Voxel-based soft robots (VSRs) are aggregations of soft blocks whose design
is amenable to optimization. We here present a software, 2D-VSR-Sim, for
facilitating research concerning the optimization of VSRs body and brain. The
software, written in Java, provides consistent interfaces for all the VSRs
aspects suitable for optimization and considers by design the presence of
sensing, i.e., the possibility of exploiting the feedback from the environment
for controlling the VSR. We experimentally characterize, from a mechanical
point of view, the VSRs that can be simulated with 2D-VSR-Sim and we discuss
the computational burden of the simulation. Finally, we show how 2D-VSR-Sim can
be used to repeat the experiments of significant previous studies and, in
perspective, to provide experimental answers to a variety of research
questions.

本文利用 Java 设计了 2D-VSR-Sim 软件，为研究体和脑的优化提供了一个一致的接口，同时考虑了感应的存在。作者们实验性地表征了可以使用 2D-VSR-Sim 模拟的 VSRs，讨论了模拟的计算负担，最后展示了该软件如何用于重现重要先前研究的实验，并为各种研究问题提供实验答案。