Add `navmap_tools`: GIS-based world/NavMap generator by fmrico · Pull Request #24 · EasyNavigation/NavMap

fmrico · 2026-08-19T08:26:58Z

Hi,

This PR adds a new package, navmap_tools, with a CLI tool (navmap_gis_tool) that
generates a Gazebo world and/or a NavMap directly from real elevation and
aerial-imagery data, given only a GPS center and a size in meters. Also adds
the navmap_ros conversion this tool relies on, and a small
navmap_rviz_plugin refactor.

`navmap_tools` (new package)

navmap_gis_tool: fetches a DEM (Copernicus GLO-30) and aerial imagery
(Esri World Imagery, PNOA for Spain, or Google Maps Platform) for a given
GPS center + square size, builds a regular elevation grid, and emits:
- --gazebo: a full colcon package (worlds/, models/<name>/meshes/ {.dae,.stl}, launch/, env-hooks/) with a textured, Z-up terrain mesh
  and a matching <spherical_coordinates> GPS anchor.
- --navmap: a colored, slope-aware .navmap (via the new
  pointcloud_to_navmap C++ tool), sharing the exact same local-ENU origin
  as the Gazebo world so both line up.
navmap_publisher: publishes a .navmap file to a topic for
navmap_rviz_plugin.
Download caching (geo/cache.py) so repeated runs over the same area don't
re-fetch DEM/imagery.

`navmap_ros`

from_regular_grid(): builds a NavMap directly from an organized
(grid-shaped) point cloud using its known (i, j) connectivity, instead of
neighbor search — no meshing-artifact gaps. Used by pointcloud_to_navmap
for navmap_gis_tool-generated grids.
Fixed from_points()'s max_edge_len rejection: it could be tighter than
the geometrically-possible worst case (search radius + max |Δz|),
spuriously punching holes in otherwise-navigable, slightly noisy terrain.

`navmap_rviz_plugin`

Small refactor: the "Color (vertex RGBA)" layer name is now a single
shared constant instead of a string literal duplicated in two places.

Usage

colcon build --symlink-install --packages-up-to navmap_tools
source install/setup.bash

# Gazebo world + NavMap for a 150 m square around a GPS point (Esri imagery, default)
ros2 run navmap_tools navmap_gis_tool \
  --center 40.3314,-3.8356 --size 150 \
  --gazebo --navmap \
  --package my_area_world

# Spain: PNOA usually has better real coverage/resolution than Esri in rural areas
ros2 run navmap_tools navmap_gis_tool \
  --center 42.630258,-5.551252 --size 400 \
  --gazebo --navmap --imagery-source pnoa \
  --package my_farm_world

# View the generated NavMap in RViz2
ros2 run navmap_tools navmap_publisher --input my_area_world/maps/my_area_world.navmap

# Load the generated world directly in Gazebo (no ROS)
export GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH=$(pwd)/my_area_world/models:$(pwd)/my_area_world/worlds
gz sim my_area_world/worlds/my_area_world.world

Useful flags:

Flag	Default	Meaning
`--resolution`	`1.0`	Grid sampling resolution in meters (shared by `--gazebo` geometry and `--navmap`)
`--max-slope-deg`	`30.0`	Maximum navigable slope for the NavMap
`--imagery-source`	`esri`	`esri` (worldwide, keyless), `pnoa` (Spain only, keyless, sharper in rural areas), or `google` (worldwide, paid — needs `GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY`)
`--output-dir`	`./<package>`	Where to create the output package
`--force-refresh`	off	Bypass the GIS download cache

Google Maps imagery requires a Google Maps Platform API key with "Map Tiles
API" enabled, set via GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY.

Signed-off-by: Francisco Martín Rico <fmrico@gmail.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR introduces a new ROS 2 package (navmap_tools) that can generate a Gazebo world and/or a .navmap directly from real-world GIS elevation + imagery data, and extends navmap_ros with an organized-grid conversion path to avoid meshing gaps when the point cloud is already grid-structured.

Changes:

Add navmap_tools (Python GIS pipeline + scaffold/mesh/PCD utilities) and two C++ CLI tools: pointcloud_to_navmap and navmap_publisher.
Extend navmap_ros conversions with from_regular_grid() and adjust from_points() edge/candidate selection logic to reduce “hole” artifacts.
Refactor navmap_rviz_plugin to centralize the “Color (vertex RGBA)” layer name and expose it conditionally.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 39 out of 40 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
navmap_tools/test/test_xmllint.py	Adds XML lint test harness for package files.
navmap_tools/test/test_terrain.py	Tests terrain grid sampling + texture rendering logic.
navmap_tools/test/test_scaffold.py	Tests generated world-package scaffold layout and contents.
navmap_tools/test/test_projection.py	Tests local AEQD projection and bbox computations.
navmap_tools/test/test_pnoa.py	Tests PNOA WMS chunking/mosaicking with monkeypatching.
navmap_tools/test/test_pep257.py	Adds PEP257 lint test harness.
navmap_tools/test/test_pcd_writer.py	Tests PCD + RGB sidecar writing (incl. organized clouds).
navmap_tools/test/test_net.py	Tests retrying GET-to-file helper without real network.
navmap_tools/test/test_mesh_export.py	Tests STL/DAE/texture export and geometry correctness.
navmap_tools/test/test_imagery.py	Tests Esri imagery tiling, placeholders, and fallback zoom.
navmap_tools/test/test_google.py	Tests Google Map Tiles API session/token/caching logic (mocked).
navmap_tools/test/test_flake8.py	Adds flake8 lint test harness.
navmap_tools/test/test_dem.py	Tests Copernicus DEM tile naming, sampling, and mosaicking (mocked).
navmap_tools/test/test_copyright.py	Adds copyright lint test harness.
navmap_tools/test/test_cli.py	Tests CLI argument parsing and validation behavior.
navmap_tools/test/test_cache.py	Tests DiskCache correctness and cleanup semantics.
navmap_tools/test/init.py	Marks test directory as a Python package.
navmap_tools/src/pointcloud_to_navmap.cpp	New C++ tool to build `.navmap` (and optional vertex colors) from `.pcd`.
navmap_tools/src/navmap_publisher.cpp	New C++ tool to periodically publish a `.navmap` to a topic.
navmap_tools/scripts/navmap_gis_tool	Console entrypoint wrapper for the Python CLI.
navmap_tools/package.xml	Declares dependencies for the new `navmap_tools` package.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/terrain.py	Builds TerrainGrid samples and renders a baked texture.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/scaffold.py	Generates colcon package structure and template files for Gazebo.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/pcd_writer.py	Writes XYZ PCD (optionally organized) plus RGB CSV sidecar.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/mesh_export.py	Exports regular-grid terrain as textured DAE + collision STL.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/projection.py	Implements local ENU projection and size→bbox perimeter sampling.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/pnoa.py	Fetches/mosaics PNOA imagery via WMS with caching and chunking.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/net.py	Implements retrying streaming download helper.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/imagery.py	Fetches/mosaics Esri XYZ imagery and detects placeholder tiles.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/google.py	Fetches/mosaics Google Map Tiles imagery with session tokens + caching.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/dem.py	Fetches/mosaics Copernicus DEM tiles and provides bilinear sampling.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/cache.py	Implements content-addressed disk cache for downloads.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/geo/init.py	Package init for GIS submodule.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/cli.py	Orchestrates the full GIS→TerrainGrid→Gazebo/NavMap pipeline.
navmap_tools/navmap_tools/init.py	Package init for `navmap_tools`.
navmap_tools/CMakeLists.txt	Builds/installs the Python package and the two C++ tools; enables tests.
navmap_rviz_plugin/src/navmap_rviz_plugin/NavMapDisplay.cpp	Refactors vertex-color layer name into a shared constant and conditionally exposes it.
navmap_ros/tests/test_conversions.cpp	Adds gtests for `from_regular_grid()` behavior and coverage.
navmap_ros/src/navmap_ros/conversions.cpp	Fixes/adjusts `from_points()` edge/candidate logic and implements `from_regular_grid()`.
navmap_ros/include/navmap_ros/conversions.hpp	Exposes `from_regular_grid()` API with documentation.

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+#include <fstream>
+#include <iostream>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>


+    std::istringstream iss(line);
+    std::string r_s, g_s, b_s;
+    if (!std::getline(iss, r_s, ',') || !std::getline(iss, g_s, ',') ||
+      !std::getline(iss, b_s, ','))
+    {
+      throw std::runtime_error("malformed colors CSV line: " + line);
+    }
+    colors.push_back(
+      {static_cast<uint8_t>(std::stoi(r_s)), static_cast<uint8_t>(std::stoi(g_s)),
+        static_cast<uint8_t>(std::stoi(b_s))});
+  }


+      Eigen::Vector3f a(A.x, A.y, A.z), b(B.x, B.y, B.z), c(C.x, C.y, C.z);
+      Eigen::Vector3f n = (b - a).cross(c - a);
+      const float nn = n.norm();
+      if (nn < 1e-9f) {return;}
+      n /= nn;
+      if (n.dot(Eigen::Vector3f::UnitZ()) < cos_max_slope) {return;}
+
+      // Canonical orientation (normal facing +Z), matching try_add_triangle.
+      if (n.dot(Eigen::Vector3f::UnitZ()) < 0.0f) {
+        triangles.emplace_back(i0, i2, i1);
+      } else {
+        triangles.emplace_back(i0, i1, i2);
+      }


+def _is_placeholder_tile(path) -> bool:
+    """Return True if the tile at `path` is Esri's known "no data" placeholder image."""
+    digest = hashlib.md5(open(path, 'rb').read()).hexdigest()
+    return digest in _PLACEHOLDER_MD5_HASHES


+    } else if (arg == "--resolution") {
+      const char * v = next("--resolution"); if (!v) {return false;}
+      args.resolution = std::stof(v);
+    } else if (arg == "--max-slope-deg") {
+      const char * v = next("--max-slope-deg"); if (!v) {return false;}
+      args.max_slope_deg = std::stof(v);
+    } else {


Tool to generate simulated world/NavMap from satellite imaginary

d92b7b6

Signed-off-by: Francisco Martín Rico <fmrico@gmail.com>

Copilot AI lite review requested due to automatic review settings August 19, 2026 08:26

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of fmrico August 19, 2026 08:27 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Aug 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

fmrico merged commit 9c7ae21 into rolling Aug 19, 2026
2 checks passed

fmrico deleted the get_satellite branch August 19, 2026 08:33

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Add `navmap_tools`: GIS-based world/NavMap generator - #24

Add `navmap_tools`: GIS-based world/NavMap generator#24
fmrico merged 1 commit into
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fmrico commented Aug 19, 2026 •

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fmrico commented Aug 19, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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navmap_tools (new package)

navmap_ros

navmap_rviz_plugin

Usage

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Pull request overview

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fmrico commented Aug 19, 2026 •

edited

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`navmap_tools` (new package)

`navmap_ros`

`navmap_rviz_plugin`