Does URDF Studio need to be installed?

No. Parsing and 3D rendering both happen locally in the browser. Open the page and start working — no local ROS, Gazebo or MuJoCo install is required.

Which robot model formats are supported?

URDF, Xacro, MJCF (MuJoCo), SDF, USD and USDA for models; STL, DAE, OBJ and glTF/GLB for meshes.

Are my models uploaded to a server?

A model opened from your machine is parsed and rendered in the browser and is not uploaded automatically. Data leaves your machine only when you deliberately save or publish an asset to BotWorld.

URDF Studio — Online Robot Model Editor and 3D Viewer

URDF Studio is a robot model editor that runs in the browser. Drop a URDF, Xacro, MJCF, SDF or USD model onto the page and its 3D structure, joint tree and collision geometry appear immediately — then edit, assemble, check and export it in the same window. No desktop software to install, and no ROS environment to set up first.

URDF
Xacro
MJCF / MuJoCo
SDF
USD / USDA
STL · DAE · OBJ · glTF

Open the URDF Studio editor 中文版

The problem it solves

In day-to-day robot modelling, the expensive part is rarely the modelling itself — it is the cost of taking a look. Checking whether a joint axis points the wrong way, whether a link's inertia is plausible, or whether an exported collision hull is a size larger than the visual mesh normally means installing a full simulation stack and writing a launch script before anything appears on screen. Change machine, change colleague or change format, and you pay that cost again.

URDF Studio moves that step into the browser. Models are parsed and rendered locally, so opening the page already gives you an interactive 3D view: joints can be dragged directly, the kinematic chain expands as a tree, and visual meshes and collision geometry can be toggled independently for comparison. When someone else needs to review it, a link is enough.

What it does

Multi-format import and conversion

Convert between URDF, Xacro, MJCF, SDF and USD/USDA, with STL, DAE, OBJ and glTF/GLB meshes. A model that arrived from MuJoCo can go out as URDF for the ROS side, and the reverse holds too.

Kinematics and joint editing

Edit joint types, axes, limits, parent-child relationships and link transforms, with every change reflected in the 3D view. Joint sliders let you sweep each range of motion, so a reversed limit shows up here rather than in simulation.

Collision geometry

Display and compare visual and collision meshes layer by layer, and replace expensive collision meshes with convex hulls, bounding boxes or primitives. Collision complexity drives simulation step time, and this usually pays off more than optimising visuals.

Modular assembly

Compose arms, grippers, end effectors, sensors and mobile bases into a complete robot through their interfaces, parallel structures included. The assembled result exports as a single model file.

Physical parameter checks

Show centres of mass, inertia tensors and coordinate frames, and surface the parameter problems that make a simulation diverge outright — zero masses, invalid inertias — before the model reaches a simulator.

Assets and export

Connected to the BotWorld asset platform, so a robot model published there loads straight into the editor. Export the finished model to hand it on to the motion and simulation stages.

Typical uses

A third-party URDF landed on your desk and you want to check its joint tree, frames and mesh paths before committing to it.
Simulation is running slowly and you suspect the collision meshes; you need to inspect and replace them link by link.
A model runs in MuJoCo but fails to load in ROS, and you need a visual comparison between the two formats.
You are swapping the gripper on an arm and want to see the assembled pose and self-collisions before the design is committed.
Teaching or design review, where a robot model viewer that opens from a link and needs no environment setup is worth more than a faster one that does.

Where it sits in the platform

URDF Studio owns the model stage of the robot development flow. Upstream is BotWorld, where robot assets are discovered, uploaded and distributed; downstream are Motion Studio and BotLab, where a settled model is retargeted and validated in simulation. All four products work standalone, and together they form a continuous chain around one shared asset.

BotWorld — robotics asset platform for discovering and distributing models, motions, skills, scenarios and cases.
Motion Studio — motion-capture processing and multi-robot motion retargeting workbench.
BotLab — browser-based low-code robot simulation and control-graph editor.
Platform documentation — the full manual from asset to simulation.

Frequently asked questions

Does URDF Studio need to be installed?: No. Parsing and 3D rendering both happen locally in the browser, so the page works without a local ROS, Gazebo or MuJoCo install.
Which robot model formats are supported?: URDF, Xacro, MJCF (MuJoCo), SDF, USD and USDA for models; STL, DAE, OBJ and glTF/GLB for meshes.
Are my models uploaded to a server?: A model opened from your machine is parsed and rendered in the browser and is never uploaded automatically. Data leaves your machine only when you deliberately save or publish an asset to BotWorld.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?: Viewing works, but the editor is designed for desktop browsers — it relies on multiple panels and precise picking, so real editing belongs on a desktop.
How does it relate to desktop CAD?: URDF Studio does not replace CAD. It handles the stage after it: turning exported geometry into a robot description that is structurally correct, physically valid and loadable by a simulator.