Project: Zero to SLAM

By Caian Benedicto

Summary

This video walks through the complete setup and usage of NVIDIA Isaac Sim with ROS 2 for SLAM and autonomous navigation. It covers:

• Cloning and preparing the Zero-to-SLAM repository
• Updating the system and installing NVIDIA drivers and CUDA
• Downloading, installing, and configuring Omniverse and Isaac Sim
• Setting up Nucleus and Cache servers
• Installing and configuring Podman for container management
• Building and testing the Zero-to-SLAM ROS 2 container
• Installing and configuring RQt and joystick control tools
• Manually driving a Turtlebot3 inside Isaac Sim using joystick teleoperation
• Configuring Isaac Sim for ROS 2 integration and fixing ROS 2 bridge visibility
• Importing the Zero-to-SLAM Omniverse scene into Nucleus
• Exploring the imported robot and Action Graph setup
• Driving the robot manually and publishing Twist messages
• Running SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) inside Omniverse
• Running RViz, Nav2, and Slam Toolbox for navigation and map building
• Saving, serializing, and reloading SLAM maps
• Updating the environment dynamically and refining the SLAM maps with added obstacles
• Running autonomous navigation using Nav2 goals inside Isaac Sim