Nav2 Controller Selection Guide

Source: ros2-copilot-skills controller comparison skill

Why This Matters

The controller is where a path turns into robot motion. That makes controller choice highly visible to operators: smoothness, confidence in tight spaces, CPU load, and recovery behavior all show up here.

Distilled Takeaways

• MPPI offers the strongest path quality and obstacle negotiation at higher CPU cost.
• DWB remains a practical middle ground for many robots and environments.
• RPP is lightweight and predictable when the environment and task are simpler.
• Controller choice should reflect CPU budget and obstacle environment, not just desired elegance.
• The planner-controller pairing matters as much as either choice in isolation.

Practical Guidance

• Start simple, then earn your way to higher controller complexity.
• Measure compute budget honestly, especially on SBC-class hardware.
• Use controller switching strategically for different behaviors if the task warrants it.
• Revisit controller choice when your robot or environment changes, not just when tuning gets annoying.

Corroborating References

• Nav2 controller plugins docs
• Nav2 tuning guide

When to Read the Original Source

Go to the original skill when you want the comparison tables, CPU-budget estimates, migration path, and cross-reference between MPPI, DWB, and RPP parameter concepts.