Getting into robotics can mean learning ROS 2, configuring packages, writing launch files, setting up simulations and connecting a whole stack of tools before you build your first robot. RoboCanvas brings robot design, configuration, validation and ROS 2 project generation into one visual workspace, so you can spend less time fighting setup and more time building.
RoboCanvas is a visual workspace for ROS 2 robots. Links, joints, drives, arms, sensors and the software graph sit side by side in one project, so you can see how the pieces fit together. From it, RoboCanvas generates the package a ROS developer would otherwise write by hand, every file consistent with the others and ordinary enough to read, change and learn from.
Links, joints, drives, arms, grippers, sensors, a simple world and the ROS 2 node graph.
Errors block generation. Warnings say what a simulator will not do. Each names its fix.
A ROS 2 package as a ZIP. Generating writes files; it builds and runs nothing, and says so.
colcon build in your own workspace, by hand or through the optional local companion.
Gazebo Harmonic on Linux, or RoboCanvas's kinematic simulator. The preview in the browser is kinematic: no physics.
Robot description, ros2_control controllers, launch files, a Gazebo world and the node graph are generated together and agree with each other. The same project always gives the same files.
Pick a differential, Ackermann, skid-steer, mecanum or tracked drive and its joints, controller and launch setup come with it. Arms, grippers and sensors work the same way. How well each simulates.
The ROS 2 node graph sits beside the robot, so the topics, the controllers and the nodes that use them are planned in one place.
The standard ROS 2 control framework, verified in Gazebo. Moving to hardware means adding a hardware interface for your motors, not restructuring the package. Not yet tested on a physical robot.
Design and generate in Chrome or Edge, free, with no account. The output is an ordinary
ament_cmake package that builds without RoboCanvas.
What has been verified, where and how well is published below, including the partial results and the open defects.
Start from a sample or a template. Edit links, joints and their limits in the inspector; add drives, arms, grippers and sensors from presets. Pose it with the joint sliders to check it moves as intended.
Nodes, topics, services and actions as a graph. Presets add working pieces, here obstacle detection and
keyboard teleoperation, and each node says whether system.launch.py needs it.
Validation runs after every change. Errors block generation; warnings state what a simulator will not do, such as a gripper that overshoots when it re-opens in Gazebo, and what to do about it.
One click writes an ament_cmake package in the browser and says plainly what has not been done:
no colcon build, no launch, no Gazebo. Download it as a ZIP.
Unzip it into a workspace and use your own tools. Or let the optional companion run colcon and
ros2 launch on your machine from the browser.
cd ~/rc_ws/src && unzip ~/Downloads/r1_scout_description.zip cd ~/rc_ws && colcon build source install/setup.bash ros2 launch r1_scout_description simulation.launch.py
The output is an ordinary ROS 2 package. You keep it, change it and run it with your own tools. Before this beta, 11 robot designs were built with colcon and run in Gazebo Harmonic on Ubuntu 24.04 with ROS 2 Jazzy, their motion measured against Gazebo's ground truth.
Verified Build, Gazebo Harmonic simulation, the kinematic simulator.
Verified Build, the kinematic simulator, the companion. No Gazebo on Windows.
Not verified Packages are generated for Jazzy.
Not supported For building and simulating.
Each opens as a copy in your browser, so you start from a complete robot instead of a blank file. What was verified for each, and where, is stated, not implied.
| Capability | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Robot, mechanism and software editing; validation; save and reload | Verified | Automated browser tests in Chrome and Edge on the release build. |
| ROS 2 package generation | Verified | The same project gives byte-identical files; each package carries only the RoboCanvas nodes it uses. |
colcon build, Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows | Verified | 11 of 11 test robots on each; 0 warnings on Ubuntu. |
| Differential and Ackermann drives in Gazebo | Verified | Motion within about 1 % of Gazebo's ground truth. |
| Skid-steer and mecanum in Gazebo | Partial | Skid-steer turns 99–103 % with a calibrated track; mecanum travels 2.6–3.6 % beyond odometry. |
| Tracked drive in Gazebo | Partial | A row of wheels, not track physics; turns 2–7 % larger than odometry. |
| Fixed-base arms; SCARA and gantry reach | Verified | Anchored bases; tools reach the work surface; trajectories followed. |
| LiDAR, IMU, RGB and depth cameras in Gazebo | Verified | Real simulated data, with the stated limits; GNSS only with a datum. |
| Range, bumper and force/torque sensors in Gazebo | Frame only | Generated as frames and topics; no data. Validation says so. |
| Companion on Linux | Not verified | Verified on Windows only. On Linux, build manually. |
In Gazebo, a parallel gripper with heavier fingers overshot to its open stop when re-opened, 3 of 4 tries. Open defect; validation warns.
Tracked drives are simulated as a sprocket and road wheels. Turns are 2–7 % larger than odometry.
Skid-steer turning relies on a Gazebo-calibrated track width; measure your real robot. Mecanum travels 2.6–3.6 % further than its odometry.
Range, bumper and force/torque sensors are frames only in Gazebo. GNSS needs a datum. The depth point cloud arrived only with a reliable subscriber.
No pick-and-place, sequences, repeat counts or gripper timing. Grasping is not tested; vacuum is not simulated.
The browser preview is kinematic only. Generated packages need your review and testing before hardware. Building and running them takes ROS 2 basics: RoboCanvas shortens the setup; it does not replace learning ROS 2.
colcon, on Ubuntu 24.04 or Windows.ros_gz, gz_ros2_control.The engine starts in your tab; the first visit downloads about 15 MB.
On the dashboard, press Open a copy on a sample.
Change a link's mass or a joint; watch the Problems panel.
Generate, then Download ZIP.
colcon build, source, ros2 launch; Gazebo on Ubuntu.
Download it, start it with your ROS 2 Python, pair with its code.
RoboCanvas is for students, hobbyists, first-time ROS 2 learners and developers prototyping a robot: anyone willing to learn. The beta is free, with no account. Try it on your own robot, and tell us where it breaks or where getting started was still harder than it should be.
The report page helps you write a useful report and opens it as an email in your own mail program. Nothing is sent until you press send there.
No accounts, cookies, analytics or third-party scripts. Projects stay in your browser and are never uploaded; the companion listens only on your computer. Privacy notice.