Webots is a multi-platform desktop application used to simulate robots. It provides a complete development environment to model, program, and simulate robots, vehicles, and mechanical systems.
It is a beginner friendly software that is meant to introduce newcomers to the world of robotics.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Design easily complete robotics simulations using the large Webots asset library which includes robots, sensors, actuators, objects and materials.
- Import your existing CAD models (from Blender or from URDF). Import OpenStreeMap maps.
- Use a modern GUI to edit your simulation and your robot controllers.
- Save time in the development of your robotics project.
- Create a wide variety of simulations including two-wheeled robots, industrial arms, legged robots, modular robots, automobiles, flying drones, autonomous underwater vehicles, tracked robots, aerospace vehicles, etc.
- Set-up indoor or outdoor interactive environments.
- Use Webots to create robot prototypes, develop, test and validate your AI and control algorithms, teach robotics to your students, etc.
- Modern GUI (Qt), a physics engine (ODE fork) and an OpenGL 3.3 rendering engine (wren).
- Can be programmed in C, C++, Python, Java, MATLAB or ROS with a simple API covering all the basic robotics needs.
- Cross-platform support – runs under Linux, macOS and Windows.
Website: github.com/cyberbotics/webots
Support:
Developer: Cyberbotics Ltd.
License: Apache License 2.0

Webots is written in C++ and C. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Robotics Software | |
|---|---|
| NASA Vision Workbench | Image processing in the context of machine vision |
| DART | Dynamic Animation and Robotics Toolkit |
| Gazebo Sim | Robot simulation made easy |
| AprilTag | Visual fiducial system popular for robotics research |
| Webots | Multi-platform desktop application used to simulate robots |
| ROS | Software framework for building robot applications |
| ARGoS | Physics-based simulator designed to simulate robot swarms |
| RTAB-Map | Graph-based SLAM software for 3D mapping and navigation |
| MoveIt | Robotic manipulation platform for ROS 2 |
| OpenRTM-aist | Component-oriented development of robot systems |
| ROSboard | Lightweight web dashboard for visualizing ROS data |
| Vizanti | Web-based visualizer and mission planner for ROS robots |
| Choreonoid | Integrated graphical framework for robotics development |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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