Getting a map can sometimes be a complicated task if you do not have the correct tools. ROS has a tool that will help you build a map using the odometry and a laser sensor. This tool is the map_server (http://wiki.ros.org/map_server). In this example, you will learn how to use the robot that we created in Gazebo, as we did in the previous chapters, to create a map, save it, and load it again.

We are going to use a .launch file to make it easy. Create a new file in chapter8_tutorials/launch with the name gazebo_mapping_robot.launch and put in the following code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<launch>
  <param name="/use_sim_time" value="true" />
  <include file="$(find gazebo_ros)/launch/willowgarage_world.launch"/>
  <arg name="model" />
  <param name="robot_description" command="$(find xacro)/xacro.py $(arg model)" />
  <node name="joint_state_publisher" pkg="joint_state_publisher" type="joint_state_publisher" ></node>
  &lt...