novatel_gps_driver

A C++ ROS driver that reads NovAtel GPS/GNSS receivers over serial, TCP, UDP or PCAP files and turns their logs into ROS messages.

Made by Southwest Research Institute Robotics.

Licenses

Code: BSD-3-Clause (opens in a new tab)
Read by Robotheca from LICENSE (opens in a new tab) (BSD-3-Clause) at commit 3cace11 (opens in a new tab), on 16 Oct 2026.
Commercial use: Yes

Connects to NovAtel receivers over serial, TCP, or UDP, and can replay PCAP capture logs for testing.
Supports ASCII and binary NovAtel logs and works with OEM4, OEM6 and OEM7 receivers.
Combines BESTPOS, BESTVEL and PSRDOP2 logs into gps_msgs/GPSFix messages, which are always published.
Can publish NMEA sentences, IMU data from SPAN-equipped receivers, dual-antenna heading and many other NovAtel log types.
Can send RTCM correction messages to the receiver from the /rtcm topic and configure INS lever arms and rotations.
Ships as a library with a ROS node and a message package, novatel_gps_msgs.

Written by Robotheca from the project's README (opens in a new tab) at commit 3cace11.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Hardware it needs, as the project states it: A NovAtel GPS/GNSS receiver connected over serial, TCP, UDP, or a PCAP capture file; it has been tested primarily on NovAtel OEM628 receivers.
How to start: The project's README (opens in a new tab)

Checked on GitHub on 16 Oct 2026.

No robot on Robotheca is linked to it yet. Links come from a robot's robot.yaml, from its dependency files read as text, or from Robotheca's editors.

Robotheca lists software as a reference: nothing is hosted or run here, and every fact links to where it was read.