The heartbeat is a simple signal sent via a ROS topic from the ROS code (on the physical rover) to the mission controller. The mission control has to publish a signal in response. If it takes too long for the mission control to send the response, the rover stops all movement to prevent the rover from destroying itself by driving off a cliff and such.
Current Behavior
It is essentially finished. The code has been tested on laptops, but not on the actual rover. As such, it is not known if the ROS code actually freezes the motors or not. The ROS topics do work.
How to Implement
Take a look at the ROS code found here. Make sure you use the Robot Interface in order to communicate with the rover's motors.
Context
The heartbeat is a simple signal sent via a ROS topic from the ROS code (on the physical rover) to the mission controller. The mission control has to publish a signal in response. If it takes too long for the mission control to send the response, the rover stops all movement to prevent the rover from destroying itself by driving off a cliff and such.
Current Behavior
It is essentially finished. The code has been tested on laptops, but not on the actual rover. As such, it is not known if the ROS code actually freezes the motors or not. The ROS topics do work.
How to Implement
Take a look at the ROS code found here. Make sure you use the Robot Interface in order to communicate with the rover's motors.