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SimNav-XR: an extended reality platform for mobile robot simulation using ROS2 and Unity3D
Prakash Aryan1, Sujala Deepak Shetty2, V Kalaichelvi3
1Institute of Computer Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Introduction:
This paper presents SimNav-XR, an extended reality platform that integrates XR technologies with modern robotics frameworks to support mobile robot simulation and development.
Methods:
By connecting ROS2's communication infrastructure with Unity3D's rendering and XR capabilities through the ROS-TCP-Connector package, SimNav-XR provides a practical bridge between robotics middleware and game engine environments for visualization and testing. The platform implements components for physics-based robot modeling, LiDAR and IMU sensor simulation, environmental interaction dynamics, and XR interfaces supporting both Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) modes. These capabilities create interactive environments where developers can visualize and control simulated robots through immersive interfaces using the Meta Quest 3 headset with controller-based input.
Results:
Experimental evaluations using established platforms (Turtlebot3 and ROSbotXL) demonstrate the framework's capabilities across virtual testing scenarios, showing successful autonomous navigation with obstacle avoidance and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). The VR mode provides fully immersive virtual environments for development and testing, while the MR mode uses passthrough cameras to overlay virtual robots onto real-world surfaces via plane detection.
Discussion:
XR visualization techniques provide insights into robot sensor data and navigation behavior, supporting robotics development and education through accessible simulation environments.
