Sensors

Sensors are parts fitted into slots. The concepts live in Slots and assembly, the vehicle’s slots and their accepted types in the configuration page, and new sensors can be added following the Add a sensor part guide.

Available sensors

Sensor	Part	Slot	Fitted by default
Ping2 echosounder	ping_singlebeam	ping (on the integration kit bracket, itself in the chassis ping_mount slot)	yes

Sensors ROS API

Echosounder

The Ping2 single beam echosounder is modeled as a one ray downward gpu_lidar returning the range to the seabed (real Ping2 range is about 0.5 to 100 m); its face sits below the waterline on the inner side of the starboard hull.

ROS Topic	Description	Message type
/<name>/ping/range	Range to the seabed; bridged lazily, the Gazebo subscription starts with the first ROS subscriber	sensor_msgs/msg/LaserScan

ros2 topic echo /blueboat/ping/range --once

<name> is the instance name, blueboat for the default instance, or whatever the boat was spawned as (Several vehicles). A part topic follows the part’s own name (ping above), so a part renamed or removed in the config moves or drops its topics (Configuration). Sensor messages carry a frame the part declares as frame_id (ping_beam, the transducer face), under the instance name (<name>/ping_beam), which is how TF carries it. Rendered sensors need a GPU (headless EGL works).