Base link and base foot print

[Dharankumar]

difference between base link and base foot print?

[girishkumar.kannan]

Hi @Dharankumar ,

Welcome to this Community!

@Dharankumar

difference between base link and base foot print

The base_link is usually the chassis or body of a robot that is immediately attached to the ground or world reference frame. The origin of the base_link is usually the geometric center of the whole part of the robot.
The base_footprint is a reference frame that acts as a parent link to the base_link. The base_footprint is commonly used for mobile robots for navigation purpose and the odom frame refers to this base_footprint to locate the robot on the world frame.
The base_footprint is the geometric center of the bottom surface that is immediately facing the ground.

So, if you consider a simple robot with a wide cylindrical body, 2 drive wheels and 1 caster wheel,
base_link is at the 3 dimensional center of the robot cylinder body, whereas the base_footprint is at the 2 dimensional center of the surface of the cylindrical body that is facing the ground, immediately above the ground - which is under the robot.

I hope this clarifies your doubt.

Regards,
Girish