ROS 2 wrapper for [RTAB-Map](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap), a graph-based SLAM library with appearance-based loop closure detection. It builds and maintains a 3D map from RGB-D, stereo or lidar data, closes loops on revisited places and exports the result as an occupancy grid, a point cloud or an OctoMap.
**ROS 2 Humble minimum required.** The interface matches ROS 1: parameters and topic names still follow the [ROS 1 documentation](http://wiki.ros.org/rtabmap_ros) for anything not yet covered by the package pages below.
*Released* is the version bloomed into [rosdistro](https://github.com/ros/rosdistro); *In apt* is what `apt install` actually gives you today. They differ while a release is waiting on a buildfarm sync.
The stack is split into small packages so a pipeline only pulls in what it uses. Package names link to their documentation where it exists; the rest are being written and will be linked as they land.
| [`rtabmap_odom`](rtabmap_odom/README.md) | Odometry nodes — `rgbd_odometry`, `stereo_odometry` and `icp_odometry`. Any external odometry can be used instead. |
| [`rtabmap_sync`](rtabmap_sync/README.md) | Synchronizes camera and lidar topics into a single message so they reach the SLAM node together — `rgbd_sync`, `stereo_sync`, `rgbdx_sync`. |
| [`rtabmap_util`](rtabmap_util/README.md) | Utility nodes around the pipeline: format conversions, point cloud filtering and assembly, obstacle detection, map assembly, database replay. Most are useful on their own. |
| `rtabmap_costmap_plugins` | A variant of nav2's voxel layer that follows the robot along z, keeping the voxel grid centered on the base frame. For robots that change altitude, e.g. drones. |
### Interfaces and libraries
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| `rtabmap_msgs` | Message, service and action definitions used across the stack. |
| [`rtabmap_conversions`](rtabmap_conversions/README.md) | C++ library converting between RTAB-Map library types and ROS 2 messages. |
| [`rtabmap_python`](rtabmap_python/README.md) | Python helpers for RTAB-Map's own binary formats, currently the compressed matrices carried in `rtabmap_msgs` fields and database blobs. |
| `rtabmap_viz` | RTAB-Map's own GUI as a ROS 2 node: live graph, loop closures, feature matches and the parameter panel. |
| `rtabmap_rviz_plugins` | RViz displays for the map graph, the assembled cloud and the SLAM info. |
### Launch files
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| `rtabmap_launch` | `rtabmap.launch.py`, the one-line way to bring up the whole stack. |
| [`rtabmap_examples`](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/ros2/rtabmap_examples/launch) | Sensor integration examples: stereo and RGB-D cameras, 3D lidar. |
| [`rtabmap_demos`](rtabmap_demos/README.md) | Full robot demos: turtlebot3 and turtlebot4, nav2 integration, multi-session mapping. |
# Installation
These instructions are for ROS 2. For ROS 1, follow the [installation instructions](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/master#installation) on the [`master`](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/master) branch, which also carries the latest version for Noetic.
* For sensor integration examples (stereo and RGB-D cameras, 3D LiDAR), see [rtabmap_examples](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/ros2/rtabmap_examples/launch) sub-folder.
* For robot integration examples (turtlebot3 and turtlebot4, nav2 integration), see [rtabmap_demos](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/ros2/rtabmap_demos) sub-folder.
## Logging
To make RTAB-Map's logs appear ordered with RCLCPP's logs, set the following environment variables in your `.bashrc` (see official "[About Logging](https://docs.ros.org/en/jazzy/Concepts/Intermediate/About-Logging.html)" documentation for more info):
```bash
export RCUTILS_LOGGING_USE_STDOUT=1
export RCUTILS_LOGGING_BUFFERED_STREAM=1
# Optional, but if you like colored logs:
export RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=1
```
## Recommended DDS
If RTAB-Map's GUI or topic frequency feel laggy (even if processing time looks fast enough), it may be caused by the DDS. I recommend to use [Cyclone DDS](https://docs.ros.org/en/jazzy/Installation/RMW-Implementations/DDS-Implementations/Working-with-Eclipse-CycloneDDS.html), you can try it by adding this before launching any nodes/launch files (or add to your `.bashrc`):
```bash
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp
# Cyclone prefers multicast by default, if your router got too much spammed,
# disable multicast with (https://github.com/ros2/rmw_cyclonedds/issues/489):
* **Package documentation** — the tables above, and the [API reference on docs.ros.org](https://docs.ros.org/en/jazzy/p/rtabmap_ros/).
* **Examples** — [rtabmap_examples](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap_ros/tree/ros2/rtabmap_examples/launch) for sensors, [rtabmap_demos](rtabmap_demos/README.md) for full robots.
* **Parameters** — every `Rtabmap/*`, `Grid/*`, `Odom/*` and other core parameter is listed in the [RTAB-Map parameter reference](https://introlab.github.io/rtabmap/api/latest/parameters.html).
* **Library API** — [RTAB-Map's own API documentation](https://introlab.github.io/rtabmap/api/latest/).
* **Papers and videos** — [introlab.github.io/rtabmap](https://introlab.github.io/rtabmap/).
* **Old tutorials** — the [ROS 1 wiki](http://wiki.ros.org/rtabmap_ros/Tutorials), for anything not covered above; parameters and topic names are unchanged.
Each package's API reference is generated with [rosdoc2](https://github.com/ros-infrastructure/rosdoc2) from the Doxygen comments in its public headers, and published to docs.ros.org. rosdoc2 documents one package per invocation, so building the whole stack is a loop over them — run it from the repository root:
BSD-3-Clause, see [LICENSE](LICENSE). RTAB-Map itself may be built with components under other licenses; see the [rtabmap](https://github.com/introlab/rtabmap) repository.
