kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver

Contents

This is an implementation of InverseDynamicsSolver using the general-purpose KDL dynamics solver based on pluginlib.

It uses the KDL parser to read a robot description from a parameter spawned by xacro. So, in order to use this library, this parameter must be passed via launch files. Please refer to the test section, specifically to the test launch file, for an example, and to the official guide to know how to pass parameters.

How to build

To build this package, run the following instruction from the root of your colcon workspace:

colcon build --packages-up-to kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver
source install/setup.bash

Demo

You can evaluate the solver using the demo, currently configured in two launch files for the Panda and UR10 robots. The demo reads a bag file containing a sequence of sensor_msgs/msg/JointState messages and, for each state, computes the corresponding torques according to the InverseDynamicsSolverKDL solver, which are saved in another bag file.

Run the demos

Panda

To launch the Panda demo, run the following:

ros2 launch kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver evaluate_solver_kdl_panda.launch.py

By default, the demo reads the panda_exciting_trajectory.db3 bag file, and produces the output under the panda_exciting_trajectory_torques folder (created under the current working directory), with the computed torques written on the /torques topic. You can change this configuration with

ros2 launch kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver evaluate_solver_kdl_panda.launch.py input_bag:=<my_bag_file> output_bag:=<my_output_folder> topic:=<my_output_topic>

UR10

To launch the UR10 demo, run the following:

ros2 launch kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver evaluate_solver_kdl_ur10.launch.py

By default, the demo reads the ur10_exciting_trajectory.db3 bag file, and produces the output under the ur10_exciting_trajectory_torques folder (created under the current working directory), with the computed torques written on the /torques topic. You can change this configuration with

ros2 launch kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver evaluate_solver_kdl_ur10.launch.py input_bag:=<my_bag_file> output_bag:=<my_output_folder> topic:=<my_output_topic>

Visualize the results

Please refer to the parent class documentation to visualize the results, i.e. the evaluation of joint torque signals on input_bag, stored in output_bag.

How to test

This library is tested against a simulated UR10 robot. The kinematic description is taken from UR’s official package, ur_description.

The tests consist in checking that, given a fixed joint position and velocity state, the KDL solver returns the expected values for the dynamic components.

To build and execute the test, run the following:

colcon test --packages-select kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver

To see the results, run the following:

colcon test-result --all --verbose

The expected output should be the following:

build/kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver/Testing/20240510-0742/Test.xml: 1 test, 0 errors, 0 failures, 0 skipped
build/kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver/test_results/kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver/launch_test_kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver.launch.py.xunit.xml: 2 tests, 0 errors, 0 failures, 0 skipped

Summary: 3 tests, 0 errors, 0 failures, 0 skipped

Optional analysis

If you wish to see the INFO messages printed on console during the test, run the following:

colcon test --packages-select kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver --event-handlers console_cohesion+

The expected output should contain the following line:

```text 100% tests passed, 0 tests failed out of 1

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

Changelog for package kdl_inverse_dynamics_solver

1.0.0 (2025-04-13)

• [REF] Rename .h files to .hpp files
• Merge pull request #2 from unisa-acg/humble Set repo URL, rename test launch files, document CO reproducibility
• [REF] Rename launch file to change its extension and folder
• [MAK] Add repo URL
• Contributors: Enrico Ferrentino, Vincenzo Petrone

0.1.1 (2025-04-03)

• [MAK] Create CHANGELOG files
• [MAK] Commit for release
• Contributors: Vincenzo Petrone