An Unconstrained Convex Formulation of Compliant Contact

In this article, we present a convex formulation of compliant frictional contact and robust performant method to solve it in practice. By analytically eliminating constraints, obtain an unconstrained problem. Our solver has proven global convergence warm-starts effectively, enabling simulation at interactive rates. We develop compact analytical expressions forces allowing us describe our model clear physical terms rigorously characterize approximations. Moreover, enables not only point but also incorporate sophisticated models patches. time stepping scheme includes the midpoint rule, which demonstrate achieves second order accuracy even with contact. introduce number metrics show that outperforms existing commercial open-source alternatives without sacrificing accuracy. Finally, robotic manipulation tasks rates, accurately resolved stiction transitions, as required for meaningful sim-to-real transfer. is implemented robotics toolkit Drake.