Install the IRRLICHT module

Chrono::Irrlicht is a run-time visualization system for interactive 3D viewing of Chrono simulations.

Features

The IRRLICHT module is used to display Chrono simulations in an interactive 3D view. Here are the main features:

  • Supports all visualization shapes specified as assets on Chrono physics objects (bodies, links, etc)
  • The following default mouse and key controls are supported:
    • mouse left button for camera rotation
    • mouse right button for camera x z motion
    • mouse wheel rotation for camera forward/backward
    • press 'i' to see a setting panel,
    • press arrows to have x z camera motion, press page up & down for y vertical motion
    • press 'print screen' to start saving screenshots to disk
  • Contacts can be optionally drawn with vectors in 3D view
  • Link coordinate systems can be plotted on the 3D view

Dependencies

  • To Chrono::Irrlicht requires the Irrlicht SDK

Installing prerequisistes

  1. Download Irrlicht Engine; the newest tested version is 1.8.5
  2. Unzip it in a directory of your choice. For example, here we suppose that you unzipped it in C:/Packages/irrlicht-1.8.5.

On Linux, Irrlicht may also be installed through a package manager: irrlicht, libirrlicht-dev, irrlicht-devel.

The best way to install irrlicht on the Mac is: brew install irrlicht (release v.1.8.5). On MacOS 12 (Monterey) you have to set IRRLICHT_INSTALL_DIR to /opt/homebrew.

Building instructions

Instructions on how to install the Chrono::Irrlicht library are already reported on the Chrono installation page. They are repeated here in more details.

  1. Repeat the instructions for the full installation
  2. Set CH_ENABLE_MODULE_IRRLICHT to 'on'.
  3. Set the directory in Irrlicht_ROOT: it must contain the path to your unzipped Irrlicht directory. In our example, C:/Packages/irrlicht-1.8.5
  4. Press 'Configure' again, then 'Generate', and proceed as usual in the installation instructions.

How to use it

  • Consult the API section of this module for documentation about classes and functions.
  • Consult the C++ source of demos to learn how to use the functions of this module.