dart-references

name	dart-references
description	DART References: manage the experimental simulation research catalog (papers, textbooks, engines) with status, priority, and verdict

DART Research References

Load this skill when adding, updating, auditing, or citing research references (papers, textbooks, model-format standards, or comparative engines) for the DART experimental simulation world — its public API and its algorithms.

Catalog Location

docs/readthedocs/papers.md is the single source of truth and the published website page. It is a companion to the experimental API design docs:

• docs/design/simulation_cpp_api.md
• docs/design/simulation_python_api.md

Entry Schema

Each entry has an id, a full citation, and these properties:

Property	Values
Type	textbook, paper, standard, engine
Topic	e.g. dynamics, kinematics, contact, integration, collision, terminology, model-format, api
Status	referenced, planned, in-progress, implemented, deferred, rejected
Priority	high, medium, low, —
Verdict	adopt, baseline, reference, evaluate, reject
Where used	link to the design doc, code, or test that uses (or will use) it

Status is written from the experimental world's perspective. A method shipping in classic DART but not yet in the experimental world is planned, with the classic location noted in Notes.

Workflow: add or update an entry

1. Ground the entry in real evidence — a design doc, code path, test, or an explicit project decision. Do not add aspirational references with no link.
2. Write an accurate citation (authors, title, year, venue/publisher). Prefer an official URL; do not fabricate DOIs.
3. Add a row to the matching summary table and a detail subsection with the full properties and a one-line rationale.
4. Set Status from the experimental world's perspective; note classic-DART status separately in Notes.
5. Set Verdict (adopt to build on, baseline to compare against, reference to cite, evaluate while undecided, reject with a reason).
6. Fill Where used with the design-doc/code/test link.
7. When the relationship changes (e.g. a planned algorithm becomes implemented, or an evaluate is decided), update Status/Verdict and the Where used link in the same change.

Rules

• Prefer robotics/dynamics literature (textbooks, papers) over engine-specific names when a reference informs a terminology decision; record the grounding in the catalog's "Terminology Grounding" section.
• Keep the catalog scoped to the experimental world for now; the schema is general and can extend to the rest of DART later.
• Keep engine entries as baselines/comparisons, never as dependencies.
• Use docs/ai/verification.md to select the docs-only or AI docs/adapters gate set, then run pixi run lint after edits.

Full Documentation

For the catalog and its rationale: docs/readthedocs/papers.md

For the API it supports: docs/design/simulation_cpp_api.md, docs/design/simulation_python_api.md

For DART's research focus: docs/ai/north-star.md