[ODE] joint torques

[Victor Zordan]

Hello.

Comment and a question...

In regards to 11/21 USC comments, I too found vortex to be too expensive. 
Plus, I prefer having the code open and available for reading... (thanks  
Russ for that.)  Also, I've played with Vortex and their contact models 
were not to my liking...  I asked them if they would let me set up my own 
ground constraints and got a negative response, saying that was in a part
of the program that was closed to the users.  In a development environment, 
like mine or USC's, you want to be able to change as much as possible... 

Now, I have looked thru the archives and saw my question asked by Jon 
Klein back in June but I didn't find a reply to his question, so I figure 
I'll repeat the question.  I too am trying to apply torques about joints 
and I built a controller that applied both torque at the body center 
and a computed force as an equivalent to applying a joint torque.  The 
joint controller appears to move the body in the correct way, but I 
somehow don't think I am computing things properly b/c some unnatural 
forces appear at times and cause the body to spin out of control.  The 
bottom-line question: is there a way in ODE to apply torques relative to 
a point on a body (the joint center), just as you would apply a force at 
a particular point?  Or am I making this too difficult...

Thanks much,
Victor