potential_fields_demos

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro kilted showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro rolling showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro ardent showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro bouncy showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro crystal showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro eloquent showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro dashing showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro galactic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro foxy showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro iron showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro lunar showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

Copyright Notice Sharwin Patil 2025

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro jade showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro indigo showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro hydro showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro kinetic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro melodic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro noetic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_demos package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Demo Package for potential_fields

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_demos`

Example ROS 2 package demonstrating how to use the potential_fields package. Provides a launch file, demo nodes, bundled URDFs, and a configuration file to get started quickly without any hardware.

Package Contents

potential_fields_demos/
├── launch/
│   └── pf_demo.launch.xml      # Primary entry-point launch file
├── src/
│   ├── pfield_demo.cpp         # Demo node: publishes obstacles, calls plan_path service
│   └── pfield_teleop_demo.cpp  # Teleop variant for interactive testing
├── urdf/
│   ├── xarm7.urdf              # UFactory XArm7 (primary reference robot)
│   ├── fer_franka_hand.urdf    # Franka Emika FER with hand
│   └── sphere_robot.urdf       # Minimal sphere robot for unit testing
└── config/
    └── demo.yaml               # ROS parameters for the demo node

Quick Start

Build the workspace and source it, then launch the demo:

colcon build && source install/setup.bash

# Minimal demo (no robot URDF, no hardware)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml

# XArm7 demo (no hardware required)
ros2 launch potential_fields_demos pf_demo.launch.xml \
  urdf_file_path:=xarm7.urdf \
  motion_plugin_type:=xarm \
  end_effector_frame:=link_eef # TF frame of the end-effector link

Once running, trigger the plan path demo via service call:

ros2 service call /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo std_srvs/srv/Empty

Launch Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
`urdf_file_path`	`""`	URDF filename relative to `urdf/` (e.g. `xarm7.urdf`)
`motion_plugin_type`	`""`	Robot plugin to load: `xarm`, `franka`, or empty for `null`
`end_effector_frame`	`link_eef`	Name of the end-effector link
`use_rviz`	`true`	Launch RViz alongside the demo
`rviz_fixed_frame`	`world`	RViz fixed frame
`base_frame`	`base`	Robot base link (child of fixed frame TF)
`base_x/y/z`	`0.0`	Translation of base frame relative to fixed frame
`base_roll/pitch/yaw`	`0.0`	Rotation of base frame relative to fixed frame

Demo Nodes

`pfield_demo_node`

The primary demo node (pfield_demo.cpp). On startup it:

Publishes a set of static obstacles to pfield/obstacles.
Waits for the pfield/plan_path service to become available.
Exposes /pfield_demo/run_plan_path_demo (std_srvs/Empty) — call this service to trigger a planning request from the current robot pose to a pre-configured goal.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
`fixed_frame`	`world`	World frame used for obstacle and goal poses
`ee_link_name`	`link_tcp`	End-effector link name passed to the planner

`pfield_teleop_demo_node`

Interactive variant (pfield_teleop_demo.cpp) for testing the autonomy vector in a shared-control loop. Calls pfield/compute_autonomy_vector at a configurable rate and forwards the result as a velocity command.

Adding Your Own Robot

Place your robot’s URDF in the urdf/ directory.
Launch with urdf_file_path:=<your_robot>.urdf and the appropriate motion_plugin_type and end_effector_frame.
If your robot requires a custom plugin, see the top-level README for instructions on implementing MotionPlugin and IKSolver.

Integrating into Your Own Package

To reuse the core potential field launch without the demo node, include pfield.launch.xml from the potential_fields package directly:

<include file="$(find-pkg-share potential_fields)/launch/pfield.launch.xml">
  <arg name="urdf_file_path" value="$(find-pkg-share my_robot_description)/urdf/my_robot.urdf"/>
  <arg name="motion_plugin_type" value="my_robot"/>
  <arg name="end_effector_frame" value="my_end_effector_frame"/>
</include>

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_demos

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Delete turtlebot urdf
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
Latest Demo
Fixed CSV bugs and tested demo1 and demo2, TS planning has problems
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	ament_cmake
	ament_cmake_python
	ament_cmake_copyright
	rclcpp
	rclpy
	potential_fields_library
	potential_fields_interfaces
	geometry_msgs
	visualization_msgs
	nav_msgs
	std_srvs
	std_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	control_msgs
	sensor_msgs
	tf2_ros
	tf2_eigen
	urdf
	Eigen3
	ament_index_cpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

No known dependants.

Launch files

launch/pf_demo.launch.xml
- - use_rviz [default: true]
  - rviz_fixed_frame [default: world]
  - end_effector_frame [default: link_eef]
  - urdf_file_path [default: ]
  - motion_plugin_type [default: ]
  - base_frame [default: base]
  - base_x [default: 0.0]
  - base_y [default: 0.0]
  - base_z [default: 0.0]
  - base_roll [default: 0.0]
  - base_pitch [default: 0.0]
  - base_yaw [default: 0.0]

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_demos` at Robotics Stack Exchange