Real-time Drosophila simulation with a spiking brain. C++ on MuJoCo, ~230x faster than flygym.
cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -S cpp -B build
cmake --build build --config Release
launch.batWASD to walk, Space to run, Shift to fly (experimental). The brain drives motor output through descending neurons, not scripted gaits.
flygame bundles four independent packages:
flygame/
cpp/src/ main app: viewer, brain module, proprioception
mecha-fly/ locomotion controllers (CPG, hybrid, IK)
mujoco-game/ MuJoCo physics wrapper + TCP protocol
mechabrain/ spiking neural network engine (159k neurons, 6.7M synapses)
mecha-fly: Kuramoto CPG oscillator and hybrid controller (cubic spline + correction vectors). Ported from flygym's PreprogrammedSteps and HybridTurningController. Source of truth is mujoco-zoo/mecha-fly.
mujoco-game: Header-only MuJoCo wrapper. Handles the sim loop, GLFW viewer, and a simple TCP protocol (MotorCommand / SensoryReading) for remote brains.
mechabrain: Pure brain engine. Izhikevich neurons, STDP, gap junctions, homeostasis, temperature dynamics, parametric connectome generation from .brain spec files. Header-only C++23.
| Mode | How | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded brain | (default) | Spiking network drives motor output in-process |
| TCP bridge | --brain host:port |
Brain runs in a separate process |
| Standalone CPG | build with -DNMFLY_BRAIN=OFF |
WASD drives CPG directly, no brain |
| Flight | hold Shift | Wing oscillation with MuJoCo fluid aero (experimental) |
| Mode | Speed |
|---|---|
| Headless | 7x realtime (~35k steps/sec) |
| With viewer | 5.7x realtime (~29k steps/sec) |
| flygym (Python) | 0.03x realtime |
# Auto-detects MuJoCo from pip
cmake -S cpp -B build
# Specify MuJoCo location
cmake -S cpp -B build -DMUJOCO_DIR=/path/to/mujoco
# Disable brain (CPG-only mode)
cmake -S cpp -B build -DNMFLY_BRAIN=OFFRequires C++20, CMake 3.20+, MuJoCo 3.0+. GLFW is fetched automatically.
On Windows with pip-installed MuJoCo, the build auto-generates an import library. If that fails:
cpp\cmake\gen_implib.bat "path\to\mujoco.dll" build
| flygym | flygame | Notes |
|---|---|---|
PreprogrammedSteps |
nmf_walk_spline.h |
Periodic cubic spline (C2 smooth) |
CPGNetwork |
nmf_cpg.h |
Same phase biases, coupling weights |
HybridTurningController |
nmf_hybrid.h |
Magnitude + turn mapped to L/R amplitude |
| Retraction/stumbling corrections | NmfHybrid::UpdateCorrections() |
Lifts on low foot z, retracts on swing contact |
| Proprioceptive obs | proprio.h |
95-channel encoder (angles, velocities, contacts) |
Physics parameters match flygym: timestep 0.0001s, position actuators with gainprm=45, NeuroMechFly v2 MJCF.
MIT. See LICENSE.