Best practice workflow for managing URDF and sensors in isaac sim

Omniverse Isaac Sim
1

Isaac Sim Version: 5.1.0

Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04

Hello everyone,

I am currently developing an AMR simulation and navigation system. The overall technical architecture includes:

  • ROS2 (Humble)
  • Nav2
  • Multiple sensors (3D LiDAR, 2D LiDAR, IMU)
  • Future plans for Sim-to-Real deployment
  • Potentially multiple robots with different external designs but using the same sensor specifications

I would like to ask for advice regarding best practices for team collaboration and long-term maintainability.

Current Workflow

Our current process is as follows:

  1. Import the STL robot model into Isaac Sim
  2. Add sensors in Isaac Sim
  3. Create joints
  4. Export the model as URDF for the team
  5. The team then builds the TF tree based on the URDF
  6. Use the URDF in Isaac Sim and RViz2 to simulate sensor data publishing

However, when we need to add new sensors later, the workflow becomes:

  1. Import the URDF back into Isaac Sim
  2. Add sensors
  3. Create joints
  4. Export the updated URDF again

Current Concerns

Repeatedly modifying between Isaac Sim and URDF seems to introduce several issues:

  • Increasing file structure complexity
  • TF management becoming harder to maintain
  • Difficulty in version control
  • Reduced scalability for multi-robot setups or future Sim-to-Real transitions

I would like to ask:

  1. Is this workflow aligned with common engineering best practices?
  2. In a team collaboration context, what would be a recommended standard workflow to avoid long-term maintenance issues?
  3. If we expect to have multiple robots with different appearances but identical sensor specifications in the future, what would be the recommended modularization approach?

Any insights or experience-based recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.