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slam_toolbox

  • Software
  • Navigation and mapping
  • Library

A set of 2D SLAM tools for ROS 2 that builds, updates, saves and reloads maps as pose graphs, and localizes against them. Used in retail, warehouses, libraries and research.

Source on GitHub: github.com/SteveMacenski/slam_toolbox (opens in a new tab). Facts read at commit 6efdc33 (opens in a new tab).

Licenses

Code
LGPL-2.1-only (opens in a new tab)

Read by Robotheca from LICENSE (opens in a new tab) (LGPL-2.1-only) at commit 6efdc33 (opens in a new tab), on 16 Oct 2026.

Commercial use
Yes

Copyleft: Modified source must be published.

What it does

  • Maps a space with 2D lidar and odometry, saving the result as a PGM map or a lossless pose-graph file.
  • Continues mapping or refines a saved pose graph, including lifelong mapping that adds and removes nodes.
  • Localizes in a saved map using a rolling buffer of recent scans, as a replacement for AMCL.
  • Supports pluggable optimizers, with Ceres as the default and G2O, SPA and GTSAM also available.
  • Provides an RViz plugin for manual loop closures, graph editing, serialization and map merging.
  • Includes a decentralized multi-robot SLAM node that aligns peer pose graphs over a shared frame.

Written by Robotheca from the project's README (opens in a new tab) at commit 6efdc33.

Getting started

Difficulty
Intermediate
Hardware it needs, as the project states it
It states no other requirements.

Maintenance

Status
Active: a commit in the last 90 days
Newest commit
15 Oct 2026 on ros2
Latest release
2.10.0 (21 Jul 2026)

Checked on GitHub on 16 Oct 2026.

Links

Robots on Robotheca that use it

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.