gazebosim/ros_gz

What it solves

It provides a seamless integration layer between the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the Gazebo simulator, allowing developers to connect robotic software stacks with high-fidelity physics simulations.

How it works

The project consists of several specialized packages that bridge the gap between ROS and Gazebo:

• ros_gz_bridge: A bidirectional transport bridge that allows data to flow between Gazebo Transport and ROS.
• ros_gz_image: A unidirectional bridge specifically for transporting images from Gazebo to ROS using image_transport.
• ros_gz_sim: Provides launch files and executables to simplify the process of running Gazebo Sim within a ROS environment.
• ros_gz_point_cloud: Plugins that enable the publishing of simulation point clouds directly to ROS.

Who it’s for

Robotics engineers and researchers who need to test and validate ROS-based robot controllers, sensors, and algorithms in a simulated environment before deploying them to physical hardware.

Highlights

• Bidirectional Communication: Supports two-way data exchange between the simulator and the robot software.
• ** crossorigin-compatibility**: Provides specific branches and binaries for a wide range of ROS (Humble, Jazzy, Kilted, Lyrical, Rolling) and Gazebo (Fortress, Garden, Harmonic, Ionic, Jetty) versions.
• Specialized Data Bridges: Dedicated handling for high-bandwidth data like images and point clouds.