I thought it would be interesting to see if I could get my current Bioloid URDF file into Gazebo and try out some simulations. It turned out not to be too difficult; in order to load the model in Gazebo, all I had to add to the URDF were inertial elements for each of the links.

I set up a couple of tables and beer cans in the scene, and dropped the poor Bioloid from a height!

If you already have a URDF description of your robot, Gazebo is fairly easy to set up and has great potential for any simulation-based project, however as I am focusing more on the physical robot, I probably won’t be using it much for the time being. That, plus the fact that my laptop can barely handle the program without overheating!