Flexiv, a general-purpose robotics solutions company, has announced the release of the Flexiv-Isaac Bridge App, bringing force-control simulation to NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim. This partnership enables robotics developers and end-users to program, model, test, and deploy complex force-controlled, AI-empowered robotics applications in simulated environments that closely mimic contact-rich real-world conditions.
To highlight this new capability, Flexiv’s engineering team released a video in which a simulated Rizon 4 robot completed the classic Tower of Hanoi puzzle in Isaac Sim. The simulation exactly replicated the robot’s real-world movements and showcased its force-controlled “hole search” and compliant movement capabilities. This underscores Flexiv’s commitment to minimizing the sim-to-real gap to improve training, programming, and operational performance. Additionally, this demonstration emphasizes Flexiv’s drive to ensure seamless compatibility with one of the world’s most widely used virtual robotics platforms.
Xiyang Yeh, Flexiv’s CTO, said, “Opening the door to compatibility between Flexiv and NVIDIA with the Flexiv-Isaac Sim Bridge App has enabled our industry-leading adaptive robots to leverage Isaac Sim’s powerful real-world physics engine. This strategic integration empowers users to create force-dependent, true-to-life simulations that significantly accelerate application validation and streamline the optimization process. In short, we have made high-fidelity force-controlled simulations a reality.”
Isaac Sim enables developers to build hyper-realistic, detailed virtual environments, while Flexiv’s Elements programming system allows robotic applications to be programmed and refined. With the Bridge App connecting these tools, customers can create applications, build digital twins of their facilities, design mission profiles, and run high-fidelity virtual tests before deploying robots in real-world scenarios. These simulations provide valuable insights into application performance, risk assessment, and operational efficiency.
By leveraging both Isaac Sim’s ability to generate real-world simulations and Flexiv Elements’ support for simulating real-world force-based actions, Flexiv aims to accelerate the application development cycle. With developers now able to refine robot movements and iteratively test applications from anywhere in the world, development costs can be significantly reduced, while remote support can ensure greater reliability in real-world deployments.
Peizhang Zhu, Senior Robotics Software Engineer at Flexiv, said, “Playing the Tower of Hanoi is a brilliant way to demonstrate the transfer from simulation to real-world under the Flexiv-Isaac framework, as it’s the exact same Python script functioning in both the simulation and reality without any code changes. Users can build an adaptive robot solution in Isaac Sim first, then deploy it to the real world, expecting the same outcome as in simulation. The framework has finally made simulation a practical component in the production process.”