Open-source ROS 2 TTS plugin brings speech to Gazebo Harmonic robots
Tested on the Heinz H1 humanoid, this plugin modernizes robot simulation audio.
The gz_ros_tts plugin marks a significant upgrade for the Gazebo simulation ecosystem, bringing native Text-to-Speech (TTS) capabilities to Gazebo Harmonic via ROS 2. Originally built for Gazebo Classic, the plugin has been redesigned and released as an open-source ROS 2 package. It officially supports ROS 2 Humble and Jazzy distributions, ensuring compatibility with the latest robotics development workflows. This migration enables developers to integrate realistic speech output directly into their robot simulations without custom middleware.
The plugin has been successfully tested on the Heinz H1 humanoid robot, a platform designed for human-robot interaction research. In practice, gz_ros_tts allows developers to script spoken feedback, narrate robot actions during demos, or create interactive tutorials within the simulation environment. By leveraging standard ROS 2 message interfaces, the plugin fits seamlessly into existing robotics stacks. This release is particularly valuable for educational institutions, research labs, and companies developing social robots or voice-controlled systems, as it reduces the barrier to adding realistic audio feedback in simulation-driven development pipelines. The project is actively maintained on GitHub, with community contributions welcome.
- Open-source gz_ros_tts plugin brings TTS to Gazebo Harmonic, migrating from Classic.
- Supports ROS 2 Humble and Jazzy; tested on the Heinz H1 humanoid robot.
- Enables scriptable robot speech in simulation for interactive demos and research.
Why It Matters
Simplifies adding realistic speech to robotic simulations, accelerating development of interactive and social robots in ROS 2.