11. The Ignition-Omniverse connector with Gazebo

The Ignition-omniverse connector (ign-omni) is an experimental, linux only feature that facilitates interactions between Gazebo and Isaac-sim. There are three ways in which these interactions can occur using the Ignition-Omniverse connector.

1. SDF / USD file conversion

   • ign-omni comes with a tool that can be used to convert from SDF to USD and visa versa, allowing the user to easily migrate assets between Isaac-sim and Gazebo.

2. Ignition - Nucleus communication

   • ign-omni provides an interface to a nucleus server, allowing multiple gazebo simulations to live sync with each other through a shared USD stage.

3. Isaac-sim - Ignition hybrid simulation

   • Because the connector provides an interface to nucleus servers, it is possible to stream data directly into and out of two simulations: one running Gazebo, and the other running Isaac-sim. The ign-omni connector is designed to support this use case. For example, Gazebo might be used for planning, while Isaac-sim is used to simulate sensors: joint control signals would then stream from Gazebo to Isaac-sim, while processed sensory data would stream from Isaac-sim to Gazebo.

11.1. Requirements

• SDFormat (source installation)

• ROS 2 Galactic

• Ignition Gazebo Fortress (from source)

Note

This feature has only been tested on Ubuntu 20.04

11.2. Tutorials

• Installation Instructions

• Quickstart

• Mobile base simulation (turtlebot3) (Nav2)

• Articulated arm in Isaac Sim -> Ignition (Moveit 2)

• Hybrid simulation (Nav2)