Stage 00 · Robotics Orientation · Lesson 9 · 35–45 min
Simulation vs Reality
Simulation lets you test ideas fast, for free, without breaking gears. But it lies in specific, predictable ways. Knowing exactly how it lies keeps you safe and saves days of confusion when the real robot “doesn’t do what the sim did”.
A simulator uses maths to predict what a robot would do: how joints move, how objects fall, what a camera would see. A digital twin is a simulation set up to match one specific real robot as closely as possible. Both are only as honest as the numbers you give them.