Feature comparison

A list of features present in Gazebo-classic version 11 and the status of their migration to Ignition Blueprint.

All the issues below are labeled with close the gap on GitHub.

Sensors

Sensor	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Air pressure	✕	✓
Altimeter	✓	✓
Camera	✓	✓
Contact sensor	✓	✓
Depth camera	✓	✓
Force-torque	✓	Issue
GPS	✓	Issue
GPU Ray	✓	✓ Renamed to GPU Lidar
IMU	✓	✓
Logical camera	✓	✓
Magnetometer	✓	✓
Multi-camera	✓	✕ Use individual cameras with same update rate
Ray	✓	Issue
RFID sensor and tag	✓	Issue
Sonar	✓	Issue
Thermal camera	✕	✕ (available from Citadel)
Wide-angle camera	✓	Issue
Wireless	✓	Issue

Sensor features	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Custom update rate	✓	✓
Gaussian noise	✓	✓
Custom sensors	✓	Issue

SDF Features

Feature	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
SDF frame semantics	✓	✕ (available from Citadel)
Load models from local files	✓	✓
Closed kinematic chains	✓	Issue
Nested models	✓	Partial support
Populations	✓	Issue
Actors	✓	✕ (available from Citadel)
Markers	✓	✕ (available from Citadel)
Heightmaps	✓	Issue
DEM (Digital Elevation Models)	✓	Issue
Polylines	✓	Issue
World plugins	✓	✓ Now called System plugin
Model plugins	✓	✓ Now called System plugin
Sensor plugins	✓	✓ Now called System plugin
Visual plugins	✓	Issue
GUI plugins	✓	✓ Ignition GUI plugins and Gazebo GUI systems
System plugins	✓	✓ Through Ignition Launch

Plugins

Model plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
ActorPlugin	✓	✕ See FollowActor for a demo of Actor APIs
ActuatorPlugin	✓
ArduCopterPlugin	✓
AttachLightPlugin	✓	✕ Does not apply, use SDF
Breadcrumbs	✕	✓
BuoyancyPlugin	✓	✕ (available from Citadel)
CartDemoPlugin	✓	✕
CessnaPlugin	✓
DiffDrivePlugin	✓	✓
ElevatorPlugin	✓
FlashLightPlugin	✓
FollowerPlugin	✓
GimbalSmall2dPlugin	✓
GravityCompensationPlugin	✓
HarnessPlugin	✓
HydraDemoPlugin	✓
InitialVelocityPlugin	✓	Issue
JointControlPlugin	✓ (force / pos / vel, from SDF)	✓ (vel, from msg)
JointStatePublisher	✕	✓
JointTrajectoryPlugin	✓
KeysToCmdVelPlugin	✓	Use ignition::gui::KeyPublisher with ignition::gazebo::systems::TriggeredPublisher
KeysToJointsPlugin	✓	Use ignition::gui::KeyPublisher with ignition::gazebo::systems::TriggeredPublisher
LedPlugin	✓
LiftDragPlugin	✓	✓
LinearBatteryConsumerPlugin	✓	✓
LinearBatteryPlugin	✓	✓
LinkPlot3DPlugin	✓	Issue
MudPlugin	✓
MulticopterMotorModel	✕	✓
PlaneDemoPlugin	✓
PosePublisher	✕	✓
RandomVelocityPlugin	✓
RegionEventBoxPlugin	✓
SimpleTrackedVehiclePlugin	✓
SkidSteerDrivePlugin	✓	✓
SphereAtlasDemoPlugin	✓	✕
TouchPlugin	✓	✓
TrackedVehiclePlugin	✓
VariableGearboxPlugin	✓
VehiclePlugin	✓
WheelSlipPlugin	✓	✓
WheelTrackedVehiclePlugin	✓	✓ (partially via DiffDrivePlugin)

World plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
ArrangePlugin	✓
ContainPlugin	✓	Partial port, Issue
HydraPlugin	✓
JoyPlugin	✓	✓ Migrated as an Ignition Launch plugin
MisalignmentPlugin	✓
RubblePlugin	✓
StaticMapPlugin	✓
TransporterPlugin	✓
WindPlugin	✓	✓

Sensor plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
BreakableJointPlugin	✓
CameraPlugin	✓	Issue
ContactPlugin	✓	✓
DepthCameraPlugin	✓	Issue
FiducialCameraPlugin	✓
ForceTorquePlugin	✓	Issue
GpuRayPlugin	✓	Issue
ImuSensorPlugin	✓	Issue
LensFlareSensorPlugin	✓
PressurePlugin	✓
RayPlugin	✓	Issue
RaySensorNoisePlugin	✓	✕ Use SDF
SonarPlugin	✓	Issue

Visual plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
AmbientOcclusionVisualPlugin	✓
BlinkVisualPlugin	✓
HeightmapLODPlugin	✓
ShaderParamVisualPlugin	✓

GUI plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
CessnaGUIPlugin	✓
KeyboardGUIPlugin	✓	ignition::gui::KeyPublisher
LookAtDemoPlugin	✓
TimerGUIPlugin	✓

System plugins

Plugin	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
ModelPropShop	✓	Issue
RestUiPlugin	✓
RestWebPlugin	✓
StopWorldPlugin	✓

GUI

Feature	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Play / pause / step	✓	✓
Reset world / models	✓	Issue
World stats	✓	✓
Topic echo	✓	✓
Image viewer	✓	✓
Translate / rotate	✓	✓
Scale models	✓	Issue
Insert models from Fuel	Partial support	✓
Insert models from disk	✓	✓
Insert simple shapes	✓	✓
Insert simple lights	✓	Issue
Delete models	✓	✓
World tree	✓	✓
Scene properties	✓	Issue
Log recording / playback	✓	✓
Plotting	✓	✕ (available from Dome)
Video recording	✓	✓
Screenshot	✓	Issue
View angles	✓	✓
Apply force / torque	✓
Visualize as transparent	✓
Visualize as wireframe	✓
Visualize joints	✓	Issue
Visualize collisions	✓	Issue
Visualize inertia	✓	Issue
Visualize CoM	✓	Issue
Visualize contacts	✓	Issue
Follow / move to	✓	✓
Copy / paste	✓	Issue
Building editor	✓
Model editor	✓	Issues
FPS view control	✓
Orthographic projection	✓	Issue
Undo / redo	✓	Issue
Save world	✓	✓
Save GUI configuration	✓	✓
Color scheme and themes	✕	✓
Position, resize and configure widgets	✕	✓
Load GUI plugins from menu	✕	✓

Physics

In Ignition Physics, physics engines are integrated as plugins, so any engine can be integrated without changing the core source code, as it was the case in Gazebo.

Feature	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
ODE engine	✓	Issue
Bullet engine	✓	Issue
DART engine	✓	✓ Plugin shipped with ign-physics
Simbody engine	✓	Issue
TPE engine	✕	✕ (available from Citadel)
Custom engine plugins	✕	✓

Rendering

In Ignition Rendering, render engines are integrated as plugins, so any engine can be integrated without changing the core source code.

Feature	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Ogre 1.x engine	✓	✓
Ogre 2.x engine	✕	✓
Optix engine	✕	✓ Partial support
Custom engine plugins	✕	Issue
Sky	✓	Issue
Fog	✓
Material scripts	✓ (Ogre 1.x scripts)	Does not apply

ROS integration

ROS integration with Ignition will be done primarily via a transport bridge instead of plugins, contained in the ros_ign package.

Supported versions:

• ROS 1 Melodic

• ROS 2 Dashing

Platforms

Platform	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Ubuntu	✓	✓
OSX	✓	Most of the stack works, outstanding issues: command line, render window
Windows	✓	The stack works up to ign-gazebo: Issue

Others

Feature	Gazebo-classic	Gazebo Sim
Nested models	✓	Physics issue
Log / playback	✓	✓
Web client (GzWeb)	✓
COLLADA meshes	✓	✓
OBJ meshes	✓	✓
STL meshes	✓	✓
Code introspection	✓	All simulation state is accessible from system plugins or through the SceneBroadcaster’s state topic
Distribute simulation across processes	✕	(coming up)
Incrementally load levels	✕	✓
Online model database	gazebo_models repository	Ignition Fuel
Saved simulation states	✓	Issue