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Gazebo Classic Reaches End of Life: Transitioning to Modern Gazebo
Gazebo Classic, a widely utilized robotics simulator from the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), officially reached its end of life last week. Moving forward, support will be exclusively focused on the versions of modern Gazebo. All iterations of Gazebo Classic, identified by their numbered release names, are now considered obsolete.
The final release of Gazebo Classic, version 11, debuted in January 2020 as a long-term support (LTS) edition, designed with a five-year support cycle. According to OSRF, Gazebo Classic played a crucial role in advancing simulation capabilities, introducing various features such as SDFormat 1.7 frame semantics, support for biovision hierarchical (BVH) skeletal animations, and enhanced log playback functionalities.
As part of its end-of-life announcement, OSRF confirmed that Gazebo Classic will no longer receive new capabilities, security patches, or bug fixes. While users are not required to transition immediately, they are strongly encouraged to move to the modern versions of Gazebo at their earliest convenience.
“We phase out older Gazebo versions similar to how most have moved on from Windows XP or the iPhone 4,” OSRF stated. “Better software iterations are available, and sustaining support for all Gazebo releases indefinitely is not feasible. Sunsetting specific versions allows us to allocate resources more effectively towards newer, more capable software. Additionally, the underlying packages and the operating system (Ubuntu Focal) that Gazebo Classic depends on will also reach their end of life in April 2025.”
Recommendations for Users
The OSRF advises users of Gazebo Classic to upgrade to Gazebo Harmonic, the latest LTS version of modern Gazebo. Gazebo Harmonic is optimized for use on Ubuntu Jammy (22.04) and the upcoming Ubuntu Noble (24.04), with support scheduled to continue until September 2028. Users who continue to operate with ROS 1 must also transition to ROS 2 Jazzy to utilize Gazebo Harmonic.
To assist in this transition, the OSRF provides documentation featuring a diverse array of guides and tutorials for moving projects from Gazebo Classic to modern Gazebo. Additionally, a compatibility table has been created to clarify which Gazebo versions align with varying ROS releases.
The Impending End of ROS 1
It’s relevant to highlight that all versions of ROS 1, including ROS 1 Noetic, are set to reach their end of life on May 23, 2025. OSRF reports that more than 80% of the ROS community has already migrated to ROS 2, and 67% of Gazebo users have transitioned to modern Gazebo.
The latest version of ROS 2, identified as ROS 2 Jazzy Jalisco, was launched in May 2024. This LTS release will be supported until May 2029 and integrates numerous new features, facilitating connections between existing ROS code and the Intrinsic platform. Intrinsic is an entity that emerged from Alphabet’s X moonshot division in mid-2021 and acquired the Open Source Robotics Corporation in late 2022.
Comprehensive documentation for ROS 2 is available, providing detailed instructions for migrating from ROS 1.
Explore ROS 2 at the Robotics Summit & Expo
ROS 2 will be a focal theme at the upcoming 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo, set for April 30 to May 1 in Boston. Geoffrey Biggs, the CTO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation, will present on April 30 from 1:45 to 2:30 PM, delivering a lecture titled “Key ROS 2 Features to Learn as ROS 1 Sunsets.” This session will highlight significant success stories enabled by ROS 2 across various sectors.
Participants will discover how leveraging ROS 2 can provide benefits from the collective efforts of numerous engineers at a lower cost than developing from scratch, and how it can speed up the journey to successful full deployment. The presentation will also address common barriers to the adoption of ROS 2 and provide insight into future developments.
Produced by The Robot Report, the Robotics Summit & Expo is expected to attract over 5,000 developers dedicated to robotics for multiple commercial applications. Attendees will have the opportunity to glean insights on the latest technologies, engineering practices, and emerging trends in the industry. The event will feature more than 70 speakers, extensive networking opportunities, a Women in Robotics Breakfast, a career fair, a startup showcase, and other notable attractions, including the RBR50 Pavilion and RBR50 Awards Dinner, celebrating the recipients of the annual RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards.
Source
www.therobotreport.com