> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.learnros2.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.learnros2.com/ros/navigation-and-planning/navigation2-implementation-overview/cost-map.md).

# Cost Map

Cost maps are the backbone of the navigation stack. It encodes information in the environments.

There are two key components in the implementation

<figure><img src="https://442453138-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FWs42vVsGF012EH3SD2WG%2Fuploads%2FAvMpnoowUsipDcqs5GUh%2Fimage.png?alt=media&amp;token=e5430e64-e807-4f8e-b494-022b3fb98909" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
