Welcome to ArtiSynth
A 3D Mechanical Modeling System combining
Multibody and Finite Element Simulation

Most recent update: March 4, 2021. See the Update Log.

ArtiSynth is a 3D modeling platform that supports the combined simulation of multibody and finite element models, together with contact and constraints. While targeted at biomechanical and biomedical applications, it can also be used for general purpose mechanical simulation. It is freely available under a two-clause BSD-style open source license.

The system is implemented in Java, and provides a rich set of modeling components, including particles, rigid bodies, finite elements with both linear and nonlinear materials, point-to-point muscles, and various bilateral and unilateral constraints including contact. A graphical interface allows interactive component navigation, model editing, and simulation control.

ArtiSynth has been used to develop a variety of biomechanical models, including upper airway and oral structures such as the jaw, hyoid, tongue, soft palate and pharyngeal wall; a muscle activated FEM model of the face; a combined multibody/FEM model of the foot; point-to-point muscle models of the arm and torso; and detailed FEM models of individual models including fiber fields and tendon sheets. It is the simulation platform for the OPAL and Parametric Human projects, and has also been used to create airway models for use in articulatory speech synthesis.

Some of the system's capabilities are illustrated by the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR7GgFBaU6Q :

One of our original biomechanical models is a coupled model of the jaw, hyoid, and tongue, which was built in collaboration with Yohan Payan and the GIPSA Lab in Grenoble, France, and was later extended to include the face http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M-cwgO9oU4 :

Primary development of ArtiSynth is being undertaken by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. If you want to join the artisynth-updates mailing list, visit the Newsletter page.

Please acknowledge ArtiSynth if you use it:
If you use ArtiSynth for your research and find it useful, please acknowledge us in your work by referring to the website (www.artisynth.org) and also citing the following reference:

ArtiSynth is hosted by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia.