Fixes actuator velocity limits propagation down the articulation root_physx_view (#1509)

# Description

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Previously the velocity limits of the the ActuatorBaseCfg do not get
used in most actuators. Only the DCMotor actuator uses it but it only
uses it for torque-speed limitations.

This PR propagates the velocity_limits of the ActuatorBaseCfg to the
articulation root_physx_view.

Fixes #1384 

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## Type of change

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- Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)

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## Checklist

- [x] I have run the [`pre-commit` checks](https://pre-commit.com/) with
`./isaaclab.sh --format`
- [x] I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
- [x] My changes generate no new warnings
- [x] I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my
feature works
- [x] I have updated the changelog and the corresponding version in the
extension's `config/extension.toml` file
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---------
Signed-off-by: Kelly Guo <kellyg@nvidia.com>
Co-authored-by: Kelly Guo <kellyg@nvidia.com>
Co-authored-by: Kelly Guo <kellyguo123@hotmail.com>

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/config/extension.toml

 [package]
 
 # Note: Semantic Versioning is used: https://semver.org/
-version = "0.27.22"
+version = "0.27.23"
 
 # Description
 title = "Isaac Lab framework for Robot Learning"

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/docs/CHANGELOG.rst

 Changelog
 ---------
 
+0.27.23 (2024-12-06)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Fixed
+^^^^^
+
+* Fixed the enforcement of :attr:`~omni.isaac.lab.actuators.ActuatorBaseCfg.velocity_limits` at the
+  :attr:`~omni.isaac.lab.assets.Articulation.root_physx_view` level.
+
+
 0.27.22 (2024-12-06)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/omni/isaac/lab/assets/articulation/articulation.py

@@ -424,6 +424,39 @@ class Articulation(AssetBase):
         # set into simulation
         self.root_physx_view.set_dof_dampings(self._data.joint_damping.cpu(), indices=physx_env_ids.cpu())
 
+    def write_joint_velocity_limit_to_sim(
+        self,
+        limits: torch.Tensor | float,
+        joint_ids: Sequence[int] | slice | None = None,
+        env_ids: Sequence[int] | None = None,
+    ):
+        """Write joint max velocity to the simulation.
+
+        Args:
+            limits: Joint max velocity. Shape is (len(env_ids), len(joint_ids)).
+            joint_ids: The joint indices to set the max velocity for. Defaults to None (all joints).
+            env_ids: The environment indices to set the max velocity for. Defaults to None (all environments).
+        """
+        # resolve indices
+        physx_env_ids = env_ids
+        if env_ids is None:
+            env_ids = slice(None)
+            physx_env_ids = self._ALL_INDICES
+        if joint_ids is None:
+            joint_ids = slice(None)
+        # broadcast env_ids if needed to allow double indexing
+        if env_ids != slice(None) and joint_ids != slice(None):
+            env_ids = env_ids[:, None]
+        # move tensor to cpu if needed
+        if isinstance(limits, torch.Tensor):
+            limits = limits.to(self.device)
+
+        # set into internal buffers
+        self._data.joint_velocity_limits = self.root_physx_view.get_dof_max_velocities().to(self.device)
+        self._data.joint_velocity_limits[env_ids, joint_ids] = limits
+        # set into simulation
+        self.root_physx_view.set_dof_max_velocities(self._data.joint_velocity_limits.cpu(), indices=physx_env_ids.cpu())
+
     def write_joint_effort_limit_to_sim(
         self,
         limits: torch.Tensor | float,
@@ -1158,6 +1191,7 @@ class Articulation(AssetBase):
                 self.write_joint_stiffness_to_sim(actuator.stiffness, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_damping_to_sim(actuator.damping, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_effort_limit_to_sim(actuator.effort_limit, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
+                self.write_joint_velocity_limit_to_sim(actuator.velocity_limit, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_armature_to_sim(actuator.armature, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_friction_to_sim(actuator.friction, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
             else:
@@ -1166,6 +1200,7 @@ class Articulation(AssetBase):
                 self.write_joint_stiffness_to_sim(0.0, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_damping_to_sim(0.0, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_effort_limit_to_sim(1.0e9, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
+                self.write_joint_velocity_limit_to_sim(actuator.velocity_limit, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_armature_to_sim(actuator.armature, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 self.write_joint_friction_to_sim(actuator.friction, joint_ids=actuator.joint_indices)
                 # Store the actual default stiffness and damping values for explicit actuators (not written the sim)

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/omni/isaac/lab/assets/articulation/articulation_data.py

@@ -220,6 +220,9 @@ class ArticulationData:
     joint_limits: torch.Tensor = None
     """Joint limits provided to simulation. Shape is (num_instances, num_joints, 2)."""
 
+    joint_velocity_limits: torch.Tensor = None
+    """Joint maximum velocity provided to simulation. Shape is (num_instances, num_joints)."""
+
     ##
     # Fixed tendon properties.
     ##

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/test/assets/test_articulation.py

@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ def generate_articulation_cfg(
     articulation_type: Literal["humanoid", "panda", "anymal", "shadow_hand", "single_joint"],
     stiffness: float | None = 10.0,
     damping: float | None = 2.0,
+    vel_limit: float | None = 100.0,
+    effort_limit: float | None = 400.0,
 ) -> ArticulationCfg:
     """Generate an articulation configuration.
 
@@ -72,8 +74,8 @@ def generate_articulation_cfg(
             actuators={
                 "joint": ImplicitActuatorCfg(
                     joint_names_expr=[".*"],
-                    effort_limit=400.0,
-                    velocity_limit=100.0,
+                    effort_limit=effort_limit,
+                    velocity_limit=vel_limit,
                     stiffness=0.0,
                     damping=10.0,
                 ),
@@ -813,6 +815,43 @@ class TestArticulation(unittest.TestCase):
                         torch.testing.assert_close(articulation.actuators["body"].stiffness, expected_stiffness)
                         torch.testing.assert_close(articulation.actuators["body"].damping, expected_damping)
 
+    def test_setting_velocity_limits(self):
+        """Test that velocity limits are loaded form the configuration correctly."""
+        for num_articulations in (1, 2):
+            for device in ("cuda:0", "cpu"):
+                for limit in (5.0, None):
+                    with self.subTest(num_articulations=num_articulations, device=device, limit=limit):
+                        with build_simulation_context(
+                            device=device, add_ground_plane=False, auto_add_lighting=True
+                        ) as sim:
+                            articulation_cfg = generate_articulation_cfg(
+                                articulation_type="single_joint", vel_limit=limit, effort_limit=limit
+                            )
+                            articulation, _ = generate_articulation(
+                                articulation_cfg=articulation_cfg, num_articulations=num_articulations, device=device
+                            )
+                            # Play sim
+                            sim.reset()
+
+                            if limit is not None:
+                                # Expected gains
+                                expected_velocity_limit = torch.full(
+                                    (articulation.num_instances, articulation.num_joints),
+                                    limit,
+                                    device=articulation.device,
+                                )
+                                # Check that gains are loaded from USD file
+                                torch.testing.assert_close(
+                                    articulation.actuators["joint"].velocity_limit, expected_velocity_limit
+                                )
+                                torch.testing.assert_close(
+                                    articulation.data.joint_velocity_limits, expected_velocity_limit
+                                )
+                                torch.testing.assert_close(
+                                    articulation.root_physx_view.get_dof_max_velocities().to(device),
+                                    expected_velocity_limit,
+                                )
+
     def test_reset(self):
         """Test that reset method works properly.