frontier_exploration_ros2: Open-source explorer cuts travel distance by 22%

frontier_exploration_ros2 is a modern open-source exploration framework built for ROS 2 and Nav2 by developer mertguler. Originally rooted in traditional WFD-style frontier exploration, the project evolved into a complete system focused on improving frontier quality, target ordering, and navigation efficiency. It is a C++ package, fully integrated with the Nav2 stack, and has been tested on ROS 2 Jazzy with Ubuntu 24.04, ROS 2 Humble with Ubuntu 22.04, SLAM Toolbox, and Gazebo Harmonic using the TurtleBot3 Waffle Pi. The exploration logic is separated into a reusable C++ core library, so developers can integrate it into custom ROS 2 systems without relying on the provided explorer node.

To validate performance, the author created a simulation and benchmark environment with maze-like indoor scenarios and a larger warehouse layout, measuring CPU usage, memory consumption, traveled distance, exploration time, and path complexity. In one major warehouse benchmark, frontier_exploration_ros2 reduced traveled distance from 338.61m (m_explore_ros2) to 263.72m — a 22% improvement — and cut exploration time from 09:47 to 07:22, roughly 24% faster. The package ships with a demo repository and Docker support, allowing teams to reproduce results, tune parameters, and compare exploration methods easily.