6.7 Webots Plugins
Webots functionality can be extended with user-implemented plugins. Currently there are three types of plugins: physics, Fast2D and sound.
6.7.1 Physics plugin
The physics plugin offers the possibility to add custom ODE instructions to the default physics behavior of Webots. For instance it is possible to add or measure forces. By adding forces, it is possible to simulate new types of environments or devices. For example, a wind can be simulated as a constant unidirectional force applied to each object in the world and proportional to the size of the object. The reactor of an airplane can be simulated by adding a force of varying intensity, etc.
6.7.2 Fast2D plugin
The Fast2D plugin offers a way to bypass the standard 3D and physics-based simulation mode. By using this plugin it is possible to write simple 2D kinematic algorithms to control the 2D motion of robots. Webots distribution provides an already implemented version of the Fast2d plugin called "enki". The "enki" plugin was named after the Enki 2D robot simulator; please find more info on Enki there: http://home.gna.org/enki/.
6.7.3 Sound plugin
The sound plugin offers a programming interface for implementing sound propagation algorithm. The sound simulation is based on sound samples that are propagated from Speaker to Microphone nodes. Webots distribution provides an already implemented version of the sound plugin called "swis2d". The "swis2d" plugin was developed in collaboration with the Swarm-Intelligent Systems Group at the EPFL, Switzerland.
Webots distribution comes with some implementations and usage examples for these plugins. You will find more info on this topic in Webots Reference Manual.