# MultiVehicle Simulator (MVSim) **Lightweight, realistic 2.5D dynamics simulator for mobile robots and multi-agent research** [](https://github.com/MRPT/mvsim/actions/workflows/build-linux.yml) [](https://github.com/MRPT/mvsim/actions/workflows/check-clang-format.yml) [](https://mvsimulator.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest) [](LICENSE) [**Documentation**](https://mvsimulator.readthedocs.io) · [**Installation**](https://mvsimulator.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html) · [**Demo worlds**](https://mvsimulator.readthedocs.io/en/latest/demo_worlds.html) · [**Cite**](#citation)

Overview

MVSim simulates wheeled robots and vehicles with realistic physics, sensors, and multi-agent support. It is designed to be fast enough for large-scale experiments while remaining accurate enough for dynamics and sensor research.

Key properties:

• Fully configured via XML world files — no code changes needed for most experiments.
• Works standalone, as a ROS 2 node, or embedded in a C++ / Python application.
• Headless mode for CI pipelines and Docker containers.
• Multi-vehicle worlds with mutual sensing (robots see each other in LiDAR).

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/766db164-2d16-44f4-acbf-2f15b73c1ab3

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/93c95aeb-71e9-4c35-b1dc-ba895c79daf7

Features

Vehicle dynamics

| Model | Description | |—|—| | differential | 2-wheel or 4-wheel differential drive (e.g. TurtleBot, Jackal) | | ackermann | Car-like Ackermann steering with kinematic or dynamic control | | ackermann_drivetrain | Ackermann + realistic mechanical differentials (open / Torsen, 2WD / 4WD) | | Articulated | Trailer-style articulated vehicles |

Controllers available: raw torque, twist PID, ideal twist.

Friction models: default Coulomb, Ward-Iagnemma (off-road), ellipse (slip angle + slip ratio).

Sensors

| Sensor | Notes | |—|—| | 3D LiDARs | Velodyne VLP-16, Ouster OS1, Hesai Helios-32 (26°/31°/70° FOV) | | 2D LiDAR | Generic + RPLidar A2; optional GPU-based 3D ray-tracing | | RGB camera | Pinhole model, configurable intrinsics | | RGBD camera | Depth + color (RealSense / Xtion-style), publishes pointcloud, depth image | | IMU | White noise + bias random-walk (Forster 2016 model) | | GNSS / GPS | Requires georeferenced world; configurable noise |

World elements

• Occupancy grid maps (image or MRPT binary)
• Elevation meshes (terrain with height)
• Textured 3D blocks and custom meshes (.dae, .obj)
• Friction zones (spatially-varying mu, rolling resistance)
• Multi-storey environments
• Lighting configuration
• Remote resource caching

Interfaces

• ROS 2 — full topic / TF / parameter interface (see mvsim_node docs)
• ZMQ / Protobuf — language-agnostic pub/sub for custom clients
• Python — direct API access
• C++ library — embed the simulator in your application

Installation

ROS 2 (recommended)

sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-mvsim

Then follow the first-steps guide.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/MRPT/mvsim.git --recursive

See full installation instructions for cmake and colcon build options.

Quick start

Standalone:

```bash mvsim launch mvsim_tutorial/demo_warehouse.world.xml

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