An option to constrain animat movement within a specified plane, allowing motion only in two dimensions.
- Free Movement: The existing behaviour, where animats can move freely without constraints.
The new options should be defined as part of the animat configuration, allowing researchers to specify the required constraints when spawning animats. These configurations will later be used by farms_mujoco (and other physics engines) to apply the appropriate constraints during the simulation setup. See the related issue in farms_mujoco.
Tasks:
- Extend the farms_core package to allow for the specification of animat spawn constraints.
- Define the new constraint options (fixed base, planar movement, free movement) as part of the animat configuration.
- Ensure that the new configuration is flexible enough to support other types of constraints in the future.
This issue tracks the addition of spawn constraint options in farms_core and their integration into the animat configuration system.