frame editor rqt-plugin

• This repository contains the frame editor rqt-plugin.

• Frame-editor helps you creating and arranging tf-frames.

• You can arrange your frames by copying full poses or selected positions or orientations from other existing tf-frames. Of course you can manually type-in your wanted values or even use an interactive marker within rviz to arrange your frame.

• Additionally you may attach a mesh to your frame. The mesh is also visible within rviz (by published marker topic). The frame-editor provides some basic shapes or you may use your own stl file.

• Save your configuration and load it again.

• Most features are also available via ros services, if you want to use the functions but not the interface.

Installation:

Clone this repository into your catkin workspace.

git clone https://github.com/ipa320/rqt_frame_editor_plugin.git

Update your catkin workspace, e.g.

catkin_make

Refresh rqt

rqt --force-discover

Usage:

You may just start rqt and select the frame-editor plugin.

rqt

To be able to use the interactive marker to move frames around you have to add the InteractiveMarkers-plugin to rviz and select the topic '/frame_editor_interactive/update'

• The frame to be manipulated must be selected in the frame-editor.

To see the configured shapes you have to add the Marker plugin in rviz and select the topic '/frame_editor_marker'

• Shapes are not published too often and it may take some seconds for your shape to appear. However, appeared once it will be attached to its tf-frame and not lag behind if the frame moves.

You can also run it standalone, look into the given launch file.

roslaunch frame_editor frame_editor.launch

A headless version is available through this launch file:

roslaunch frame_editor frame_editor_headless.launch

Known issues:

Starting the plugin twice

When starting the rqt plugin twice, you will receive a long error message with these last lines:

  [...] 
  File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/rospy/service.py", line 116, in register 
    raise ServiceException(err) 
ServiceException: service [/align_frame] already registered 

• Note that rqt automatically starts in the last configuration, so the plugin may already be running, possibly minimized. You can check the "Running" entry in the header menu to see whether the plugin is already active.
• Hidden plugins can be recovered by rightclicking in the empty space and selecting the plugin (so far only called "Form")
• Closing and starting the plugin doesn't seem to work, so:
• The best way is to restart rqt.
  
• If the plugin is not found in rqt, try 'rqt --force-discover' to make rqt search for new plugins
• You can reset your rqt configuration, try 'rqt --clear-config' to make rqt reset saved configurations

Cannot use the interactive marker when its behind a semitransparent mesh.

Rviz is not giving your mouse event to the interactive marker. Disable the marker plugin and the you can touch the interactive marker.

Acknowledgements:

This project is a result of the LIAA project. http://www.project-leanautomation.eu/

LIAA received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 608604.

Project runtime: 02.09.2013 – 31.08.2017.