Asset Validation

An asset receives a published version only after its validation run passes. The same report model applies to your organization’s catalog and the read-only Simulo global catalog, but checks depend on the asset kind and source format.

• Every package is checked for a valid manifest, in-root files, entry presence, digest integrity, and supported source shape.
• USD packages are opened and checked for resolvable in-package references, declared units/up-axis, and relevant physics schemas.
• URDF robots are converted to USD and receive explicit physics-completion rules before probes run.
• Robots run settle and actuation probes in the simulation runtime.
• Worlds and props are structural/runtime content; they do not pretend to have robot joints, so settle and actuation do not apply.

The two robot probes

Settle — does it reach a quiet physical state?

The runtime places the robot into a physics world without commanding it. A healthy model should settle instead of jittering, sinking through the floor, or separating explosively. This catches common problems with collision shapes, masses, inertias, limits, and drives.

Actuation — do authored drives track targets?

The runtime sends small position targets to joints with authored drives and measures whether they track. A missing, weak, unstable, or badly limited drive fails this probe. The result applies to drives the asset actually authored; it does not promise that an undriven joint will move.

Settle establishes physical stability. Actuation establishes that the model’s declared controls respond.

Inspect the current version

simulo asset inspect robot/my-arm:v1
simulo asset inspect simulo/robot/cartpole:v1

The human summary includes validation verdicts and a facts block. Save the complete record when you need measured data:

simulo asset inspect robot/my-arm:v1 --json > my-arm.record.json

The facts live under version.facts:

Field	Meaning
articulation_root	Root prim of the robot articulation.
joints, dof	Joint records and total degrees of freedom.
collision_shape_count	Collision meshes/shapes found.
units, up_axis	Authored scale and orientation.
link_masses, total_mass_kg	Per-link and total mass used by physics.
probe_outcomes	settle and actuation pass/detail objects when applicable.
step_cost_indicator	A coarse runtime cost signal when measured.

Read the staged validation report

Write the report captured by the validator:

simulo asset inspect robot/my-arm:v1 --report my-arm.validation.json
# or validate without publishing:
simulo asset validate ./my-arm --kind robot --report my-arm.validation.json

The report is not a pair of top-level settle/actuation fields. It is a versioned sequence of stages and check rows. The following is a schema sketch, not a literal emitted report; angle-bracket values stand in for measured text:

{
  "report_schema_version": "simulo.asset_validation_report.v1",
  "verdict": "passed",
  "runtime": "<runtime identifier>",
  "kind": "robot",
  "entry": "robot.usda",
  "source_format": "usd",
  "summary": "Validation passed.",
  "stages": [
    {
      "stage": "engine",
      "status": "passed",
      "skip_reason": null,
      "rows": [
        {
          "status": "pass",
          "check": "probe_settle",
          "title": "Robot settles to a quiet physical state",
          "problem": null,
          "fix": null,
          "detail": "<measured result>"
        },
        {
          "status": "pass",
          "check": "probe_actuation",
          "title": "Authored drives track commanded position targets",
          "problem": null,
          "fix": null,
          "detail": "<measured result>"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

A non-pass row leads with a practical problem and fix; measured detail is kept separately. A deliberately skipped engine stage is recorded as skipped, not misreported as a passed physics probe.

Tip

Use the report for why a validation verdict happened and version.facts for what the platform measured about the published asset.

Common failures and fixes

What you see	Usually means	First correction to try
Entry or reference check fails	The entry is ambiguous/missing, or a dependency leaves the package root.	Put every dependency under one root and pass --entry when needed.
Units/up-axis warning	The USD layer relies on a fallback instead of authoring the metadata.	Author metersPerUnit and upAxis explicitly.
Settle fails	Collision, mass/inertia, limit, or drive configuration is unstable.	Inspect collisions and inertial properties, then revalidate.
Actuation fails	An authored drive is missing, too weak, unstable, or constrained by limits.	Check drive stiffness/damping and joint limits.
URDF conversion fails	A mesh reference is missing/unsafe or the URDF shape is unsupported.	Keep meshes under the package root and fix the reported row.