Urdf and sdf - Whan to use which?

General Support
1

What is the difference between urdf and sdf and when do you use which?

2

Hi,

URDF is essentially the format that ROS supports better.
SDF is a gazebo format. A lot of the systems related to ROS use URDF and XACRO, so I would say use URDF/XACRO when possible.
BUT there are some things that URDF cant do, like closed chains. IN that case, SDFs have better support, especially for gazebo-related systems.

So I would say:

  • For ONLY GAzebo models ( The element doesn’t use ROS directly ), use SDFS.
  • For robots using ROS, URDF/XACRO. Your life will be easier.
1 Like
3

Thanks @duckfrost. What are closed chains?

4

I found example sdf elements (robots, postbox, etc.) at this link http://models.gazebosim.org/
Are there any links where I can get urdf/xacro robot models?

5

Hi,

Sure ! A lot of our simulations are made in URDF XACRO and all of them are open to use. Here are some examples:

Hexapod: Bitbucket

Mars Rover: Bitbucket

Garbage Collector: Bitbucket

PR2: Bitbucket

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