SDF/URDF physics is tedious
Gazebo models need accurate inertial properties, collision geometry, and friction parameters. Estimating these manually for each object is error-prone.
Physically accurate Assets for Gazebo Simulation
Convert 3D models, images, or text into assets with accurate mass, inertia, friction, and collision geometry ready for Gazebo and ROS 2 simulation pipelines.
Updated 2026-05-08
The problem
Why existing workflows fall short.
Limited model libraries
Gazebo model repositories have limited variety. Custom environments need hundreds of unique objects with realistic physics.
ROS 2 pipeline friction
Getting 3D assets from design tools into a ROS 2 simulation pipeline involves multiple conversion steps and manual physics annotation.
How Rigyd helps
Automate the hard parts.
Automatic inertial estimation
Rigyd estimates mass, center of mass, and inertia tensors using AI-powered material identification and geometry analysis.
Collision mesh generation
Convex decomposition generates collision geometry that balances simulation accuracy with performance, configurable for navigation or manipulation tasks.
OpenUSD interoperability
Rigyd outputs OpenUSD and MJCF natively. For Gazebo, the OpenUSD output can be imported via Gazebo Sim's USD support or converted to SDF/URDF using community tools, maintaining physics properties across format boundaries.
97%
cost reduction in asset preparation
40%
better real-world performance with physically accurate training data
~5 min
from upload to simulation-ready asset
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does Rigyd output SDF and URDF directly?
Rigyd outputs OpenUSD and MJCF directly. SDF and URDF for Gazebo and ROS 2 pipelines are produced by converting the OpenUSD output using community USD→URDF/SDF tools; physics properties (inertia, friction, collision geometry) are preserved across that conversion without manual re-annotation.
How accurate are the estimated inertial properties?
Mass lands within 15-20% of measured values and friction within 0.1 coefficient, inside the variance range typical domain randomization targets. Accuracy is calibrated against NeRF2Physics (CVPR 2024) benchmarks.
Can I use Rigyd for ROS 2 simulation pipelines?
Yes. Generate SimReady OpenUSD once with Rigyd, then either load it directly via Gazebo Sim's USD imports or convert to SDF/URDF with community tools for legacy Gazebo. Enterprise API integrates into CI pipelines so new assets enter simulation as they're added to the catalog.
Does Rigyd output SDF or URDF directly, or only OpenUSD?
OpenUSD and MJCF are the canonical native outputs. SDF and URDF are produced by converting the OpenUSD output using community USD→URDF/SDF tools; the advantage of authoring once in USD is that the derived SDF/URDF preserves mass, inertia, and collision-mesh data. The resulting XML is well-formed and passes Gazebo's built-in model validator.
How does Rigyd handle Gazebo contact and friction solver tuning?
Friction coefficients use Gazebo's ODE solver conventions (mu, mu2 for anisotropic surfaces) populated from material identification. Contact softness (kp, kd) defaults to physically plausible values per material class. Override via the Rigyd dashboard if your scenario needs hand-tuned contact (e.g. specific compliance for soft-finger grippers). For projects using the newer DART or Bullet physics backends in Gazebo Garden and beyond, the same friction values translate cleanly, solver-specific tuning parameters can be overridden separately so the same asset works across the Gazebo Classic and Ignition/Gazebo Modern stacks.
Accelerate your Gazebo simulations
Drop in a 3D model, image, or text description and get physically accurate assets for ROS 2 in minutes.