AD-R1M Gazebo Simulation with Docker

Run the AD-R1M Gazebo Classic simulation in a container on Linux or Windows.

Prerequisites

Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+)

Install Docker Engine and Buildx:

# Add Docker's official GPG key and repository
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine, CLI, container runtime, Buildx, and Compose
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Allow running Docker without sudo
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in, then verify with docker buildx version.

Windows (WSL 2 + Ubuntu 22.04+)

Windows 11 required for WSLg (auto GUI forwarding).

Install WSL 2 from PowerShell as Administrator: wsl --install
Reboot, create a Linux user on first launch

Enable systemd inside WSL:

sudo tee /etc/wsl.conf > /dev/null <<'EOF'
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF

From PowerShell: wsl --shutdown, then reopen wsl

Install Docker Engine and Buildx:

# Add Docker's official GPG key and repository
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine, CLI, container runtime, Buildx, and Compose
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Allow running Docker without sudo
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in, then verify: docker buildx version && echo $DISPLAY

Get the image

Option A: Pull from Cloudsmith

Requires Cloudsmith credentials. Log in first:

docker login docker.cloudsmith.io
docker pull docker.cloudsmith.io/adi/adrd-common/ad-r1m:sim-humble-nightly

Option B: Build locally

git clone https://github.com/analogdevicesinc/ad-r1m-ros2.git
cd ad-r1m-ros2
docker buildx build . \
    -f docker/Dockerfile \
    --target dev \
    --build-arg BUILD_PACKAGES=ad_r1m_sim \
    -t ad-r1m:sim-humble-base

Add xterm for the integrated teleop window:

echo 'FROM ad-r1m:sim-humble-base' > docker/Dockerfile.xterm
echo 'RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends xterm && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*' >> docker/Dockerfile.xterm
docker buildx build . -f docker/Dockerfile.xterm -t ad-r1m:sim-humble

Tip

On Windows, clone under ~/ inside WSL — /mnt/c/ is much slower for Docker I/O.

Run the simulation

Step 1: Set image variable

# If using Cloudsmith image:
IMAGE=docker.cloudsmith.io/adi/adrd-common/ad-r1m:sim-humble-nightly
# If built locally with xterm:
IMAGE=ad-r1m:sim-humble

Step 2: Allow X11 access (Linux only, skip on WSL)

xhost +local:docker

Step 3: Launch Gazebo

docker run --rm -it \
    -e DISPLAY \
    --net=host --ipc=host --pid=host \
    -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix:ro \
    -v /dev/shm:/dev/shm \
    $IMAGE \
    ros2 launch ad_r1m_gazebo launch_sim.launch.py

Gazebo and RViz open. If using the locally built image with xterm, a teleop window also opens.

Note

If using the Cloudsmith image or the base image without xterm, launch teleop in a separate terminal:

docker run --rm -it --net=host --ipc=host --pid=host \
    $IMAGE \
    ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard

Teleop keys:

   u    i    o
   j    k    l
   m    ,    .

q/z : increase/decrease max speeds by 10%

Step 4: Launch localization (new terminal)

docker run --rm -it --net=host --ipc=host --pid=host \
    -v $(pwd)/ad_r1m_navigation:/ros2_ws/ros_data:ro \
    $IMAGE \
    ros2 launch ad_r1m_navigation localization_launch.py \
    use_sim_time:=true \
    params_file:=/ros2_ws/ros_data/config/nav2_params_sim.yaml \
    map:=/ros2_ws/ros_data/maps/world.yaml

Step 5: Launch navigation (new terminal)

docker run --rm -it --net=host --ipc=host --pid=host \
    -v $(pwd)/ad_r1m_navigation:/ros2_ws/ros_data:ro \
    $IMAGE \
    ros2 launch ad_r1m_navigation navigation_launch.py \
    use_sim_time:=true \
    params_file:=/ros2_ws/ros_data/config/nav2_params_sim.yaml

Tip

Mounting the config directory lets you edit parameters locally and restart the container without rebuilding.

Troubleshooting

“BuildKit is enabled but the buildx component is missing”: You have docker.io instead of docker-ce. Reinstall from the official Docker repository.
Gazebo/RViz blank or “Copy mode” (Windows/WSL): Run wsl --update && wsl --shutdown from PowerShell, then retry. If still broken, add -e LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 to docker run.
“cannot open display”: Run xhost +local:docker (Linux) or verify $DISPLAY is :0 (WSL).
Containers can’t see each other: All containers must use --net=host --ipc=host --pid=host.