Octo Arm Overview

Sill working on this…

OctoArmSimulationBase is the runtime base class for character modes that use a fixed eight-arm layout.

At the moment this path is still under construction. The goal of this page is just to give future contributors a quick mental model before they read the code.

The base class lives in src/virtual_field/runtime/mode_base.py:

from virtual_field.runtime.mode_base import OctoArmSimulationBase

Today, the main user of this base class is CathyForagingSimulation.

What this base class provides

OctoArmSimulationBase extends the common runtime SimulationBase contract and specializes it for exactly eight arms.

It currently helps with:

  • storing the ordered arm_ids

  • assigning each arm id to one entry in base_positions

  • keeping the mode aligned with the rest of the runtime publishing pipeline

The key requirement is that a derived simulation must provide eight base positions, one for each arm.

Typical shape

The pattern is similar to the dual-arm base, but instead of left/right-specific helpers, the octo version is index-based.

from dataclasses import dataclass
from virtual_field.runtime.mode_base import OctoArmSimulationBase

@dataclass(slots=True)
class MyOctoSimulation(OctoArmSimulationBase):

    def build_simulation(self) -> None:
        ...

After configuration, the base class maps:

  • arm_ids[0] to base_positions[0]

  • arm_ids[1] to base_positions[1]

  • …

  • arm_ids[7] to base_positions[7]

Current status

This area is still evolving.

In particular:

  • the octo-arm mode surface is newer than the dual-arm path

  • documentation is intentionally light for now

  • some mode-specific initialization details are still being refined

So if you are extending this system, use this page as orientation only, then read:

  • src/virtual_field/runtime/mode_base.py

  • src/virtual_field/runtime/cathy_foraging_simulation.py

  • src/virtual_field/runtime/mode_registry.py

Notes for future work

Likely follow-up documentation topics:

  • expected build_simulation() responsibilities for octo-arm modes

  • recommended base-layout conventions

  • how octo-arm modes publish ArmState, SphereEntity, and optional meshes

  • how frontend rendering should treat multi-arm characters

For now, this page should be treated as an overview stub rather than a complete developer guide.