How to install PyChrono

🚀 PyChrono Installation Guide

This guide walks you through the installation of PyChrono for use in this project.

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🐍 1. Install Anaconda or Miniconda

Follow the official Miniconda installation guide for your platform (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

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⚙️ 2. Automated Setup

✅ Windows Users

1. Download the file install/install_pychrono_windows.txt.

2. Rename it to install/install_pychrono_windows.bat.

3. Open Command Prompt and run:

   install_pychrono_windows.bat

4. ➡️ Skip to Step 5: Copy the Demos and Test the Installation

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✅ Linux Users

1. Download the file install/install_pychrono_linux.sh.

2. Open a terminal and make the script executable:

   chmod +x install_pychrono_linux.sh

3. Run the script:

   ./install_pychrono_linux.sh

4. ➡️ Skip to Step 6: Run the Code

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✅ MacOS Users

1. Download the file install/install_pychrono_macos.sh.

2. Open a terminal and make the script executable:

   chmod +x install_pychrono_macos.sh

3. Run the script:

   ./install_pychrono_macos.sh

4. Initialize Conda for zsh shell

   /opt/miniconda3/bin/conda init zsh

5. Restart the shell

   exec zsh

6. Activate the PyChrono Conda environment

   conda activate chrono

7. Set the PYTHONPATH environment variable

   export PYTHONPATH=$(conda info --base)/envs/chrono/share/chrono/python

8. ➡️ Skip to Step 6: Run the Code

Note

Steps 4-7 need to be run every time you want to use pychrono.

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🛠 3. Manual Setup Procedure (All Platforms)

🔧 Step 1: Add the conda-forge channel

Open a terminal (Windows users: use PowerShell or Anaconda Prompt):

conda config --add channels http://conda.anaconda.org/conda-forge

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🔧 Step 2: Create a new Conda environment

conda create -n chrono python=3.10

Activate the environment:

conda activate chrono

To deactivate:

conda deactivate

Stay in the environment during the following steps.

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🔧 Step 3: Install PyChrono dependencies

conda install -c conda-forge numpy=1.24.0
conda install -c conda-forge matplotlib
conda install -c conda-forge irrlicht=1.8.5
conda install -c conda-forge pytz
conda install -c conda-forge scipy

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🔧 Step 4: Download and install PyChrono package

Visit the package repo and download the correct version for your platform:

• macOS: osx-arm64/pychrono-8.0.0-py310_2471.tar.bz2
• Windows: win-64/pychrono-8.0.0-py310_0.tar.bz2
• Linux: linux-64/pychrono-8.0.0-py310_0.tar.bz2

After downloading, navigate to the folder (e.g., Downloads) and run:

cd ~/Downloads
conda install pychrono-8.0.0-py310_2471.tar.bz2

Note

macOS users: You may also need to set the PYTHONPATH:

export PYTHONPATH=$HOME/miniconda3/envs/chrono/share/chrono/python

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📁 Step 5: Copy the Demos and Test the Installation

1. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the demo files:

   mkdir ~/pychrono_demos
   cd ~/pychrono_demos

2. Copy the demo files:

   cp -r $PYTHONPATH/pychrono/demos/* .

3. Run a demo to verify the installation:

   cd mbs
   python demo_MBS_revolute.py

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🚦 Step 6: Run the Code

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/andrealaffly/UAV_Sim_PyChrono.git
   cd UAV_Sim_PyChrono

2. Run the simulation:

   python main.py

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