Only released in EOL distros:   electric fuerte groovy

Overview

The srs_ui_but stack contains tools used for information visualization in RVIZ and interactive manipulation with robot components.

System architecture

It consists of 4 components:

• but_display
• but_data_fusion
• but_ogre_tools
• but_services

BUT display

This set contains additional displays and visualizers for RVIZ. The displays can be also used as an example code for display writing (but_example_pane, but_display) and as an example of RVIZ camera tracking and casting (but_camcast).

Other set of components are visualizers:

Distance Linear Visualizer

This tool visualizes distances between specified robot's link and the relevant closest point.

Distance Circular Indicator

This tools shows set of circles in particular distances around specified robot's link.

COB Stretch Indicator

This tools visualizes stretch of the Care-O-bot. It also allows to show robot's bounding box

Camera Display

Rviz display type derrived from Map Display. It awaits messages of type srs_ui_but::ButCamMsg (published by node view) with position and size of camera view polygon. It also needs topic with video stream subscribed. Video is used to draw the frames over the rectangle as its texture.

Object Manager

This tool allows to add objects stored in the srs_object_database. Objects are visualized as Object and can be moved or rotated.

Object Manager also provides service which "detects" all added objects.

Data fusion

This component experiments with 3D scene and video stream fusion, used in visualization of scene around Care-O-bot. So far there's one possibility to visualize point cloud and video from camera in one 3D view implemented. It shows view frustum in front of the robot visualized with standard Markers, and also rectangular polygon inside of this view frustum dynamically textured with current video frame.

Data fusion consists of two main parts. First is node called view. This node needs to be running to succesfully visualize data fusion as it counts both view frustum and camera view polygon position and orientation in time. The other is new display CButCamDisplay described among displays.

ROS API

...brief description of provided ROS services, published topics, etc...

Nodes

An overview of all newly created ROS nodes.

Services

List of all new services.

Messages

List of all newly defined messages.

Published topics

List of all published topics.

SRS API

...brief description of SRS-project specific API...

Generic states

...list of all generic states...

Installation

Build package:

rosmake srs_ui_but

Distance Linear Visualizer

First you need to run but_service_server:

rosrun srs_ui_but but_services_server

Then run rviz:

rosrun rviz rviz

Load plugin and add Distance Linear Visualizer display.

Distance Circular Indicator

Run rviz:

rosrun rviz rviz

Load plugin but_gui and add Distance Circular Indicator display.

COB Stretch Indicator

First you need to run simulation and cob_stretch_publisher:

rosrun srs_ui_but cob_stretch_publisher

Then run rviz:

rosrun rviz rviz

Load plugin and add COB Stretch Indicator display.

Camera Display

Run everything together with launch file:

roslaunch srs_ui_but but_data_fusion.launch

Or launch manually all needed components:

rosrun srs_ui_but view
roslaunch cob_2dnav 2dnav.launch

Run rviz:

rosrun rviz rviz

Load plugin but_gui and add CButCamDisplay display.

Object Manager

For example usage just run

roslaunch srs_ui_but object_manager_test.launch

Configuration

...optional parameters...

• parameters

GUI Primitives for HRI

...component specific parameters...

• command

Dynamic Environment Model

...component specific parameters...

• command

Dependencies

...list of required non-standard packages, libraries, etc.

• xyz

Usage

Distance Liner Visualizer

In display properties you can set these options:

• Topic - point cloud topic from which the closest point should be calculated (if you have more Distance Linear Visualizer displays, the change of the topic will affect all of them)

• Link - link from which you want to show the closest point

• Color - color of the line and text

• Alpha - transparency of the line and the text

• Line Thickness - thickness of the line

• Draw distance - it will draw a text with the distance into the scene if checked.

Distance Circular Indicator

In display properties you can set these options:

• Link - link from around which you want to show distance circles

• Orientation - orientation of the circles

• Color - color of the circles and text

• Alpha - transparency of the circle and text

• Levels - number of levels (circles)

• Radius - distance between circles

• Thickness - thickness of the circles

• Show distance - it will draw a text with the distances between circles

COB Stretch Indicator

In display properties you can set these options:

• Rendering options

  • Style - you can switch between Square and Circle

  • Thickness - thickness of rendered lines or circles

  • Correction - Radius correction due to the difference in thickness of the arm, gripper and fingers

  • Show distance - it will draw a text with the stretch size

• Color options

  • Color - color

  • Alpha - transparency

• Bounding box - with these option you can render bounding box around the robot

  • Show bounding box - enables bounding box rendering

  • Range - range between the circles or squares

Camera Display

You can optionally visualize view frustum by adding Marker display and subscribe it to /but_data_fusion/view_frustum topic.

Subscribe CButCamDisplay through Marker Topic to /but_data_fusion/cam_view. Through Image Topic you can subscribe display to any of camera topics:

• /stereo/left/image_raw
• /stereo/right/image_raw
• /cam3d/rgb/image_raw

There are basically three properties you can set, the rest is only informational:

• Alpha - Transparency of polygon with video frames (between 0.0 and 1.0).
• Video Distance - Distance of polygon between sensor and closest point cloud point (between 0.0 and 1.0; 0.0 means position of sensor, 1.0 distance of closest point cloud point, 0.5 id half way between sensor and point cloud etc.).
• Draw Behind - Remnants of Map display with the same functionality.

Object Manager

For adding new objects use Object control panel:

You can set these options:

• Frame - Fixed Frame

• Position - position where you want to put the object

• Description - object's description

• Color - object's color

Add object

Selected the object from the combo box and click on the button Add object.

Remove object

If you want to remove some object, just select it from the combo box and click on the Remove object button.

Note:

• Not all objects from database have their meshes in the database.

• Position to place the object can be estimated by clicking into the scene with usage of the 2D Pose Estimate tool (temporary solution).