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ardupilot_gazebo

Role: The official ArduPilot Gazebo plugin (libArduPilotPlugin.so). Bridges ArduPilot SITL (ArduSub here) to Gazebo over a JSON-encoded UDP socket.

This is vendored as a pinned commit via bluerov_ws.repos. We don't edit it. We configure it.

What it provides

  • The plugin binary, loaded inside the BlueROV2 SDF model.
  • JSON message format for flexible sensor / actuator exchange between SITL and Gazebo.
  • Camera models with optional GStreamer streaming.

ROS interfaces

None. Communication with ArduPilot SITL is UDP/JSON, not ROS.

Gotchas

Required environment

  • GZ_VERSION=harmonic (Garden / Ionic / Jetty also supported, but the workspace pins Harmonic).
  • GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH must contain the plugin's install lib.
  • GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH must contain the model + world directories.
  • SITL frame names need a gazebo- prefix (gazebo-iris, etc.). The BlueROV model has its own definition in bluerov_sim/models/bluerov2/.

See also