Retune Newton and PhysX environments for Franka cloth lift

[mmichelis]

Description

Adds isaacsim_physx support to the Franka cloth lift tasks as a follow-up to #6831, while retaining newton_mjwarp_vbd_proxy as the default physics preset.

This PR:

• Adds PhysX physics, deformable material, collision, and scene presets for the standard and camera cloth tasks.
• Disables scene replication for PhysX deformables and increases the GPU found/lost pair capacity for large environments.
• Matches backend-specific cloth density and material conventions, lowers support friction, adjusts reset clearance, and fully closes the gripper on the thin cloth.
• Updates the state-machine demo to use the task-specific IK preset, allow enough time for the low-PD Franka, and grasp the raised cloth fold.
• Updates the environment catalog and generated browser data to advertise PhysX support.
• Restores the already released removal of NewtonCfg.simplify_meshes, which was reintroduced during branch integration, and records the Newton-only cleanup with a skip fragment.

No new dependencies are required.

Validation

• uv run isaaclab -f
• uv run python tools/changelog/cli.py check develop in a clean clone
• uv run --isolated --extra test -- make -C docs current-docs in a clean clone
• PYTHONPATH="$PWD/source/isaaclab_tasks:$PYTHONPATH" uv run python scripts/environments/state_machine/lift_franka_soft.py --task Isaac-Lift-Cloth-Franka --num_envs 1 --num_steps 500 --viz none presets=isaacsim_physx

Type of change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Documentation update

Screenshots

Not applicable.

Checklist

• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines
• I have run the pre-commit checks with uv run isaaclab -f
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
• My changes generate no new warnings
• I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
• I have added a changelog fragment under source/<pkg>/changelog.d/ for every touched package
• I have added my name to the CONTRIBUTORS.md or my name already exists there

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR adds PhysX presets for the Franka cloth-lifting tasks while retaining Newton as the default.

• Adds backend-specific cloth physics, material, collision, and non-replicated scene configurations.
• Updates the scripted lifting demo’s timing, IK selection, termination handling, and cloth grasp pose.
• Advertises PhysX support in the environment documentation and generated browser data.
• Removes the restored obsolete Newton option, adjusts rendering-test configuration, and refreshes editable package versions in the lockfile.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge, with the PhysX preset wiring and scripted-demo changes consistent with existing deformable-task conventions.

The new backend aliases resolve coherently across physics, deformable, and scene configurations; PhysX scenes disable unsupported replication, Newton remains the default, and no concrete blocking or non-blocking defect remains.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
source/isaaclab_tasks/isaaclab_tasks/core/lift/config/franka_soft/franka_cloth_env_cfg.py	Adds coherent PhysX cloth, physics, material, collision, and scene presets while preserving the Newton default.
scripts/environments/state_machine/lift_franka_soft.py	Updates the demo to select task-specific IK actions, allow longer motion, and target the raised cloth fold.
source/isaaclab_tasks/isaaclab_tasks/core/lift/config/franka_soft/franka_soft_env_cfg.py	Adjusts shared PhysX defaults and the beam gripper close command without exposing a concrete regression.
source/isaaclab_tasks/test/rendering_test_utils.py	Preserves each resolved scene preset’s replication setting during deterministic camera-test setup.
source/isaaclab_newton/isaaclab_newton/physics/newton_manager_cfg.py	Removes the obsolete Newton mesh-simplification configuration field.
uv.lock	Refreshes editable Isaac Lab workspace-package versions without changing the affected third-party dependency versions.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart LR
  CLI["Task + preset selection"] --> Resolve["Resolve task configuration"]
  Resolve --> Newton["newton_mjwarp_vbd_proxy<br/>default"]
  Resolve --> PhysX["isaacsim_physx"]
  Newton --> NewtonScene["Replicated cloth scene<br/>Newton material"]
  PhysX --> PhysXScene["Non-replicated cloth scene<br/>PhysX material and collision"]
  NewtonScene --> Env["Franka cloth environment"]
  PhysXScene --> Env
  Env --> Demo["IK state-machine demo"]
  Env --> Train["RL workflow"]
  Env --> Camera["Camera task variant"]

Loading

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "Add Newton changelog skip fragment" | Re-trigger Greptile}

[isaaclab-review-bot]

Isaac Lab Review Bot

The cloth-specific PhysX preset architecture and documentation are consistent, but two changes in the shared Franka soft-task configuration alter existing soft-beam PhysX and IK behavior without being required for cloth support or recorded in the changelog.

• Design and architecture: The backend-specific physics, deformable, and scene presets correctly isolate cloth configuration and disable scene replication for PhysX deformables. However, the shared soft-beam base still receives two cloth-adjacent tuning changes even though the cloth environment overrides both relevant configuration paths.
• API: The advertised isaacsim_physx, physx, and newton_mjwarp_vbd_proxy preset keys agree across task configuration, documentation, and browser data. The changelog covers newly added cloth support but does not disclose the changed PhysX contact defaults or IK gripper close width for the existing soft-beam tasks.
• Implementation: FrankaClothEnvCfg.__post_init__ installs its own physics configuration and overrides the cloth IK close command to 0.0. Consequently, removing the shared PhysX friction parameters and changing the shared IK close width to 0.01 affect the soft-beam task rather than implementing cloth support; these values should be restored or the behavioral changes explicitly documented.

Minor fixes needed. Posted 2 actionable findings inline.

Automated review; human maintainers own approval decisions.

[isaaclab-review-bot]

🟡 Warning · Implementation — Soft-beam PhysX friction tuning silently dropped

FrankaClothEnvCfg.__post_init__ replaces sim.physics with the cloth module's own PhysicsCfg, so this preset is consumed only by the already-released Isaac-Lift-Soft-Franka(-Camera) tasks. Clearing friction_offset_threshold=0.005 and friction_correlation_distance=0.01 reverts that task's PhysX contact tuning to defaults, is not needed for cloth PhysX support, and is not covered by the Added-only changelog fragment. Restore the values or record the change under Changed.

[isaaclab-review-bot]

🔵 Suggestion · Implementation — Shared IK gripper close width changed

_IkActionsCfg is shared with the soft-beam task, and the cloth env already overrides close_command_expr to 0.0 in its __post_init__. Narrowing the shared default from 0.015 to 0.01 therefore only alters the existing beam task's scripted grasp. Keep the shared value at 0.015 and confine cloth-specific tuning to the cloth config, or document the beam behavior change.

[kellyguo11]

looks like a failure in rendering correctness test

| /workspace/isaaclab/source/isaaclab_tasks/test/core/test_rendering_franka_cloth.py     | cuda:0 | FAILED |   208.77 |   521.28 |  41/50  |