Gazebo | Ignition | Community
Ask Your Question
0

Editor for creating a (more complex) custom robot model in Gazebo

asked 2020-03-06 06:38:08 -0600

blubbi321 gravatar image

Hello everybody!

My goal is to create a model of my robot (which is currently built in Fusion360) to be simulated in Gazebo so that I can use ROS to control its simulated joints. Also I would like this process to be quick (since the measurements in the model might change, or a new one might be designed).

There are a lot of tutorials explaining all the details when building models from scratch using text editors in URDF, however given the complexity of my model I'd prefer to automatically generate these files.

So far I have been using fusion2urdf [1] which does a decent job. However, its development seems a bit stalled now. Also when trying to attach controllers like [2] to the model there are quirks, e.g. my exported wheels dont work since they are not cylinders but have been "meshed" ie they dont have round surfaces.

Now I was wondering which toolchain are people using to create models like in Gazebos model database? I refuse to believe that all the models in there [3] have been built using a text editor.

Same question goes for building worlds in Gazebo. I see the point of generating repetitive structures in text files but I'd much rather want an actual 3D editor / CAD program to export my models/worlds from (also including textures etc).

I recently found [4] which would suggest SolidWorks. Other places mention Blender and a Mesh Editor ..

[1] https://github.com/syuntoku14/fusion2...

[2] https://wiki.ros.org/diff_drive_contr...

[3] https://bitbucket.org/osrf/gazebo_mod...

[4] https://wiki.ros.org/Industrial/Tutor...

edit retag flag offensive close merge delete

1 Answer

Sort by » oldest newest most voted
0

answered 2021-01-27 02:27:57 -0600

Hey @blubbi321,

I'm also looking for a good editor for SDF files and did not find a satisfying one so far.

There is the model editor in the "old" Gazebo versions (11 and previous). You can open it via Edit → Model Editor or Ctrl + M. But it's not so convenient to use, imo.

A blender option I found is Phobos [1] but it had problems with loading the meshes. Probably I misconfigured something.

I'd love to see a good SDF editor for models and worlds from the OSRF, either standalone or as part of Gazebo.

Cheers, Stefan

[1] https://github.com/dfki-ric/phobos

edit flag offensive delete link more

Question Tools

1 follower

Stats

Asked: 2020-03-06 06:38:08 -0600

Seen: 265 times

Last updated: Mar 06 '20