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Quickstart: Setting up Your Robot Modeling and Simulation Environment

Overview​

This quickstart guide will help you set up a basic environment for working with robot description formats (URDF, SDF, USD) and simulation tools. This setup is essential for following the examples and exercises in "Part 3: Robot Description and Modeling" of this textbook.

Prerequisites​

  • A computer running Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) or 20.04 (Focal Fossa) is recommended for ROS-related tools.
  • Basic familiarity with the Linux command line.
  • Internet connection for downloading packages.
  • A modern graphics card (GPU) is highly recommended for efficient simulation and visualization.

Step 1: Install ROS 2 (for URDF tools and Gazebo integration)​

If you haven't already, install ROS 2. Follow the official ROS 2 documentation for your specific Ubuntu version. For example, for Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) and ROS 2 Humble Hawksbill, refer to the previous Part 2 quickstart guide or the official ROS 2 installation instructions.

Step 2: Install Gazebo (for SDF support)​

Gazebo is a powerful 3D robot simulator. It uses SDF as its primary description format.

sudo apt install gazebo

This typically installs the latest Gazebo version available for your Ubuntu distribution. If you need a specific version or integration with ROS 2, you might need to install ros-<distro>-gazebo-ros-pkgs.

Step 3: Install URDF Tools​

ROS 2 provides various tools for working with URDF.

sudo apt install ros-humble-urdf-tutorial ros-humble-xacro
  • urdf_tutorial: Contains examples and parsing tools.
  • xacro: An XML macro language used to simplify URDF files.

Step 4: Install USD Tools (Optional, for advanced users)​

Working with USD often involves NVIDIA Omniverse tools. Installation can be more complex.

  1. NVIDIA Graphics Drivers: Ensure you have up-to-date NVIDIA drivers.
  2. Omniverse Launcher: Install the Omniverse Launcher from NVIDIA's website.
  3. Code Editor: Install Visual Studio Code or similar.
  4. USD for Python: Install the USD Python bindings. 
    pip install usd-core
    (Note: This might require specific Python versions and build dependencies.)
  • Visual Studio Code:
    • XML: For URDF/SDF editing.
    • Python: For Python scripts related to kinematics/dynamics.
    • C/C++: For C++ kinematics/dynamics libraries.
    • Markdown All in One: For Docusaurus content creation.
    • LaTeX Workshop: For mathematical notation if you write it directly in LaTeX.

Step 6: Test Your URDF/SDF Setup​

  1. Test URDF: Use check_urdf to validate a sample URDF file. 
    check_urdf <path_to_your_urdf_file.urdf>
    You can also visualize it in rviz2. 
    ros2 launch urdf_tutorial display.launch.py model:=<path_to_your_urdf_file.urdf>
  2. Test Gazebo with SDF: Launch Gazebo. 
    gazebo
    You should see the Gazebo simulation environment open. You can then try loading sample SDF models.

Congratulations! Your robot modeling and simulation environment is now set up.