Enable 2D lidar SLAM in the simulator with cartographer_ros

The QRB ROS Simulation package provides the simulation environment. It allows you to control the movement of QRB AMRs and get the scanning data of lidar through a ROS topic.

NoteFor more information, see simulation_2d_lidar_slam on GitHub.

Figure: Sample effects of simulation_2d_lidar_slam

Pipeline flow for `simulation_2d_lidar_slam`

Figure: Pipeline flow for simulation_2d_lidar_slam

ROS nodes used in the `simulation_2d_lidar_slam` pipeline

ROS node	Description
`cartographer_node`	This node receives `/scan` and `/odom` topics, executes mapping, localization, and saves the map or queries the relocation status. The node is based on the ROS service `qrb_slam_command`.
`cartographer_occupancy_grid_node`	This node receives map-related topics sent by the `cartographer_node` and publishes a ROS standard map (`/static_map`).
`qrb_ros_simulation`	`qrb ros simulation` is a ROS package that sets up the Qualcomm robotic simulation environment. For details, see QRB ROS Simulation.

ROS topics used in the `simulation_2d_lidar_slam` pipeline

ROS topic	Type	Published by
`/tracked_pose`	`geometry_msgs.msg.PoseStamped`	`cartographer_node`
`/tf`	`tf2_msgs.msg.TFMessage`	`cartographer_node`
`/submap_list`	`cartographer_ros_msgs.msg.SubmapList`	`cartographer_node`
`/scan_matched_points2`	`sensor_msgs.msg.PointCloud2`	`cartographer_node`
`/map`	`nav_msgs.msg.OccupancyGrid`	`cartographer_occupancy_grid_node`

Prerequisites

You have completed the following settings in Set up the environment for running sample applications (Skip the settings of Set up host docker).

Set up the device
Set up the host computer

NoteEnsure that the board is connected to the simulation host using an Ethernet cable. Otherwise, the sample’s performance may degrade due to data transmission issues.

Set up the simulation environment

On your host computer, complete the following actions to build the Qualcomm robotic simulation environment according to the README of QRB ROS Simulation. Ensure that the device and the host are in the same local network and can communicate with each other through ROS communication.
1. Set up development environment on Ubuntu24.04 host.
2. Build from source.

Run the QRB Robot Base AMR on the host.

# Set the ROS_DOMAIN_ID
export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=123
ros2 launch qrb_ros_sim_gazebo gazebo_robot_base.launch.py world_model:=ionic

Run out-of-the-box 2d lidar SLAM in the simulator

Try me

Run the 2D lidar SLAM

In a new terminal, run the following commands.

source /usr/share/qirp-setup.sh
export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=123
ros2 launch cartographer_ros qrb_2d_lidar_slam_gazebo_sim.launch.py

Run the qrb_slam_service_request script

In a new terminal, run the following commands.

ssh root@[IP address]
source /usr/share/qirp-setup.sh
export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=123
chmod 777 /usr/ros/jazzy/share/cartographer_ros/scripts/qrb_slam_service_request.sh
bash /usr/ros/jazzy/share/cartographer_ros/scripts/qrb_slam_service_request.sh

Start mapping

Use the keyboard to send control commands, such as 0: start mapping.

​Pipeline flow for simulation_2d_lidar_slam

​ROS nodes used in the simulation_2d_lidar_slam pipeline

​ROS topics used in the simulation_2d_lidar_slam pipeline

​Prerequisites

​Set up the simulation environment

​Run out-of-the-box 2d lidar SLAM in the simulator

Pipeline flow for `simulation_2d_lidar_slam`

ROS nodes used in the `simulation_2d_lidar_slam` pipeline

ROS topics used in the `simulation_2d_lidar_slam` pipeline

Prerequisites

Set up the simulation environment

Run out-of-the-box 2d lidar SLAM in the simulator