Anark to Vizard workflow

This article describes how to use Anark to convert a CAD model to a Vizard compatible model format.

1. In Anark go to File -> Import CAD File and choose your file to be imported:

2. Please wait while Anark loads the file:

3. The model is completely loaded in Anark:

4. Select parts of the assembly and change attributes such as the Instance name in order to add metadata tags, which will be interpreted in Vizard:

5. For example allow translation of the radiator assembly in the X,Y,Z directions in Vizard by adding the tag trans=[AX,AY,AZ]:

Specifications For Anark Attribute Markup:
Tags are specified using the instance name field in the Anark software, and exported as a COLLADA DAE file. For an object to be considered "movable" by the grabbing system, it must have at least one of the following tags applied to it. Any of the following commands can be included in an Anark instance name, separated by semi-colons. (Transformations are from the object's coordinate system and not the models.)

1. trans=[AX,NX,PX,AY,NY,PY,AZ,NZ,PZ,FREE,ALL]

The first letter is either A=All, P=Positive, N=Negative
The second letter is X,Y,Z for each of the directions
Specify a list separated with commas:

example: for translation in all directions, use: trans=[AX,AY,AZ]
example: for translation along positive X only, use: trans=[PX]
example: for totally free movement, use trans=[FREE] or trans=[ALL]

(Note that rotation constraints are not supported at this time)

2. rehome=[x,y,z,h,p,r]
Specify X/Y/Z values and Heading/Pitch/Roll for a virtual node which is created to hold the object.This can be used to specify a new origin for components that are specified in terms of world coordinates or have complex parent transformations

example: to set the axis of rotation to (1,2,3) then use rehome=[1,2,3,0,0,0]

3. color=[r,g,b]
Specify floating point values from 0-1 for each of the r=red, g=green, b=blue components

4. alpha=[v] or transparency=[v]
Specify a floating point value from 0-1 for a transparency value

5. depends=[name]
Specify the name of an object that must be removed before this object can be manipulated

6. shader=[name]
Specify the name of a shader to apply to the object surface. Currently the only available shader is smoothmetal

example: for smooth metal, use: shader=[smoothmetal]

7. backface=[FALSE|F|NO|N|0|TRUE|T|Y]
By default, faces are backface culled to remove the rear side, however some surfaces need both sides visible. This is either yes or no, and a variety of keywords can be used for this.

example: to show both sides, use: backface=[on]

8. description=[Text string]
A text string to show when the object is selected

9. image=[image-filename.jpg]
An image to show when the object is selected

6. For example allow translation of the Grill2 in the X,Y,Z directions in Vizard by adding the tag trans=[AX,AY,AZ]:

7. Export the new tagged and optimized CAD file as a Collada file by using File -> Export CAD File. Choose the *.dae format:

8. Please wait while Anark exports the file:

9. In Vizard open the CADManipulator.py template file and add your new Collada file to the "modellist":

10. In a tracked training simulation the user can now grab the parts of the engine that have been tagged as "movable" with the trans=[AX,AY,AZ] tag in Anark:

11. Grab and move all allowed parts:

12. Grab and move all allowed parts: