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Intermediate: Upload Velodyne Model

Re-cap

We have created an SDF model of the Velodyne HDL-32 LiDAR that has visual meshes and generates data with a noise model.

In this section, we will learn how to contribute the model to the online database.

Contribute the model to the online-database

Contributing our model to Gazebo's online-databse benefits you and every other user of Gazebo. When the model is hosted on the database, Gazebo will automatically download it when requested. This means you don't have to manage which computers have the model and which do not. Additionally, other people can use your model.

You're welcome to go through the whole process described here, but since you'll be uploading an example model from the tutorial, your pull request will not be merged. See more details on this tutorial on how to contribute your original creations.

  1. Fork the gazebo_models database by visiting https://github.com/osrf/gazebo_models/fork.

  2. Clone your fork of model database.

    cd
git clone URL_OF_YOUR_FORK

  3. Look at the directories in your cloned repository to make sure your model does not already exist.

  4. Copy the model from ~/.gazebo/models to the cloned repository.

    cp -r ~/.gazebo/models/velodyne-hdl32 ~/gazebo_models

  5. Make a new branch, which will make the pull-request process a bit easier.

    cd ~/gazebo_models
git checkout -b velodyne_tutorial_do_not_merge

  6. Add, commit, and push your model.

    1. git add velodyne*
    2. git commit -m "Added a Velodyne HDL-32 LiDAR"
    3. git push -u origin velodyne_tutorial_do_not_merge

  7. Create a pull-request back to the main gazebo_models repository.

    1. Open the URL_OF_YOUR_FORK in a webbrowser
    2. Go to the Pull requests tab and select New pull request
    3. Enter a title and description, and select the Create Pull Request button.

  8. Two approvals of your pull request are required before it will be merged into the main gazebo_models repository. Please respond to any comments quickly in order to expedite the process.

Next Up

The next tutorial in this series will add a plugin to the Velodyne sensor. This plugin will control the rotation of the sensor's upper portion.

Control plugin