Gazebo
A modular open-source robotics simulation platform for modeling robots, sensors, physics, and environment interaction before or alongside hardware testing.
A robot that behaves well in Gazebo is not automatically validated for the real system. Simulation fidelity depends on the physics engine, sensor-noise model, update rate, collision geometry, and controller timing actually configured.
Gazebo as a Test Layer
It is useful for deterministic SITL/HIL scenarios, controlled sensor faults, and failure cases that would be expensive or unsafe to reproduce on hardware. Simulation time and wall-clock time must remain distinct when latency is measured.
Gazebo Classic reached end of life in 2025. New work should target modern Gazebo's modular library architecture and current ROS 2 integration; older tutorials should be checked for Classic-specific assumptions.
Source
- https://gazebosim.org/docs/latest/architecture/
- https://gazebosim.org/docs/latest/gazebo_classic_migration/