DART Research References

Load this skill when adding, updating, auditing, or citing research references (papers, textbooks, model-format standards, or comparative engines) for the DART experimental simulation world — its public API and its algorithms.

Catalog Location

docs/readthedocs/papers.md is the single source of truth and the published website page. It is a companion to the experimental API design docs:

• docs/design/simulation_cpp_api.md
• docs/design/simulation_python_api.md

Entry Schema

Each entry has an id, a full citation, and these properties:

Property	Values
Type	textbook, paper, standard, engine
Topic	e.g. dynamics, kinematics, contact, integration, collision, terminology, model-format, api
Status	referenced, planned, in-progress, implemented, deferred, rejected
Priority	high, medium, low, —
Verdict	adopt, baseline, reference, evaluate, reject
Where used	link to the design doc, code, or test that uses (or will use) it

Status is written from the experimental world's perspective. A method shipping in classic DART but not yet in the experimental world is planned, with the classic location noted in Notes.

Workflow: add or update an entry

1. Ground the entry in real evidence — a design doc, code path, test, or an explicit project decision. Do not add aspirational references with no link.
2. Write an accurate citation (authors, title, year, venue/publisher). Prefer an official URL; do not fabricate DOIs.
3. Add a row to the matching summary table and a detail subsection with the full properties and a one-line rationale.
4. Set Status from the experimental world's perspective; note classic-DART status separately in Notes.
5. Set Verdict (adopt to build on, baseline to compare against, reference to cite, evaluate while undecided, reject with a reason).
6. Fill Where used with the design-doc/code/test link.
7. When the relationship changes (e.g. a planned algorithm becomes implemented, or an evaluate is decided), update Status/Verdict and the Where used link in the same change.

Rules

• Prefer robotics/dynamics literature (textbooks, papers) over engine-specific names when a reference informs a terminology decision; record the grounding in the catalog's "Terminology Grounding" section.
• Keep the catalog scoped to the experimental world for now; the schema is general and can extend to the rest of DART later.
• Keep engine entries as baselines/comparisons, never as dependencies.
• Use docs/ai/verification.md to select the docs-only or AI docs/adapters gate set, then run pixi run lint after edits.

Full Documentation

For the catalog and its rationale: docs/readthedocs/papers.md

For the API it supports: docs/design/simulation_cpp_api.md, docs/design/simulation_python_api.md

For DART's research focus: docs/ai/north-star.md