SW2URDF ROS2

Environment Setup

1. Ubuntu
2. ROS2
3. Gazebo11
4. gazebo_ros
5. robot_state_publisher
6. joint_state_publisher

Install Dependencies

# Install Gazebo and gazebo_ros
sudo apt install gazebo && sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-gazebo-ros-pkgs

# Install robot_state_publisher and joint_state_publisher
sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-robot-state-publisher && sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-joint-state-publisher

Tool Description

Run dir_ros2.py to select the directory generated by sw2urdf. This will automatically convert the sw2urdf output directory into a ROS2-compatible package.

The package can be visualized in rviz2 and gazebo.

Necessary Configuration

Set the geometric relationship between base_footprint and base_link in the insert_urdf.txt file:

  <link name="base_footprint"/>

  <joint name="base_footprint_joint" type="fixed">
      <origin xyz="0 0 0.001" rpy="0 0 0" />
      <parent link="base_footprint"/>
      <child link="base_link" />
  </joint>

Running Test

Convert Directory

1. Run dir_ros2.py.

1. Select the directory where sw2urdf was generated. Remember to back up the original directory before proceeding, in case of any issues.

1. Go into the directory, then click OK and wait for the conversion to complete.

1. Move the converted directory to the src folder of your ROS2 workspace. Run colcon build and source the workspace.

rviz2

Run the display.launch.py launch file

Note: The arm_description directory is used as an example.

ros2 launch arm_description display.launch.py

Make sure to set the following:

• Fixed Frame: Choose base_footprint.
• Description Topic: Choose /robot_description.

Gazebo

Run the gazebo.launch.py launch file

Note: The arm_description directory is used as an example.

ros2 launch arm_description gazebo.launch.py

In this case, the model is loaded correctly, but no controllers were added, so the behavior shown is due to the absence of control mechanisms.