Adding a Kinect to my Gazebo simulation

asked 2019-07-19 00:15:56 -0500

logan.ydid
21 ●9 ●11 ●15

updated 2019-07-24 22:47:51 -0500

Hello All,

I have a URDF model that is working in gazebo that i copied from the book Programming Robots with ROS. I would like to add a Kinect sensor to this model so i can simulate my robot but i cant for the life of me figure out how do this. Most resources that i found are like this example. which says that i should use the model found in the turtlebot_description folder but i am unsure what files i need and how exactly to import them into my URDF. I found this tutorial which edits the kinect model found in the gazebo models folder, and this worked perfectly so i know its possible. I think what i need is for someone to really spell it out for me what i need to add to my urdf and my launch file to add a kinect.

Here is my URDF I would like to replace the hokuyo_link with a Kinect:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<robot name="tortoisebot">
    <link name="base_link">
        <visual>
            <geometry>
                <box size="0.6 0.3 0.3"/>
            </geometry>
            <material name="silver">
                <color rgba="0.75 0.75 0.75 1"/>
            </material>
        </visual>
        <collision>
            <geometry>
                <box size="0.6 0.3 0.3"/>
            </geometry>
        </collision>
        <inertial>
            <mass value="1.0"/>
            <inertia ixx="0.015" iyy="0.0375" izz="0.0375" ixy="0" ixz="0" iyz="0"/>
        </inertial>
    </link>

    <link name="front_caster">
        <visual>
            <geometry>
                <box size="0.1 0.1 0.3"/>
            </geometry>
            <material name="silver"/>
        </visual>
        <collision>
            <geometry>
                <box size="0.1 0.1 0.3"/>
            </geometry>
        </collision>
        <inertial>
            <mass value="0.1"/>
            <inertia ixx="0.00083" iyy="0.00083" izz="0.000167" ixy="0" ixz="0" iyz="0"/>
        </inertial>
    </link>
    <joint name="front_caster_joint" type="continuous">
        <axis xyz="0 0 1"/>
        <parent link="base_link"/>
        <child link="front_caster" />
        <origin rpy="0 0 0" xyz="0.3 0 0" />
    </joint>

    <link name="front_wheel">
        <visual>
            <geometry>
                <cylinder length="0.05" radius="0.035"/>
            </geometry>
            <material name="black" />
        </visual>
        <collision>
            <geometry>
                <cylinder length="0.05" radius="0.035"/>
            </geometry>
        </collision>
        <inertial>
            <mass value="0.1"/>
            <inertia ixx="5.1458e-5" iyy="5.1458e-5" izz="6.125e-5" ixy="0" ixz="0" iyz="0"/>
        </inertial>
    </link>


    <joint name="front_wheel_joint" type="continuous">
        <axis xyz="0 0 1"/>
        <parent link="front_caster"/>
        <child link="front_wheel"/>
        <origin rpy="-1.5708 0 0" xyz="0.05 0 -0.15"/>
    </joint>

        <link name="right_wheel">
                <visual>
                        <geometry>
                                <cylinder length="0.05" radius="0.035"/>
                        </geometry>
                        <material name="black" />
                </visual>
        <collision>
            <geometry>
                                <cylinder length="0.05" radius="0.035"/>
            </geometry>
        </collision>
        <inertial>
            <mass value="0.1"/>
            <inertia ixx="5.1458e-5" iyy="5.1458e-5" izz="6.125e-5" ixy="0" ixz="0" iyz ...

(more)

answered 2019-07-19 07:12:16 -0500

Solrac3589
187 ●6 ●17 ●20

I am not quite sure if I am missing something, but seeing for the moment nobody is responding i will try to help.

I think you should add the sensor more or less like that:

<gazebo reference="world">
    <sensor name="world" type="depth">
        <!-- openni plugin has the x pointing towards the scene, so rotate to have z -->
        <pose frame="world">0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 -1.5708 1.5708</pose>
        <camera>
            <horizontal_fov>0.74839718</horizontal_fov>
            <image>
                <width>1280</width>
                <height>1024</height>
                <format>L_INT8</format>
            </image>
            <clip>
                <near>0.1</near>
                <far>10.0</far>
            </clip>
            <noise>
                <type>gaussian</type>
                <mean>0.5</mean>
                <stddev>1.0</stddev>
            </noise>
        </camera>
        <plugin name="kinect_plugin" filename="libgazebo_ros_openni_kinect.so">
            <baseline>0.1</baseline>
            <alwaysOn>true</alwaysOn>
            <!-- Keep this zero, update_rate in the parent <sensor> tag
            will control the frame rate. -->
            <updateRate>0.0</updateRate>
            <cameraName>kinect_test</cameraName>
            <imageTopicName>/3d_image/image_raw</imageTopicName>
            <cameraInfoTopicName>/3d_image/camera_info</cameraInfoTopicName>
            <depthImageTopicName>/3d_image/image_raw_depth</depthImageTopicName>
            <depthImageInfoTopicName>/3d_image/camera_info</depthImageInfoTopicName>
            <pointCloudTopicName>/3d_image/3d_cloud</pointCloudTopicName>
            <frameName>kinect_body</frameName>
            <pointCloudCutoff>0.5</pointCloudCutoff>
            <pointCloudCutoffMax>2.0</pointCloudCutoffMax>
        </plugin>
        <always_on>true</always_on>
        <update_rate>1.0</update_rate>
    </sensor>
</gazebo>

Hope at least gives you more clues from where to follow!

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Comments

Yay! Thank you this works! Now I'm just having trouble with the orientation of the sensor. In gazebo if I place something in front of the robot it appears above the robot rotated 90 degrees about the z access. I've tried adjusting the pose tag after the first comment in your code but it didn't seem to make a difference. I've also tried changing the orientation in the joint definition but that just changes the orientation of the sensor in gazebo but not in rviz. Any suggestions?

logan.ydid ( 2019-07-22 20:34:37 -0500 )edit

Maybe my error adding as a main frame "world". Can you try to add as a main frame a link instead of a joint? I have checked my code and i have that.

Anyway I am not quite sure that this is the solution, but lets try xD

Solrac3589 ( 2019-07-23 04:42:37 -0500 )edit

Haha I thought that seemed weird 😆. So do you mean to do something like this?<pose frame="link_name">0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 -1.5708 1.5708</pose>

logan.ydid ( 2019-07-24 02:05:33 -0500 )edit

Yes! That's what I wanted to say! Any news?

Solrac3589 ( 2019-07-24 09:25:29 -0500 )edit

Hmmm unfortunately i still have been unable to get it to work. i have tried changing the link name to hokuyo_link just like my laser scanner from before and to base_link but to no avail. i have also tried changing the name of the camera in the plugin to match the sensor name but that didnt change anything either. when i look at the camera view from rviz it looks like everything is in the correct orientation but the point cloud still shows up above the robot. If it helps i put the urdf i am currently using as an update to my post. thank you so much for your help!

logan.ydid ( 2019-07-24 22:45:48 -0500 )edit

@Solrac3589 Thank you for your help, you've been immensely helpful! I've decided to start another question about orientation in Rviz. it can be found here: https://answers.ros.org/question/329409/point-cloud-in-wrong-position-relative-to-robot/

logan.ydid ( 2019-07-27 02:21:37 -0500 )edit

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