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Move from sim to real

The simulator and the real robot are digital twins — same web console, same ROS 2 topics, same APIs. Everything you built on the virtual robot runs on the real one. This page is the hand-off checklist.

What transfers as-is

  • Your code — scripts in ~/physicar_ws use the same topics (/speed, /steering, /scan, /camera/image, ...) on both sides. Copy the files over and run them.
  • Trained models — Racing models (.pt / .onnx) drive the real car the same way. Download from the Racing panel's settings → Models on the simulator, upload on the real robot.
  • Agent instructions & tools — your instructions file and custom tools work unchanged; the same tool calls move the real wheels.

Moving files

  • Small files — download/upload through the file explorer (right-click → Download).
  • A whole project — zip it first in the terminal: zip -r project.zip ~/physicar_ws/.

Optimize for the real world (the Sim2Real gap)

The physics match closely, but reality adds friction, lighting, and battery effects. Expect to tune:

  • Speed & steering — real floors grip differently. Start slower, then raise.
  • Camera color ranges — room lighting shifts HSV values; recalibrate line color in the Racing settings (changes apply live while driving).
  • Camera angle — check pan/tilt matches what your model saw in training.

Verify each change with a short test run before the next one.

Why the gap exists → Learn: AI Basics · Robot topics → physicar-ros reference

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