Version: ROS 2 Humble

Platform

Every robot platform has unique structures such as versatile sensor mounting solutions, wireless charging receivers, and waterproofing enclosures; we refer to these as attachments. Each robot also supports specific batteries and battery configurations.

Joystick Controller

We support two types of controllers:

ps4: standard Playstation4 controller.
logitech: Logitech F710

controller: ps4 # or logitech

Batteries

Each robot platform can support different types of batteries, and in different configurations. The configuration is how many batteries the robot has in series and parallel.A configuration of S2P1 indicates that there is one row of two batteries in series. S4P3 indicates that there are 3 parallel rows of 4 batteries in series, for a total of 12 batteries.

Some robots support "smart" batteries which have built in battery management system (BMS). If these batteries are specified, a corresponding driver node will be launched as part of the platform service. For batteries without a BMS, the battery state estimator node will be launched. This node will interpolate the state of charge of the robot from measured battery voltages.

The battery state of the platform is available on the platform/bms/state topic.

note

For systems without a BMS, the state of charge should be treated as a rough estimate. This is especially true with Lead Acid batteries.

A200
J100
W200

Battery	Chemistry	Nominal Voltage (V)	Capacity (Ah)	Configurations
`ES20_12C`	Lead Acid	12.0	20.0	S2P1
`HE2613`	Lithium Ion	25.9	12.8	S1P3 S1P4

Battery	Chemistry	Nominal Voltage (V)	Capacity (Ah)	Configurations
`HE2613`	Lithium Ion	25.9	12.8	S1P1

Battery	Chemistry	Nominal Voltage (V)	Capacity (Ah)	Configurations
`U1_35`	Lead Acid	12.0	35.0	S4P3
`NEC_ALM12V35`	Lithium Ion	13.2	35.0	S4P3
`VALENCE_U24_12XP`	Lithium Ion	12.8	118.0	S4P1
`VALENCE_U27_12XP`	Lithium Ion	12.8	144.0	S4P1

For example for an A200:

battery:
  model: ES20_12C
  configuration: S2P1

Attachments

Each robot platform has its own unique set of attachments. To facilitate customization, any attachment from any robot platform can be added on any other robot platform.

There is a default parent links at which these attachments are added; however, the parent link can be change to wherever you'd want the attachment to be placed.

Additionally, all attachments can be moved around using the xyz parameter to translate and the rpy parameter to rotate.

Each attachment requires two parameters. The name parameter that will define the name of the links and joints added to URDF, and the type parameter which defines which type of attachment is to be added.

Some attachment types will have the same type parameter across different platforms. In that case, if you'd like to use the attachment that belongs to a specific platform, you will need to prefix the type parameter with the platform that it belongs to. For example, top_plate would become a200.top_plate. If no prefix is set, then the platform defined in the serial_number will be used.

Husky A200

Bumper

The A200 can have bumpers of a variable length. By setting the extension parameter, the bumper can be extended if required.

By default, we have two bumpers, on the front and rear of the robot.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: front_bumper
      type: a200.bumper
      model: default
      parent: front_bumper_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
      extension: 0.0
    - name: rear_bumper
      type: a200.bumper
      model: default
      parent: rear_bumper_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
      extension: 0.0

The bumpers can be extended by setting the extension parameter.

Top Plate

The A200 has three types of top plates that modify the mounting surface of the robot.

Default

The default top plate is mounted atop a user rail that can be used to mount certain payload inside the chassis and right below the top plate.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: top_plate
      type: a200.top_plate
      model: default
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the top plate mounts by setting the accessory's parent parameter to either top_plate_rear_mount, top_plate_default_mount, or top_plate_front_mount. The mounts are displayed as axes in the image above.

Large

The large top plate does not have a user rail and is primarily used to mount larger payloads such as manipulators on the robot.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: top_plate
      type: a200.top_plate
      model: large
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

PACS

The pacs top plate does not have a user rail. It has an opening to access the user bay within the chassis. It comes with the grid of mounting holes of the PACS™ 80mm x 80mm grid.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: top_plate
      type: a200.top_plate
      model: pacs
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the top plate mounts by setting the accessory's parent parameter to one of the grid mounting locations displayed above. The grid mounting locations span from top_plate_mount_a1 to top_plate_mount_g8, where the front left-most location is the a1 mount and the bottom right-most location is the g8 mount. The letters correspond to the columns and the number to the rows.

Sensor Arch

The A200 has two types of sensor archs which are used to mount sensors from a vantage point.

Sensor Arch 300

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: sensor_arch
      type: a200.sensor_arch
      model: sensor_arch_300
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the sensor arch mount by setting the accessory's parent parameter to arch_sensor_mount.

Sensor Arch 510

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: sensor_arch
      type: a200.sensor_arch
      model: sensor_arch_510
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the sensor arch mount by setting the accessory's parent parameter to arch_sensor_mount.

Jackal J100

Fenders

There are two types of fenders that can be equipped on the J100 platform.

Default Fenders

The default fenders are the standard fenders that come with every J100.

The front and rear fender entries are indepenent from each other such that they can be modified independently.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: front_fender
      type: j100.fender
      model: default
      parent: base_link
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
    - name: rear_fender
      type: j100.fender
      model: default
      parent: base_link
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 3.1415]
      enabled: true

Sensor Fenders

The default fenders are the standard fenders that come with every J100.

The front and rear fender entries are indepenent from each other such that they can be modified independently.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: front_fender
      type: j100.fender
      model: sensor
      parent: base_link
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
    - name: rear_fender
      type: j100.fender
      model: sensor
      parent: base_link
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 3.1415]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the front and rear fender mounts by setting the accessory's parent parameter to front_fender_mount or rear_fender_mount. The mounts are displayed as axes in the image above.

Top Plate

The Jackal only has one type of top plate. The ark enclosure.

Ark Enclosure

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: ark_enclosure
      type: j100.top_plate
      model: ark_enclosure
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Warthog W200

Bulkhead

The Warthog bulkhead is used to cover payloads and to add a second surface to which to attach more payloads.

Default

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: bulkhead
      type: w200.bulkhead
      model: default
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the bulkhead by setting the accessory's parent parameter to bulkhead_mount. The mount is displayed as an axis in the image above.

Arm Mount

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: bulkhead
      type: w200.bulkhead
      model: arm_plate
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the arm plate mount by setting the accessory's parent parameter to arm_plate_mount. The mount is displayed as an axis in the image above.

Arm Mount

If instead of using the bulkhead to add an arm mount. We can add the arm mount independently using the following entry.

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: arm_plate
      type: w200.arm_plate
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Attach accessories to the arm plate mount by setting the accessory's parent parameter to arm_plate_mount. The mount is displayed as an axis in the image above.

Generators

platform:
  attachments:
    - name: generator
      type: w200.generator
      parent: default_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true

Extras

Despite all current customization options, we still would like our users to be able to add-in their existing custom URDF to the robot platform URDF and pass in and overwrite parameters to all platform nodes. Extras have the following entries:

urdf:
- package: name of the ROS 2 package that contains the extras URDF (optional).
- path: relative path within the package or absolute path to robot extras URDF
ros_parameters: in YAML to pass in parameters to platform nodes. This is useful to change parameters such as the robot's velocity and acceleration.

extras:
  urdf: 
    package: package_name
    path: relative/path/to/urdf/in/package.urdf.xacro # or can contain /absolute/path/to/urdf.urdf.xacro
  ros_parameters: {} # node parameters, see below

note

Remember, absolute paths start with / and relative paths do not.

ROS Parameters

A common use case is to set and update the parameters to the platform_velocity_controller node. These can be used to modify the linear and angular velocity and acceleratation.

These can be passed in as follows:

A200
J100
W200

A200 Husky Controller Defaults:

platform:
  extras:
    ros_parameters:
      platform_velocity_controller:
        wheel_radius: 0.1651
        linear.x.max_velocity: 1.0
        linear.x.min_velocity: -1.0
        linear.x.max_acceleration: 3.0
        linear.x.min_acceleration: -3.0
        angular.z.max_velocity: 2.0
        angular.z.min_velocity: -2.0
        angular.z.max_acceleration: 6.0
        angular.z.min_acceleration: -6.0

J100 Jackal Controller Defaults:

platform:
  extras:
    ros_parameters:
      platform_velocity_controller:
        wheel_radius: 0.098
        linear.x.max_velocity: 2.0
        linear.x.min_velocity: -2.0
        linear.x.max_acceleration: 20.0
        linear.x.min_acceleration: -20.0
        angular.z.max_velocity: 4.0
        angular.z.min_velocity: -4.0
        angular.z.max_acceleration: 25.0
        angular.z.min_acceleration: -25.0

W200 Warthog Controller Defaults:

platform:
  extras:
    ros_parameters:
      platform_velocity_controller:
        wheel_radius: 0.3
        linear.x.max_velocity: 5.0
        linear.x.min_velocity: -5.0
        linear.x.max_acceleration: 50.0
        linear.x.min_acceleration: -50.0
        angular.z.max_velocity: 4.0
        angular.z.min_velocity: -4.0
        angular.z.max_acceleration: 40.0
        angular.z.min_acceleration: -40.0

Sample

Sample A200 Platform Section

In this sample, we swapped the top plate from the default model to the pacs model. Notice all the links added by the pacs plate below, compared to the default plate above.

  - name: top_plate
    type: a200.top_plate
    model: pacs # switched from 'default' to 'pacs'
    parent: mid_mount
    xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
    rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
    enabled: true

Then, we added a sensor arch to add our sample sensors to. We can do this by adding the attachment, sensor_arch and setting the model to sensor_arch_300.

  - name: sensor_arch
    type: a200.sensor_arch
    model: sensor_arch_300
    parent: mid_mount
    xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
    rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
    enabled: true

In terms of the front_bumper and rear_bumper, we left these as defaults. And, since we are not including any customization URDF or launch parameters; the resulting platform section look like this:

platform:
  controller: ps4
  battery:
    model: ES20_12C
    configuration: S2P1
  attachments:
    - name: front_bumper
      type: a200.bumper
      model: default
      parent: front_bumper_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
      extension: 0.0
    - name: rear_bumper
      type: a200.bumper
      model: default
      parent: rear_bumper_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
      extension: 0.0
    - name: top_plate
      type: a200.top_plate
      model: pacs
      parent: mid_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
    - name: sensor_arch
      type: a200.sensor_arch
      model: sensor_arch_300
      parent: mid_mount
      xyz: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rpy: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      enabled: true
  extras:
    urdf: {}
    ros_parameters: {}

Joystick Controller​

Batteries​

Attachments​

Husky A200​

Bumper​

Top Plate​

Default​

Large​

PACS​

Sensor Arch​

Sensor Arch 300​

Sensor Arch 510​

Jackal J100​

Fenders​

Default Fenders​

Sensor Fenders​

Top Plate​

Ark Enclosure​

Warthog W200​

Bulkhead​

Default​

Arm Mount​

Arm Mount​

Generators​

Extras​

ROS Parameters​

Sample​

Joystick Controller

Batteries

Attachments

Husky A200

Bumper

Top Plate

Default

Large

PACS

Sensor Arch

Sensor Arch 300

Sensor Arch 510

Jackal J100

Fenders

Default Fenders

Sensor Fenders

Top Plate

Ark Enclosure

Warthog W200

Bulkhead

Default

Arm Mount

Arm Mount

Generators

Extras

ROS Parameters

Sample