MMP Viz¶

Important

This is applicable to the MMP Ridgeback Panda v1.2 (released prior to 2023).

This mmp_viz package is a configuration package used for visualizations in RVIZ.

To view the URDF model of the robot:

roslaunch rp_viz view_model.launch

Ridgeback UR5E Rviz¶

To view the live sensor data from the robot:

roslaunch rp_viz view_robot.launch

Rviz with Ridgeback’s whole body control demo¶

MMP Startup¶

Important

This is applicable to the MMP Ridgeback Panda v1.2 (released prior to 2023).

The mbs_rp_startup package manages the robot startup files. Ridgeback needs ROS to be running at startup. Ridgeback driver needs to run at startup which communicates between the robot and its MCU which is on network address 192.168.131.2.

Warning

Make sure none of your devices are having 192.168.131.2 ip address this will crash the node and the robot will not function properly.

This package is dependent upon roswiki robot_upstart which converts roslaunch files to systemd service job in Ubuntu. This job runs at the startup of the robot. The one responsible for Ridgeback is mbs_ridgeback. The status of this service can be checked by:

sudo service mbs_rp status

To change the setup files at startup of the robot include/remove nodes from launch/mbs_rp_system.launch. This is the file which is launched all the time.

To update this launch file at the robot startup, run:

rosrun rp_startup startup_installer.py

Attention

This command will remove the previous job and install a new one.

Note

Do not edit the files manually to systemd setup files or launch files (it won’t work), always run the above mentioned command to reflect the changes.

This packages also includes UDEV rules for different devices on the robot. They are already set up but for a fresh installation they can be run by:

rosrun rp_startup create_udev_rules.sh

The packages have some configuration files for the robot utilities. For example config/description.bash is responsble set up environment variables for URDF in order to include parts on the go. Similarly config/setup.bash is responsible to setup environment variables for Ridgeback drivers. Lastly config/can-udp-bridge* are responsible for setting up can bus and is used in startup script of the robot.

MMP Manipulation¶

Important

This is applicable to the MMP Ridgeback Panda v1.2 (released prior to 2023).

Franka-Emika-Panda¶

Note

As the MYBOTSHOP Ridgeback Panda is a multi-robot system consisting of Franka Emika’s Panda, hence, the guide provided by Franka Emika for Franka Emika Guide is applicable.

MBS Panda¶

This mbs_rp_franka package is responsible for to launch Franka control software from franka control package. Before using the arm it needs to switched on by the rosrun rp_lift sensors as decribed in Heavy Duty Lift.

To switch on the arm:

rosservice call /set_arm_power 'data: True'

Note

The arm is switched on indicated by solid yellow lights on the robot.

To switch off the arm:

rosservice call /set_arm_power 'data: False'

Panda Setup¶

Once arm is powered on, one can access the Panda desk at 192.168.131.22. The desk will prompt for user name and password which is:

User: admin

Password: panda_admin

Tip

Getting started with Panda Desk

First the arm joints should be unlocked as shown.

After the arm’s joints are unlocked, FCI needs to be enabled so that the arm exposes its functionalities to ROS control i.e. to be externally controlled.

Finally, the push button connected to X2 port of the robot needs to be pressed as well.

MMP Navigation¶

Important

This is applicable to the MMP Ridgeback Panda v1.2 (released prior to 2023).

RIDGEBACK NAVIGATION¶

Note

As the MYBOTSHOP Ridgeback Panda is a multi-robot system consisting of Clearpath’s Ridgeback, hence, the guide provided by Clearpath for Ridgeback Navigation is applicable. For ease of view the guide is available below as well.

Below are the example launch files for three different configurations for navigating Ridgeback:

Navigation in an odometric frame without a map, using only roswiki move_base.
Generating a map using roswiki gmapping.
Localization with a known map using roswiki amcl.

If you’re working with a real Ridgeback, it’s suggested to connect via SSH and launch the roswiki ridgeback_navigation launchfiles from on board the robot. You’ll need to have bidirectional communication with the robot’s roscore in order to launch roswiki rviz on your workstation.

Navigation Without a Map¶

In the odometry navigation demo Ridgeback attempts to reach a given goal in the world within a user-specified tolerance. The 2D navigation, generated by move_base, takes in information from odometry, laser scanner, and a goal pose and outputs safe velocity commands. In this demo the configuration of move_base is set for navigation without a map in an odometric frame (that is, without reference to a map).

To get all Navigation related files for Ridgeback, run:

sudo apt-get install ros-melodic-ridgeback-navigation

To launch the navigation demo, run:

roslaunch ridgeback_navigation odom_navigation_demo.launch

To visualize with the suggested rviz configuration launch:

roslaunch rp_viz view_model.launch

Note

Add the topic of /points to visualize the point clouds as well.

rviz with Ridgeback's odom navigation configuration.

To send goals to the robot, select the 2D Nav Goal tool from the top toolbar, and then click anywhere in the rviz view to set the position. Alternatively, click and drag slightly to set the goal position and orientation.

If you wish to customize the parameters of move_base, local costmap, global costmap and base_local_planner, clone roswiki ridgeback_navigation into your own workspace and modify the corresponding files in the params subfolder.

Making a Map¶

In this demonstration, Ridgeback generates a map using gmapping. Begin by launch the gmapping launch file on the robot:

roslaunch ridgeback_navigation gmapping_demo.launch

And on your workstation, launch rviz with the suggested configuration:

roslaunch ridgeback_viz view_robot.launch config:=gmapping

Rviz with Ridgeback's gmapping configuration.

You must slowly drive Ridgeback around to build the map. As obstacles come into view of the laser scanner, they will be added to the map, which is shown in rviz. You can either drive manually using the interactive markers, or semi-autonomously by sending navigation goals (as above).

When you’re satisfied, you can save the produced map using map_saver:

rosrun map_server map_saver -f mymap

This will create a mymap.yaml and mymap.pgm file in your current directory.

Navigation With a Map¶

Using roswiki amcl, Ridgeback is able to globally localize itself in a known map. AMCL takes in information from odometry, laser scanner and an existing map and estimates the robot’s pose.

To start the AMCL demo:

roslaunch ridgeback_navigation amcl_demo.launch [map_file:=/path/to/my/map.yaml]

If you don’t specify map_file, it defaults to an included pre-made map of the default “Ridgeback Race” environment which Ridgeback’s simulator spawns in. If you’re using a real Ridgeback in your own environment, you’ll definitely want to override this with the map created using the gmapping demo.

Before navigating, you need to initialize the localization system by setting the pose of the robot in the map. This can be done using 2D Pose Estimate in rviz or by setting the amcl initial_pose parameters. To visualize with the suggested rviz configuration launch:

roslaunch ridgeback_viz view_robot.launch config:=localization

When rviz appears, select the Set 2D Pose tool from the toolbar, and click on the map to indicate to the robot approximately where it is.

MMP Lidars¶

Important

This is applicable to the MMP Ridgeback Panda v1.2 (released prior to 2023).

MBS Ouster Package¶

The mbs_rp_ouster package cleanly manage the nodes/data/logs of the ouster sensor. Ouster is mounted on the top and provides 3d pointcloud of surroundings. So this packages provides two types of data:

3D pointcould: is provided on /points topic.

2D pointcloud: is the down-sampled data of the pointcloud topic and is provided on /top/scan` topic.