Doppler velocity log

A DVL estimates velocity relative to the seabed or water mass. POSIM uses Gazebo's DVL system and a ROS bridge that converts observations to posim_interfaces/msg/DVL.

Run the sensor

ros2 launch posim_demos posim_sensor.launch.py \
  namespace:=nortek_dvl500_300 world_name:=dvl_world z:=-30 \
  paused:=false gui:=false headless:=true

In a second sourced terminal, inspect Gazebo and then ROS data:

gz topic -e -t /dvl/velocity
ros2 topic echo /dvl/velocity posim_interfaces/msg/DVL --once

Stop the Gazebo viewer before the ROS command. Match the topic to your descriptor if you create a new sensor.

Available descriptions

Description	Configuration family
`nortek_dvl500_300`	Nortek DVL500
`nortek_dvl500_6000`	Nortek DVL500
`nortek_dvl1000_300`	Nortek DVL1000
`nortek_dvl1000_4000`	Nortek DVL1000
`sonardyne_syrinx600`	Sonardyne
`teledyne_explorer1000`	Teledyne Explorer
`teledyne_explorer4000`	Teledyne Explorer
`teledyne_whn`	Teledyne WHN
`nortek_dvl500_300_with_multibeam_sonar`	DVL plus CUDA sonar

Check each sensor model's sampling and geometry in SDF.

Configure a DVL

Configure gz:type="dvl" with beam angles/tilt, bottom/water tracking, velocity noise and reference frame.

DVL500-300 requested rate: 8 Hz
Range: 0.3–200 m

The example converts ENU to its configured forward/starboard/down reference using <reference_frame>. The ROS bridge preserves the Gazebo frame ID. Check that your estimator uses the same frame and distinguishes bottom tracking from water-mass tracking.

Inspect observations

Use ros2 interface show posim_interfaces/msg/DVL for the payload definition. Confirm received velocity, frame and status with a known stationary case, then a controlled translation. Bottom geometry, range and beam intersections affect the observations. Enable the descriptor's visualization settings when inspecting beams on a configured desktop.

DVL beams and output

DVL acoustic beams directed at the seabed

Figures and videos: POSIM Notion Wiki. See Citation and licenses for DAVE documentation attribution. Use this page's code blocks for execution commands and topic names.