ROS Resources: Documentation | Support | Discussion Forum | Index | Service Status | ros @ Robotics Stack Exchange |
1 | initial version |
IN GENERAL
Gazebo is more for if you don't have physical hardware. It has a physics engine that allows you to simulate the hardware and an environment.
RVIZ is more for if you do have physical hardware and would like to visualize the data
CAVEATS
Gazebo can be nice even if you have hardware. For instance in a classroom environment with 30 students all trying to use the same robot. Students could use gazebo to simulate and then use the real robot to test, reducing load on the real robot.
RVIZ is useful in both situations, whether the sensor data is real or simulated its nice to be able to visualize it.