Current and previous Versions

1.4 Series (E-Turtle)

Gazebo
- Establish a formal version process and review cycle. Synchronize releases of Gazebo with ROS.
- Create gazebo-specific regression tests (outside of ROS).
- Switch to Apache 2.0 license.
- Gazebo will be hosted on kforge.
- Write more tutorials and documentation. Consider move gazebo to code.ros.org
- Incorporate models of humans (support Crowd Nav Project: Caroline is lead). This needs to be complete by end of March, 2011
- Better visualization: improved shadows & materials.
- Improved GUI for importing and manipulation models. Easier creation of simulation environments.
  - Import 3D models from 3rd party modeling software.
  - Modify model parameters (size, shape, pose, joints, sensors, etc)
ROS
- Improve gazebo plugin efficiency. Identify possible performance bottlenecks.
- Create a minimalistic PR2, one that can run faster-than-realtime.
  - Kinematic only for partial robot. Lump mass upward in joint chain.
- Launch gazebo on a remote machine: requires special launch files, and ROS support.

Gazebo
- Switched from wxwidgets to qt, preparing for better GUI development.
- Introduced non-interlocked physics and rendering system through a new transport system based on google protobuf. This provides the potential for distributing computational loads across different machines.
- New plugin interface and new internal model xml format (more similar to urdf).
- Improved lighting and shadow rendering.

Gazebo
- Try out different collision engines (e.g. fcl).
- Simplify simulation loading, rewinding, and saving of state. Save and resume world/model state.
- Incorporate more sensors: GPS, wifi, microphones/speakers, switches, buttons
ROS
- Cluster documentation
- Model creation from real-world sensor data.

Full support of Bullet physics engine
Rather than checking code from gazebo, move to system install of gazebo simulator itself
Python scripting interface to control models and environmental state
Improve material and lighting support - increase rendering fidelity for vision-based projects
Add GUI elements to manipulate joints and actuators