diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..27848b989e267b9380b6179b28f7d5474c47b7a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0.2)
+project(simulation_util)
+
+# Compile as C++14
+add_compile_options(-std=c++14)
+
+## Find catkin macros and libraries
+## if COMPONENTS list like find_package(catkin REQUIRED COMPONENTS xyz)
+## is used, also find other catkin packages
+find_package(catkin REQUIRED COMPONENTS
+ roscpp
+ gazebo_msgs
+)
+
+## System dependencies are found with CMake's conventions
+# find_package(Boost REQUIRED COMPONENTS system)
+find_package(SDFormat)
+
+# this is the last resort if the package cannot be found otherwise
+#find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
+#pkg_check_modules(SDF sdformat REQUIRED)
+
+## Uncomment this if the package has a setup.py. This macro ensures
+## modules and global scripts declared therein get installed
+## See http://ros.org/doc/api/catkin/html/user_guide/setup_dot_py.html
+# catkin_python_setup()
+
+################################################
+## Declare ROS messages, services and actions ##
+################################################
+
+## To declare and build messages, services or actions from within this
+## package, follow these steps:
+## * Let MSG_DEP_SET be the set of packages whose message types you use in
+## your messages/services/actions (e.g. std_msgs, actionlib_msgs, ...).
+## * In the file package.xml:
+## * add a build_depend tag for "message_generation"
+## * add a build_depend and a exec_depend tag for each package in MSG_DEP_SET
+## * If MSG_DEP_SET isn't empty the following dependency has been pulled in
+## but can be declared for certainty nonetheless:
+## * add a exec_depend tag for "message_runtime"
+## * In this file (CMakeLists.txt):
+## * add "message_generation" and every package in MSG_DEP_SET to
+## find_package(catkin REQUIRED COMPONENTS ...)
+## * add "message_runtime" and every package in MSG_DEP_SET to
+## catkin_package(CATKIN_DEPENDS ...)
+## * uncomment the add_*_files sections below as needed
+## and list every .msg/.srv/.action file to be processed
+## * uncomment the generate_messages entry below
+## * add every package in MSG_DEP_SET to generate_messages(DEPENDENCIES ...)
+
+## Generate messages in the 'msg' folder
+# add_message_files(
+# FILES
+# Message1.msg
+# Message2.msg
+# )
+
+## Generate services in the 'srv' folder
+# add_service_files(
+# FILES
+# Service1.srv
+# Service2.srv
+# )
+
+## Generate actions in the 'action' folder
+# add_action_files(
+# FILES
+# Action1.action
+# Action2.action
+# )
+
+## Generate added messages and services with any dependencies listed here
+# generate_messages(
+# DEPENDENCIES
+# std_msgs # Or other packages containing msgs
+# )
+
+################################################
+## Declare ROS dynamic reconfigure parameters ##
+################################################
+
+## To declare and build dynamic reconfigure parameters within this
+## package, follow these steps:
+## * In the file package.xml:
+## * add a build_depend and a exec_depend tag for "dynamic_reconfigure"
+## * In this file (CMakeLists.txt):
+## * add "dynamic_reconfigure" to
+## find_package(catkin REQUIRED COMPONENTS ...)
+## * uncomment the "generate_dynamic_reconfigure_options" section below
+## and list every .cfg file to be processed
+
+## Generate dynamic reconfigure parameters in the 'cfg' folder
+# generate_dynamic_reconfigure_options(
+# cfg/DynReconf1.cfg
+# cfg/DynReconf2.cfg
+# )
+
+###################################
+## catkin specific configuration ##
+###################################
+## The catkin_package macro generates cmake config files for your package
+## Declare things to be passed to dependent projects
+## INCLUDE_DIRS: uncomment this if your package contains header files
+## LIBRARIES: libraries you create in this project that dependent projects also need
+## CATKIN_DEPENDS: catkin_packages dependent projects also need
+## DEPENDS: system dependencies of this project that dependent projects also need
+catkin_package(
+ INCLUDE_DIRS include
+ LIBRARIES gazebo_zone_utility
+ CATKIN_DEPENDS gazebo_ros
+ DEPENDS SDFormat
+)
+
+###########
+## Build ##
+###########
+
+## Specify additional locations of header files
+## Your package locations should be listed before other locations
+include_directories(
+ include
+ ${catkin_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+ ${SDFormat_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+)
+
+## Declare a C++ library
+# add_library(${PROJECT_NAME}
+# src/${PROJECT_NAME}/simulation_util.cpp
+# )
+add_library(gazebo_zone_utility
+ src/GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp
+)
+
+
+## Add cmake target dependencies of the library
+## as an example, code may need to be generated before libraries
+## either from message generation or dynamic reconfigure
+add_dependencies(gazebo_zone_utility ${${PROJECT_NAME}_EXPORTED_TARGETS} ${catkin_EXPORTED_TARGETS})
+
+## Declare a C++ executable
+## With catkin_make all packages are built within a single CMake context
+## The recommended prefix ensures that target names across packages don't collide
+# add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME}_node src/simulation_util_node.cpp)
+
+## Rename C++ executable without prefix
+## The above recommended prefix causes long target names, the following renames the
+## target back to the shorter version for ease of user use
+## e.g. "rosrun someones_pkg node" instead of "rosrun someones_pkg someones_pkg_node"
+# set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME}_node PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME node PREFIX "")
+
+## Add cmake target dependencies of the executable
+## same as for the library above
+# add_dependencies(${PROJECT_NAME}_node ${${PROJECT_NAME}_EXPORTED_TARGETS} ${catkin_EXPORTED_TARGETS})
+
+## Specify libraries to link a library or executable target against
+target_link_libraries(gazebo_zone_utility
+ ${catkin_LIBRARIES}
+ ${SDFormat_LIBRARIES}
+)
+
+#############
+## Install ##
+#############
+
+# all install targets should use catkin DESTINATION variables
+# See http://ros.org/doc/api/catkin/html/adv_user_guide/variables.html
+
+## Mark executable scripts (Python etc.) for installation
+## in contrast to setup.py, you can choose the destination
+# catkin_install_python(PROGRAMS
+# scripts/my_python_script
+# DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_BIN_DESTINATION}
+# )
+
+## Mark executables for installation
+## See http://docs.ros.org/melodic/api/catkin/html/howto/format1/building_executables.html
+# install(TARGETS ${PROJECT_NAME}_node
+# RUNTIME DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_BIN_DESTINATION}
+# )
+
+## Mark libraries for installation
+## See http://docs.ros.org/melodic/api/catkin/html/howto/format1/building_libraries.html
+# install(TARGETS ${PROJECT_NAME}
+# ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_LIB_DESTINATION}
+# LIBRARY DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_LIB_DESTINATION}
+# RUNTIME DESTINATION ${CATKIN_GLOBAL_BIN_DESTINATION}
+# )
+
+## Mark cpp header files for installation
+# install(DIRECTORY include/${PROJECT_NAME}/
+# DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_INCLUDE_DESTINATION}
+# FILES_MATCHING PATTERN "*.h"
+# PATTERN ".svn" EXCLUDE
+# )
+
+## Mark other files for installation (e.g. launch and bag files, etc.)
+# install(FILES
+# # myfile1
+# # myfile2
+# DESTINATION ${CATKIN_PACKAGE_SHARE_DESTINATION}
+# )
+
+#############
+## Testing ##
+#############
+
+## Add gtest based cpp test target and link libraries
+# catkin_add_gtest(${PROJECT_NAME}-test test/test_simulation_util.cpp)
+# if(TARGET ${PROJECT_NAME}-test)
+# target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME}-test ${PROJECT_NAME})
+# endif()
+
+## Add folders to be run by python nosetests
+# catkin_add_nosetests(test)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2ca5f4a28a0f461bd892e90aaeafe6efc9987518..4cd93b5e6f4d8a0d157763b6a144ef788fd5f51f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1 +1,8 @@
-The documentation for this package is located [here](http://st.inf.tu-dresden.de/ceti-robots/pkgs/simulation_util.html).
\ No newline at end of file
+A ROS package for Gazebo simulation utility libraries.
+
+The full documentation for this package is located [here](http://st.inf.tu-dresden.de/ceti-robots/pkgs/simulation_util.html).
+
+## Provided Libraries
+
+#### gazebo_zone_utility
+- A library for displaying safety zones in Gazebo.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/include/GazeboZoneSpawner.h b/include/GazeboZoneSpawner.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7e8645d90812056e8a57020d4123bc45d02f6de5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/GazeboZoneSpawner.h
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*! \file GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp
+
+ \author Johannes Mey
+ \date 31.03.20
+*/
+
+#ifndef SIMULATION_UTIL_GAZEBOZONESPAWNER_H
+#define SIMULATION_UTIL_GAZEBOZONESPAWNER_H
+
+
+#include <shape_msgs/SolidPrimitive.h>
+#include <geometry_msgs/Pose.h>
+
+/*!
+ * A class for spawning safety zones in the Gazebo simulator.
+ */
+class GazeboZoneSpawner {
+
+public:
+
+ /**
+ * @brief Spawns a box.
+ *
+ * The box is based on a prototype located in the package at `models/box.sdf`:
+ * ```xml
+ * <?xml version="1.0" ?>
+ * <sdf version="1.5">
+ * <model name="box">
+ * <static>true</static>
+ * <link name="link">
+ * <visual name="visual">
+ * <material>
+ * <script>
+ * <uri>box.material</uri>
+ * <name>Gazebo/DarkMagentaTransparent</name>
+ * </script>
+ * </material>
+ * <pose>0 0 0 0 0 0</pose>
+ * <geometry>
+ * <box>
+ * <size>1 1 1</size>
+ * </box>
+ * </geometry>
+ * </visual>
+ * </link>
+ * </model>
+ * </sdf>
+ * ```
+ *
+ * Before the box is spawned, its pose and size are adapted to the method parameters.
+ *
+ * The color of the box is provided in a material file in the package at `models/box.material`. Alternatively, the
+ * built-in materials could be used, but due to some bugs in gazebo_ros, the absolute URI would have to be provided,
+ * e.g., `/usr/share/gazebo-9/media/materials/scripts/gazebo.material`, which would make the package dependent on
+ * particular versions and installation locations.
+ *
+ * @param shape The shape of the collision box. Currently, only `BOX` is supported.
+ * @param pose The pose of the box. The position of the box is its center.
+ */
+ static void spawnCollisionBox(shape_msgs::SolidPrimitive shape, geometry_msgs::Pose pose);
+
+};
+
+
+#endif //SIMULATION_UTIL_GAZEBOZONESPAWNER_H
diff --git a/mainpage.dox b/mainpage.dox
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fdd5224ab6c0e6c2342d277c9ce753d3332dc393
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mainpage.dox
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/**
+\mainpage
+
+\htmlinclude manifest.html
+
+A ROS package for Gazebo simulation utility libraries.
+
+## Provided Libraries
+
+#### gazebo_zone_utility
+- A library for displaying safety zones in Gazebo.
+
+*/
diff --git a/models/box.material b/models/box.material
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..315ec00cf4e55eb1e187bc54c55edf353f2456e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/models/box.material
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+
+material Zone/DarkMagentaTransparent
+{
+ technique
+ {
+ pass
+ {
+ scene_blend alpha_blend
+ depth_write off
+
+ ambient 0.6 0.0 0.6 1
+ diffuse 0.6 0.0 0.6 1
+
+ texture_unit
+ {
+ colour_op_ex source1 src_current src_current 0.6 0 0.6
+ alpha_op_ex source1 src_manual src_current 0.5
+ }
+ }
+ }
+}
diff --git a/models/box.sdf b/models/box.sdf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6585bde46720ee00dfdad5d3a7feba0814a77249
--- /dev/null
+++ b/models/box.sdf
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" ?>
+<sdf version="1.5">
+ <model name="box">
+ <static>true</static>
+ <link name="link">
+ <visual name="visual">
+ <material>
+ <script>
+ <uri>box.material</uri>
+ <name>Zone/DarkMagentaTransparent</name>
+ </script>
+ </material>
+ <pose>2 3 0.5 0 0 0</pose>
+ <geometry>
+ <box>
+ <size>1 1 1</size>
+ </box>
+ </geometry>
+ </visual>
+ </link>
+ </model>
+</sdf>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.xml b/package.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8470de36535be73050b15d5553556f0608935b30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<package format="2">
+ <name>simulation_util</name>
+ <version>0.1.0</version>
+ <description>The simulation_util package</description>
+
+ <!-- One maintainer tag required, multiple allowed, one person per tag -->
+ <!-- Example: -->
+ <!-- <maintainer email="jane.doe@example.com">Jane Doe</maintainer> -->
+ <maintainer email="johannes.mey@tu-dresden.de">Johannes Mey</maintainer>
+
+
+ <!-- One license tag required, multiple allowed, one license per tag -->
+ <!-- Commonly used license strings: -->
+ <!-- BSD, MIT, Boost Software License, GPLv2, GPLv3, LGPLv2.1, LGPLv3 -->
+ <license>MIT</license>
+
+
+ <!-- Url tags are optional, but multiple are allowed, one per tag -->
+ <!-- Optional attribute type can be: website, bugtracker, or repository -->
+ <url type="website">http://st.inf.tu-dresden.de/ceti-robots/pkgs/simulation_util.html</url>
+ <url type="repository">https://git-st.inf.tu-dresden.de/ceti/ros/simulation_util</url>
+
+
+ <!-- Author tags are optional, multiple are allowed, one per tag -->
+ <!-- Authors do not have to be maintainers, but could be -->
+ <!-- Example: -->
+ <author email="johannes.mey@tu-dresden.de">Johannes Mey</author>
+
+
+ <!-- The *depend tags are used to specify dependencies -->
+ <!-- Dependencies can be catkin packages or system dependencies -->
+ <!-- Examples: -->
+ <!-- Use depend as a shortcut for packages that are both build and exec dependencies -->
+ <!-- <depend>roscpp</depend> -->
+ <!-- Note that this is equivalent to the following: -->
+ <!-- <build_depend>roscpp</build_depend> -->
+ <!-- <exec_depend>roscpp</exec_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use build_depend for packages you need at compile time: -->
+ <!-- <build_depend>message_generation</build_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use build_export_depend for packages you need in order to build against this package: -->
+ <!-- <build_export_depend>message_generation</build_export_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use buildtool_depend for build tool packages: -->
+ <!-- <buildtool_depend>catkin</buildtool_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use exec_depend for packages you need at runtime: -->
+ <!-- <exec_depend>message_runtime</exec_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use test_depend for packages you need only for testing: -->
+ <!-- <test_depend>gtest</test_depend> -->
+ <!-- Use doc_depend for packages you need only for building documentation: -->
+ <!-- <doc_depend>doxygen</doc_depend> -->
+ <buildtool_depend>catkin</buildtool_depend>
+ <depend>roscpp</depend>
+ <depend>sdformat</depend>
+ <build_depend>gazebo_msgs</build_depend>
+ <exec_depend>gazebo_ros</exec_depend>
+ <doc_depend>doxygen</doc_depend>
+
+ <!-- The export tag contains other, unspecified, tags -->
+ <export>
+ <!-- Other tools can request additional information be placed here -->
+
+ </export>
+</package>
diff --git a/rosdoc.yaml b/rosdoc.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6f60590baf3889dde4122d9fc6bb2285e4d5ebb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rosdoc.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ - builder: doxygen
+ name: C++ API
+ file_patterns: '*.c *.cpp *.h *.cc *.hh *.dox'
+ homepage: http://st.inf.tu-dresden.de/ceti-robots/pkgs/simulation_util.html
diff --git a/src/GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp b/src/GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..7f84c3f941ba019334f9f7bcfaffe661ced5cc3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*! \file GazeboZoneSpawner.cpp
+
+ \author Johannes Mey
+ \date 31.03.20
+*/
+
+#include "GazeboZoneSpawner.h"
+
+#include <sdformat-6.0/sdf/sdf.hh> // for sdf model parsing
+#include <gazebo_msgs/SpawnModel.h> // service definition for spawning things in gazebo
+#include <ros/ros.h>
+#include <ros/package.h>
+#include <tf/tf.h>
+
+void GazeboZoneSpawner::spawnCollisionBox(shape_msgs::SolidPrimitive shape, geometry_msgs::Pose pose) {
+ if (shape.type != shape.BOX) {
+ ROS_ERROR_STREAM("Safety-zone could not be created due to wrong shape-type");
+ return;
+ }
+
+ sdf::SDFPtr sdf(new sdf::SDF());
+ sdf::init(sdf);
+
+ auto sdfFileName = ros::package::getPath(ROS_PACKAGE_NAME) + "/models/box.sdf";
+ auto materialFileName = "file://" + ros::package::getPath(ROS_PACKAGE_NAME) + "/models/box.material";
+
+ assert(sdf::readFile(sdfFileName, sdf));
+
+ auto visualElement = sdf->Root()->GetElement("model")->GetElement("link")->GetElement("visual");
+ auto materialUriElement = visualElement->GetElement("material")->GetElement("script")->GetElement("uri");
+ auto poseElement = visualElement->GetElement("pose");
+ auto sizeElement = visualElement->GetElement("geometry")->GetElement("box")->GetElement("size");
+
+ materialUriElement->Set(materialFileName);
+
+ tf::Quaternion rot;
+ rot.setValue(pose.orientation.x, pose.orientation.y, pose.orientation.z, pose.orientation.w);
+ double roll, pitch, yaw;
+ tf::Matrix3x3(rot).getRPY(roll, pitch, yaw);
+
+ std::ostringstream poseStream;
+ poseStream << pose.position.x << " " << pose.position.y << " " << pose.position.z << " "
+ << roll << " " << pitch << " " << yaw;
+ poseElement->Set(poseStream.str());
+
+ ROS_INFO_STREAM("Set pose in SDF file to '" << poseElement->GetValue()->GetAsString() << "'.");
+
+ std::ostringstream sizeStream;
+ sizeStream << shape.dimensions[0] << " " << shape.dimensions[1] << " " << shape.dimensions[2];
+ sizeElement->Set(sizeStream.str());
+
+ ROS_INFO_STREAM("Set size in SDF file to '" << sizeElement->GetValue()->GetAsString() << "'.");
+
+ ros::NodeHandle n;
+ ros::ServiceClient client = n.serviceClient<gazebo_msgs::SpawnModel>("/gazebo/spawn_sdf_model");
+ gazebo_msgs::SpawnModel srv;
+ srv.request.robot_namespace = "box space";
+ // srv.request.initial_pose = pose; // not required here
+ srv.request.model_name = std::string("box") + poseStream.str() + sizeStream.str();
+ srv.request.model_xml = sdf->ToString();
+ // srv.request.reference_frame = ; // if left empty, world is used
+ if (client.call(srv)) {
+ if (srv.response.success) {
+ ROS_INFO_STREAM("Spawned box '" << srv.request.model_name << "'. " << srv.response.status_message);
+ } else {
+ ROS_ERROR_STREAM("Failed to spawn box '" << srv.request.model_name << "'. " << srv.response.status_message);
+ }
+ } else {
+ ROS_ERROR("Failed to call service '/gazebo/spawn_sdf_model'");
+ }
+}