Welcome to my Google Summer of Code 2025 journey! This week marks the end of the community bonding period at JdeRobot, and I'm incredibly excited to be working on "Robotics Academy: improvement of Gazebo scenarios and robot models". This project focuses on enhancing the simulation environments in the JdeRobot Robotics Academy platform.

The community bonding period has been productive, with meaningful interactions with my mentors and deep dives into the existing robotics infrastructure. Let me share what we've accomplished this week!

Project Overview

My project aims to significantly enhance simulation scenarios within the JdeRobot Robotics Academy mainly focusing upon migrating the scenarios and models from gazebo classic to gazebo harmonic. Currently, these educational exercises are all built upon gazebo classic. The goal is to transform these scenarios into engaging, realistic learning environments that will benefit robotics students worldwide.

Objectives

  • Set up blog website using Jekyll and Github Pages
  • Attend organizational meeting with all GSoC participants
  • Conduct personal meeting with project mentors
  • Study the Robotics Infrastructure repository
  • Study URDF and SDF files and migration of scenarios
  • Document initial findings and setup development environment

Progress

Meetings and Mentorship

This week included two important meetings that helped establish the foundation for our collaboration. The first was an organizational meeting where all GSoC participants from JdeRobot came together. We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves, learn about each other's projects, and understand the overall program structure and expectations. It was inspiring to see the diverse range of robotics projects being undertaken this summer.

The second meeting was a focused session with my project mentors: Pedro Arias-Perez, Miguel Fernandez, and Prajyot Jadhav. We discussed the project timeline, technical requirements, and specific goals for each milestone. The mentors provided valuable insights into the current state of the Robotics Academy platform and shared their vision for the improvements we'll be implementing.

Robotics Infrastructure Analysis

A significant portion of this week was dedicated to studying the Robotics Infrastructure repository. I explored the current implementation of the scenarios, examining their directory structures, launch files, world files, and robot models.

Development Environment Setup

I've successfully set up my development environment with the necessary tools and dependencies:

  • ROS2 Humble installation and workspace configuration
  • Gazebo Harmonic and Classic setup for advanced simulation capabilities
  • Docker environment for consistent development and testing
  • RVIZ for visualization and debugging

Next Steps

Based on this week's analysis, the upcoming priorities include:

  • Creating detailed technical specifications for both scenarios
  • Beginning work on modular Xacro descriptions for robot models
  • Researching best practices for realistic Gazebo world creation
  • Setting up version control workflows and documentation structure

Reflection

The community bonding period has been invaluable for understanding the scope and impact of this project. The mentors' guidance and the collaborative atmosphere within the JdeRobot organization have set a strong foundation for the work ahead. I'm particularly excited about the potential to enhance the learning experience for robotics students through more engaging and realistic simulation environments.

The technical challenges ahead are significant but manageable with proper planning and execution. The combination of 3D modeling, physics simulation, and ROS2 integration promises to be both educational and rewarding.