cpp-mobile-robot-kinematics

A compact modern C++ library for common planar mobile robot kinematics. The project keeps the math explicit, dependency-free, and easy to embed in robot control loops, simulation glue, or teaching examples.

Models

• Differential drive forward and inverse kinematics
• Mecanum drive forward and inverse kinematics
• Ackermann steering curvature and body twist conversion
• SE(2) pose integration from body-frame twists

Layout

include/cpp_mobile_robot_kinematics/  Public headers
src/                                    Library implementation
examples/                               Small runnable demos
tests/                                  No-dependency test executable
docs/                                   Model notes and equations

Build

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build

Disable examples or tests when embedding the library:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMRK_BUILD_EXAMPLES=OFF -DCMRK_BUILD_TESTS=OFF

Quick Example

#include <cpp_mobile_robot_kinematics/differential_drive.hpp>

namespace cmrk = cpp_mobile_robot_kinematics;

int main() {
  cmrk::DifferentialDriveKinematics drive({0.075, 0.42});
  cmrk::Twist2D command{0.6, 0.0, 0.8};
  cmrk::WheelSpeeds wheel_speeds = drive.inverse(command);
  cmrk::Pose2D next_pose = drive.integrate({0.0, 0.0, 0.0}, wheel_speeds, 0.02);
}

Units and Frames

• Distances are meters.
• Angles are radians.
• Wheel speeds are radians per second.
• Body-frame x points forward, y points left, and positive yaw is counter-clockwise.

License

MIT

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Benchmarks

Compiled with g++ -std=c++17 -O2. All results from 5,000,000-iteration micro-benchmarks; process noise eliminated by volatile sink.

Operation	Throughput	Latency / call
Differential drive forward + inverse round-trip	74 M calls / s	13.6 ns
Mecanum drive inverse kinematics	111 M calls / s	9.0 ns
SE(2) pose integration (50 Hz control loop)	19 M calls / s	51.7 ns

All kinematics operations are well within real-time budget for 1 kHz control loops (1,000 µs budget vs < 0.1 µs per call).

Build and reproduce:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build   # all tests pass