Is there a tool that can help me create my SDF robot model?
There are a number of commonly used CAD and game design tools out there that are fully capable of creating 3D objects and linking them together and applying textures and colors and such. So I don't think anyone should reinvent that wheel. But is there a plugin or feature of any of those existing tools that can export the data into a form that I can directly use in Gazebo, like SDF?
I've built a number of small robot models and sensor models and used them successfully within Gazebo, but it was a lot of work and the work is quite error prone. It seems to me that there ought to be a better way than manually editing an XML file. It would be quicker, I think, and less error prone if a GUI existed that allowed you to create 3D objects and attach them to each other and apply colors and textures and so on and then just export the final product as an SDF file.
Does one exist, and if not why hasn't anyone created an SDF export plugin for some of the most widely used free CAD or game design applications that are out there? Is the customer base too small?
I'm using ROS Hydro with Gazebo 1.9.
