Simulation of a Differential Robot Drive in Gazebo

A differential drive is one of the most common drives in robotics that drives a robot by rotating two wheels at different speeds. This article discusses the features of modeling a robot differential drive in the Gazebo simulator. In particular, the key challenges that designers face when modeling differential drive, such as motion control and wheel inertia modeling, will be presented, as well as solutions that can be applied to achieve the desired results. The article will also describe how to use ROS (Robot Operating System) to simulate differential drive in Gazebo. ROS provides tools for controlling a robot in a simulation and provides a convenient way to exchange data between the components of a robot system. Finally, several examples will be presented showing how Gazebo can be used to simulate various types of differential drive robots, including wheeled robots and mobile robots with wide tracks. These examples demonstrate how proper simulation of a differential drive can be useful for developing and testing robot control algorithms in simulation, which can greatly speed up the development process and reduce the cost of experimental work.