Only released in EOL distros:  

Package Summary

Launch virtual gauges for ROS topics.

Package Summary

Launch virtual gauges for ROS topics.

Package Summary

Launch virtual gauges for ROS topics.

Launch virtual gauges for ROS topics.

gauge.png

Installation

Install the debian:

$ sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-gauges

Or, install from source to get the most current version:

$ mkdir -p ~/Desktop/catkin_ws/src
$ cd ~/Desktop/catkin_ws/src
$ catkin_init_workspace

Clone the package

$ git clone https://github.com/UTNuclearRoboticsPublic/gauges.git
$ cd ..

Build the package

$ catkin_make

Source the new files

$ source devel/setup.bash

(You may have to do this every time you open a new terminal window, or add this line to your bashrc: source ~/Desktop/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash)

Launch

You can easily open a virtual gauge within the rqt GUI environment. Launch the main rqt window:

$ rqt --force-discover

(The optional argument here ensures that a new plugin is found.) In the menu, navigate to Plugins-->Visualization-->Gauges to add the gauge plugin. It will launch with some default parameters on the ROS parameter server. They can be adjusted from C++, Python, or the command line. See http://wiki.ros.org/Parameter%20Server. These parameters are numbered so you can launch several gauges with unique parameters. They are:

  • "gauge_nameX" -- The name displayed below gauge X.
  • "minimumX" -- The minimum value shown on gauge X.
  • "maximumX" -- The maximum value shown on gauge X.
  • "danger_thresholdX" -- Show a color band, with red beginning at this value.
  • "topicX" -- The name of the topic that controls needle X.
  • "pixel_sizeX" -- The width and height of gaugeX.

This example launches two gauges which listen to different topics (pitch and yaw):

$ rosparam set /rqt_gauges/topic1 /pitch
$ rosparam set /rqt_gauges/gauge_name1 Pitch
$ rosparam set /rqt_gauges/topic2 /yaw
$ rosparam set /rqt_gauges/gauge_name2 Yaw
$ rostopic pub -r 1 /pitch std_msgs/Float64 13
$ rostopic pub -r 1 /yaw std_msgs/Float64 57
$ rqt
Then select two Gauges from the drop-down menu.

Tips and Tricks

The folder 'scripts/rqt_gauges' contains a short Python script that will launch two rqt gauges and publish data for them. This is an example of automating the gauge creation process.

WARNING: This script deletes your rqt config, including all your saved perspectives!

To run it,

$ rosrun rqt_gauges gauge_script.py

Known Issues

The first gauge to launch sometimes fails to subscribe or has graphics glitches. A workaround is to simply close the first gauge and re-launch a new one.

Wiki: gauges (last edited 2018-09-03 13:23:57 by DorianScholz)