no module named 'importSDF' error in RobotCreator

Question

I want to create a world (a school maybe) to simulate multiple robots navigating in there and trying to create a map for that school (I am using ROS2 Humble on Ubuntu 22.04).

So, the first simulator that came to my mind was Gazebo because it's popular, but when I followed their tutorials to create a world in sdf formats, it was just a tedious process and I think it would take me weeks just to make a simple world.

So, I found some random old reddit post talking about using CAD tools like freeCAD to build the world then export the design using tools like RobotCreator to export the design to SDF file format.

I followed the instructions on the Repo by downloading the repo then putting the main folder under /usr/bin/freecad/Mod/ but when I tried to export the body design in freecad to sdf file I keep getting the error no module named 'importSDF', I examined the files of the repo and I think the problem comes from these 2 lines:

FreeCAD.addImportType("SDF (*.sdf)","importSDF")
FreeCAD.addExportType("SDF (*.sdf)","importSDF")

which are found in the file called init.py. so is there any solution to my problem or any other alternatives?

Answer 1

I don't know the RobotCreator, but I can provide some hints on how to build a world for Gazebo:

• Option 1: install Gazebo Classic and use its building editor.

  Gazebo Classic can be installed side-by-side with Gazebo Sim (i.e. 'New Gazebo') up to Gazebo Sim Fortress. From Garden on, this is no longer possible due to a name clash of the gz executable. But you can still compile from source or use a docker image.

• Option 2: draw your model in a 3D modeler (e.g. Blender or Fusion360), export as .dae file (Collada) and import in Gazebo.