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Beginners Guide to Gazebo

Author: Keitaro Nishimura email: katnimura@gmail.com
Date Last Edited: 07/22/16
Keywords:Simulator, Gazebo, HUBO

What is Gazebo?


Gazebo is a simulation software used to test how objects act in certain environments given certain conditions. It is immensely useful for testing new motions for the DRC-HUBO before trying them on the actual robot. Given that the user can specify certain world conditions and movements it is also very versatile. The following tutorials will teach you how to download and use Gazebo. This is a tutorial on how to install Gazebo onto your computer. This tutorial is aimed for students with little to no knowledge of Ubuntu or programming. However a basic knowledge of computer components is recommended.

Before continuing any further please make sure that you have:

  • a computer running Ubuntu
  • a dedicated GPU (preferably from Nvidia)
  • at least 500MB of free disk space
  • Ubuntu Trusty or later Release History
  • a CPU that is at least an Intel I5

Though it is possible to run Gazebo with integrated graphics anything below an Intel HD graphics 4400 (which is what I am using) is not recommended. I am already having a sub-par experience using Gazebo on my laptop.
If you do not have Ubuntu please follow these tutorials on how to get it.

Downloading and Installing Gazebo


Please follow the instructions listed on the Gazebosim's website. Note: that when the tutorial tells you to press ALT+F2 you should instead press Ctrl+ALT+T and when it says to press Ctrl+V press Ctrl+Shift+V instead.
Once you are done with the installation process I would highly recommend going through the other beginner and intermediate tutorials to familiarize yourself with Gazebo. There are many other tutorials available for you on their website. However Please note that some of them might be incomplete. For example the intermediate tutorial on control plugin is incomplete. (If your interested in the solution you have to include the <gazebo/physics/Model.hh> header for the code to compile). Also please refer to the gazebo answers forum for help if you run into problems.
Here are some of the other tutorials that I would recommend you go through:

gaz_beg_tut.1469500953.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/07/25 19:42 by keitaronishimura