Gazebo Plugins

Gazebo plugins extend the simulator with custom functionality not provided by default. They can be attached to different entity types and allow you to add new sensors, modify world physics, or interact with the simulation environment.

Plugin Types

Plugins can be attached to these entity types:

• World - Global simulation behavior
• Model - Specific model functionality
• Sensor - Custom sensor implementations
• Actor - Dynamic entity behavior

Supported Plugins

PX4 currently supports these plugins:

• OpticalFlowSystem: Provides optical flow sensor simulation using OpenCV-based flow calculation.
• GstCameraSystem: Streams camera feeds via UDP (RTP/H.264) or RTMP with optional NVIDIA CUDA hardware acceleration.
• MovingPlatformController: Controls moving platforms (ships, trucks, etc.) for takeoff and landing scenarios. Includes configurable velocity, heading, and random fluctuations.

Plugin Registration

Plugins must be registered in the server.config file to be available in your world:

<server_config>
  <plugins>
    <!-- Core Gazebo systems -->
    <plugin entity_name="*" entity_type="world" filename="gz-sim-physics-system" name="gz::sim::systems::Physics"/>

    <!-- Custom PX4 plugins -->
    <plugin entity_name="*" entity_type="world" filename="libOpticalFlowSystem.so" name="custom::OpticalFlowSystem"/>
    <plugin entity_name="*" entity_type="world" filename="libGstCameraSystem.so" name="custom::GstCameraSystem"/>
  </plugins>
</server_config>

Creating Custom Plugins

When developing new plugins:

1. Follow the plugin architecture - Implement desired interfaces.

   You can start by copying the Template plugin which is a simple example that only implements ISystemPreUpdate and ISystemPostUpdate. The interfaces are specified in the official Gazebo documentation.

2. Register your plugin - Add it to server.config for discovery.

3. Use the custom namespace - Follow the pattern custom::YourPluginName.

Example Plugin Structure

class YourCustomSystem :
    public gz::sim::System,
    public gz::sim::ISystemPreUpdate,
    public gz::sim::ISystemPostUpdate
{
public:
    void PreUpdate(const gz::sim::UpdateInfo &_info,
                   gz::sim::EntityComponentManager &_ecm) final;
    void PostUpdate(const gz::sim::UpdateInfo &_info,
                    const gz::sim::EntityComponentManager &_ecm) final;
};

// Plugin registration
GZ_ADD_PLUGIN(YourCustomSystem, gz::sim::System,
              YourCustomSystem::ISystemPreUpdate,
              YourCustomSystem::ISystemPostUpdate)
GZ_ADD_PLUGIN_ALIAS(YourCustomSystem, "custom::YourCustomSystem")

Enabling a Plugin

For world plugins all you need to do is register the plugin (add it to the server.config). It will then be available to all worlds and vehicles.

The process for adding vehicle model/sensor plugins is not documented. This can tracked through PX4-Autopilot#2493.

Resources

• PX4 Plugins: Repository source code
• Official Gazebo Documentation: System Plugins Guide
• Server Configuration: Configuration Reference
• PX4 Gazebo-classic Plugins: PX4 Gazebo Classic Plugins

INFO

Plugins for modern Gazebo are still evolving. The plugin system differs from Gazebo Classic.