Add PhysX joint wrench sensor

docs/source/api/lab/isaaclab.sensors.rst

@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@
     MultiMeshRayCasterCameraCfg
     Imu
     ImuCfg
+    JointWrenchSensor
+    JointWrenchSensorData
+    JointWrenchSensorCfg
 
 Sensor Base
 -----------
@@ -189,3 +192,22 @@ Inertia Measurement Unit
     :inherited-members:
     :show-inheritance:
     :exclude-members: __init__, class_type
+
+Joint Wrench Sensor
+-------------------
+
+.. autoclass:: JointWrenchSensor
+    :members:
+    :inherited-members:
+    :show-inheritance:
+
+.. autoclass:: JointWrenchSensorData
+    :members:
+    :inherited-members:
+    :exclude-members: __init__
+
+.. autoclass:: JointWrenchSensorCfg
+    :members:
+    :inherited-members:
+    :show-inheritance:
+    :exclude-members: __init__, class_type

docs/source/migration/migrating_to_isaaclab_3-0.rst

@@ -158,6 +158,8 @@ The following sensor classes also remain in the ``isaaclab`` package with unchan
 - :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.Imu`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.ImuCfg`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.ImuData`
 - :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.Pva`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.PvaCfg`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.PvaData`
 - :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.FrameTransformer`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.FrameTransformerCfg`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.FrameTransformerData`
+- :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensor`, :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensorCfg`,
+  :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensorData`
 
 These sensor classes now use factory patterns that automatically instantiate the appropriate backend
 implementation (PhysX by default), maintaining full backward compatibility.
@@ -179,6 +181,7 @@ you can import from ``isaaclab_physx.sensors``:
    from isaaclab_physx.sensors import Imu, ImuData
    from isaaclab_physx.sensors import Pva, PvaData
    from isaaclab_physx.sensors import FrameTransformer, FrameTransformerData
+   from isaaclab_physx.sensors import JointWrenchSensor, JointWrenchSensorData
 
 
 New ``isaaclab_newton`` Extension
@@ -188,6 +191,8 @@ A new extension ``isaaclab_newton`` provides Newton physics backend implementati
 
 - :class:`~isaaclab_newton.assets.Articulation` and :class:`~isaaclab_newton.assets.ArticulationData`
 - :class:`~isaaclab_newton.assets.RigidObject` and :class:`~isaaclab_newton.assets.RigidObjectData`
+- :class:`~isaaclab_newton.sensors.JointWrenchSensor` and
+  :class:`~isaaclab_newton.sensors.JointWrenchSensorData`
 
 These classes implement the same base interfaces as their PhysX counterparts
 (:class:`~isaaclab.assets.BaseArticulation`, :class:`~isaaclab.assets.BaseRigidObject`),
@@ -331,6 +336,75 @@ If you need to track sensor poses in world frame, please use a dedicated sensor
    sensor_quat = frame_transformer.data.target_quat_w
 
 
+Articulation Joint Wrench Data Moved to ``JointWrenchSensor``
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The ``ArticulationData.body_incoming_joint_wrench_b`` property has been removed. In
+Isaac Lab 3.0, incoming joint reaction wrenches are exposed through
+:class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensor`, which has PhysX and Newton backend
+implementations and returns separate force [N] and torque [N·m] buffers.
+The sensor reports wrenches in the child-side incoming joint frame, with torque
+referenced at the child-side joint anchor.
+
+**Before (Isaac Lab 2.x):**
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   wrench_b = robot.data.body_incoming_joint_wrench_b.torch[:, body_ids]
+
+**After (Isaac Lab 3.x):**
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   import torch
+   from isaaclab.scene import InteractiveSceneCfg
+   from isaaclab.sensors import JointWrenchSensorCfg
+
+   class MySceneCfg(InteractiveSceneCfg):
+       robot = ROBOT_CFG.replace(prim_path="{ENV_REGEX_NS}/Robot")
+       joint_wrench = JointWrenchSensorCfg(prim_path="{ENV_REGEX_NS}/Robot")
+
+   sensor = env.scene.sensors["joint_wrench"]
+   data = sensor.data
+   wrench_j = torch.cat(
+       (
+           data.force.torch[:, body_ids],
+           data.torque.torch[:, body_ids],
+       ),
+       dim=-1,
+   )
+
+Use :attr:`~isaaclab.sensors.BaseJointWrenchSensor.body_names` or
+:meth:`~isaaclab.sensors.BaseJointWrenchSensor.find_bodies` to map sensor entries to
+articulation body names. PhysX reports one entry for every link, including the articulation
+root link. Newton reports the child bodies of reportable incoming joints.
+
+For manager-based environments, update observations that used the articulation data property to
+depend on the joint-wrench sensor instead:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   import isaaclab.envs.mdp as mdp
+   from isaaclab.managers import SceneEntityCfg
+   from isaaclab.managers import ObservationTermCfg as ObsTerm
+   from isaaclab.scene import InteractiveSceneCfg
+   from isaaclab.sensors import JointWrenchSensorCfg
+
+   class MySceneCfg(InteractiveSceneCfg):
+       robot = ROBOT_CFG.replace(prim_path="{ENV_REGEX_NS}/Robot")
+       joint_wrench = JointWrenchSensorCfg(prim_path="{ENV_REGEX_NS}/Robot")
+
+   feet_body_forces = ObsTerm(
+       func=mdp.body_incoming_wrench,
+       params={
+           "sensor_cfg": SceneEntityCfg(
+               "joint_wrench",
+               body_names=["left_foot", "right_foot"],
+           )
+       },
+   )
+
+
 Multi-Backend Support: PresetCfg Pattern
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

source/isaaclab/config/extension.toml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [package]
 
 # Note: Semantic Versioning is used: https://semver.org/
-version = "4.6.22"
+version = "4.6.24"
 
 # Description
 title = "Isaac Lab framework for Robot Learning"

source/isaaclab/docs/CHANGELOG.rst

@@ -1,6 +1,35 @@
 Changelog
 ---------
 
+4.6.24 (2026-04-30)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Changed
+^^^^^^^
+
+* Changed :func:`~isaaclab.envs.mdp.body_incoming_wrench` to read from
+  :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensor`. Pass
+  ``sensor_cfg=SceneEntityCfg("joint_wrench", body_names=...)`` instead of an
+  articulation asset config.
+
+Removed
+^^^^^^^
+
+* Removed ``BaseArticulationData.body_incoming_joint_wrench_b``.
+  Add :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensorCfg` to the scene and read
+  :attr:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensorData.force` and
+  :attr:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensorData.torque` instead.
+
+
+4.6.23 (2026-04-30)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Added
+^^^^^
+
+* Added :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.JointWrenchSensor`.
+
+
 4.6.22 (2026-04-27)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/assets/articulation/base_articulation_data.py

@@ -603,23 +603,6 @@ def body_com_pose_b(self) -> ProxyArray:
         """
         raise NotImplementedError
 
-    @property
-    @abstractmethod
-    def body_incoming_joint_wrench_b(self) -> ProxyArray:
-        """Joint reaction wrench applied from body parent to child body in parent body frame.
-
-        Shape is (num_instances, num_bodies), dtype = wp.spatial_vectorf. In torch this resolves to
-        (num_instances, num_bodies, 6). All body reaction wrenches are provided including the root body to the
-        world of an articulation.
-
-        For more information on joint wrenches, please check the `PhysX documentation`_ and the
-        underlying `PhysX Tensor API`_.
-
-        .. _PhysX documentation: https://nvidia-omniverse.github.io/PhysX/physx/5.5.1/docs/Articulations.html#link-incoming-joint-force
-        .. _PhysX Tensor API: https://docs.omniverse.nvidia.com/kit/docs/omni_physics/latest/extensions/runtime/source/omni.physics.tensors/docs/api/python.html#omni.physics.tensors.api.ArticulationView.get_link_incoming_joint_force
-        """
-        raise NotImplementedError
-
     ##
     # Joint state properties.
     ##

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/envs/mdp/observations.py

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from isaaclab.assets import Articulation, RigidObject
     from isaaclab.envs import ManagerBasedEnv, ManagerBasedRLEnv
-    from isaaclab.sensors import Camera, Imu, Pva, RayCaster, RayCasterCamera
+    from isaaclab.sensors import Camera, Imu, JointWrenchSensor, Pva, RayCaster, RayCasterCamera
 
 from isaaclab.envs.utils.io_descriptors import (
     generic_io_descriptor,
@@ -304,16 +304,21 @@ def height_scan(env: ManagerBasedEnv, sensor_cfg: SceneEntityCfg, offset: float
     return sensor.data.pos_w.torch[:, 2].unsqueeze(1) - sensor.data.ray_hits_w.torch[..., 2] - offset
 
 
-def body_incoming_wrench(env: ManagerBasedEnv, asset_cfg: SceneEntityCfg) -> torch.Tensor:
-    """Incoming spatial wrench on bodies of an articulation in the simulation world frame.
+def body_incoming_wrench(env: ManagerBasedEnv, sensor_cfg: SceneEntityCfg) -> torch.Tensor:
+    """Incoming spatial wrench [N, N·m] on bodies of an articulation in the sensor convention.
 
-    This is the 6-D wrench (force and torque) applied to the body link by the incoming joint force.
+    This is the 6-D wrench (force followed by torque) applied to the body link by the incoming joint force.
     """
     # extract the used quantities (to enable type-hinting)
-    asset: Articulation = env.scene[asset_cfg.name]
-    # obtain the link incoming forces in world frame
-    body_incoming_joint_wrench_b = asset.data.body_incoming_joint_wrench_b.torch[:, asset_cfg.body_ids]
-    return body_incoming_joint_wrench_b.view(env.num_envs, -1)
+    sensor: JointWrenchSensor = env.scene.sensors[sensor_cfg.name]
+    sensor_data = sensor.data
+    force_data = sensor_data.force
+    torque_data = sensor_data.torque
+    if force_data is None or torque_data is None:
+        raise RuntimeError("Joint wrench sensor data is not initialized. Call sim.reset() before reading observations.")
+    force = force_data.torch[:, sensor_cfg.body_ids]
+    torque = torque_data.torch[:, sensor_cfg.body_ids]
+    return torch.cat((force, torque), dim=-1).view(env.num_envs, -1)
 
 
 def pva_orientation(env: ManagerBasedEnv, asset_cfg: SceneEntityCfg = SceneEntityCfg("pva")) -> torch.Tensor:

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/sensors/__init__.pyi

@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ __all__ = [
     "Imu",
     "ImuCfg",
     "ImuData",
+    "BaseJointWrenchSensor",
+    "BaseJointWrenchSensorData",
+    "JointWrenchSensor",
+    "JointWrenchSensorCfg",
+    "JointWrenchSensorData",
     "BasePva",
     "BasePvaData",
     "Pva",
@@ -83,6 +88,13 @@ from .frame_transformer import (
     FrameTransformerData,
 )
 from .imu import BaseImu, BaseImuData, Imu, ImuCfg, ImuData
+from .joint_wrench import (
+    BaseJointWrenchSensor,
+    BaseJointWrenchSensorData,
+    JointWrenchSensor,
+    JointWrenchSensorCfg,
+    JointWrenchSensorData,
+)
 from .pva import BasePva, BasePvaData, Pva, PvaCfg, PvaData
 from .ray_caster import (
     MultiMeshRayCaster,

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/sensors/joint_wrench/__init__.py

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2022-2026, The Isaac Lab Project Developers (https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab/blob/main/CONTRIBUTORS.md).
+# All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+"""Joint Wrench Sensor."""
+
+from isaaclab.utils.module import lazy_export
+
+lazy_export()

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/sensors/joint_wrench/__init__.pyi

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2022-2026, The Isaac Lab Project Developers (https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab/blob/main/CONTRIBUTORS.md).
+# All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+__all__ = [
+    "BaseJointWrenchSensor",
+    "BaseJointWrenchSensorData",
+    "JointWrenchSensor",
+    "JointWrenchSensorCfg",
+    "JointWrenchSensorData",
+]
+
+from .base_joint_wrench_sensor import BaseJointWrenchSensor
+from .base_joint_wrench_sensor_data import BaseJointWrenchSensorData
+from .joint_wrench_sensor import JointWrenchSensor
+from .joint_wrench_sensor_cfg import JointWrenchSensorCfg
+from .joint_wrench_sensor_data import JointWrenchSensorData

source/isaaclab/isaaclab/sensors/joint_wrench/base_joint_wrench_sensor.py

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2022-2026, The Isaac Lab Project Developers (https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab/blob/main/CONTRIBUTORS.md).
+# All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from abc import abstractmethod
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+import warp as wp
+
+import isaaclab.utils.string as string_utils
+
+from ..sensor_base import SensorBase
+from .base_joint_wrench_sensor_data import BaseJointWrenchSensorData
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from .joint_wrench_sensor_cfg import JointWrenchSensorCfg
+
+
+class BaseJointWrenchSensor(SensorBase):
+    """The joint reaction wrench sensor.
+
+    Reports incoming joint wrenches for the bodies selected by the backend as
+    split force [N] / torque [N·m] pairs expressed in the
+    ``INCOMING_JOINT_FRAME`` convention. Use :attr:`body_names` or
+    :meth:`find_bodies` to map entries to articulation bodies.
+    """
+
+    cfg: JointWrenchSensorCfg
+    """The configuration parameters."""
+
+    __backend_name__: str = "base"
+    """The name of the backend for the joint wrench sensor."""
+
+    def __init__(self, cfg: JointWrenchSensorCfg):
+        """Initialize the joint wrench sensor.
+
+        Args:
+            cfg: The configuration parameters.
+        """
+        super().__init__(cfg)
+
+    """
+    Properties
+    """
+
+    @property
+    @abstractmethod
+    def data(self) -> BaseJointWrenchSensorData:
+        """The sensor data container, populated after simulation initialization."""
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    @property
+    @abstractmethod
+    def body_names(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Ordered names of the bodies whose incoming joint wrench is reported."""
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    @property
+    def num_bodies(self) -> int:
+        """Number of bodies whose incoming joint wrench is reported."""
+        return len(self.body_names)
+
+    """
+    Operations
+    """
+
+    def find_bodies(self, name_keys: str | Sequence[str], preserve_order: bool = False) -> tuple[list[int], list[str]]:
+        """Find reported bodies based on name keys.
+
+        Args:
+            name_keys: A regular expression or list of regular expressions to match the body names.
+            preserve_order: Whether to preserve the order of the name keys in the output. Defaults to False.
+
+        Returns:
+            The matching body indices and names.
+        """
+        return string_utils.resolve_matching_names(name_keys, self.body_names, preserve_order)
+
+    """
+    Implementation - Abstract methods to be implemented by backend-specific subclasses.
+    """
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def _initialize_impl(self) -> None:
+        """Initialize the sensor handles and internal buffers.
+
+        Subclasses should call ``super()._initialize_impl()`` first to
+        initialize the common sensor infrastructure from
+        :class:`~isaaclab.sensors.SensorBase`.
+        """
+        super()._initialize_impl()
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def _update_buffers_impl(self, env_mask: wp.array) -> None:
+        raise NotImplementedError