AI Tool Guides
Best for
3D robot simulation with sensor models
Works on
Linux (Ubuntu)
Alternatives
MuJoCo, Webots
Watch out
Requires ROS 2 knowledge; heavy installation
What It Does
Gazebo is a 3D robot simulator that integrates tightly with ROS 2. It provides realistic physics, sensor simulation (cameras, LiDAR, IMU, GPS), and environment modelling—you can place your robot in a virtual warehouse, hospital, or outdoor terrain and test its behaviour before deploying on real hardware. It is widely used in academic robotics, drone research, and autonomous vehicle development.
Setup in 5 Minutes
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- Launch with a sample world: gz sim shapes.sdf.
- To add your own robot, write or download an SDF model file and
spawn it into the world.
- Gazebo communicates with ROS 2 through bridge topics, so your
robot code works identically in simulation and on real hardware.
Try This
Load the default "building" world with a TurtleBot4 model. Write a
ROS 2 node that reads the simulated LiDAR data and makes the robot
navigate to a waypoint without hitting walls. Test with three different
room layouts to see how robust your navigation algorithm is.
Follow Along
Follow Along — Navigate a Maze.
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- Write a ROS 2 node that reads the simulated LiDAR scan and implements a wall-following algorithm.
- Record the time from start to goal. Modify the maze layout and re-run—does the algorithm still work?
- Compare completion times across three maze variants and identify where your algorithm struggles.
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