Turtlebot4 simulator dock/undock?

[languyen14507]

Hello,

How does one make Turtlebot4 dock or undock in its simulator?

Thank you.

[Jayden-F]

Hello @languyen14507, you can send the dock and undock commands via the Create3 Dock and Undock Actions:

There is a more in depth description here: https://iroboteducation.github.io/create3_docs/api/docking/

However to save a click here are the commands:

Undock

ros2 action send_goal /undock irobot_create_msgs/action/Undock "{}"

Dock

Galactic

ros2 action send_goal /dock irobot_create_msgs/action/DockServo "{}"

Humble

ros2 action send_goal /dock irobot_create_msgs/action/Dock "{}"

[languyen14507]

Can the Turtlebot 4 simulator run SLAM and Navigation like the Turtlebot 3 simulator? I have never been able to undock the Turtlebot 4 simulation successfully so I couldn't tell. The undocking process always stopped and never finished because the undock goal was always canceled by the simulator before it has change to finish. Thanks.

[roni-kreinin]

@languyen14507 Yes, you can run SLAM and Nav2. The user manual has some examples.

The undocking could be failing if performance is poor in the simulation and the action takes too long. What RTF do you see in the bottom right of the simulation?

[languyen14507]

I don't see any RTL on the simulator gazebo display but I see these messages on the terminal where I activated the simulator: spawner-20] [INFO] [1684166862.565217662] [spawner_joint_state_broadcaster]: Configured and started joint_state_broadcaster [parameter_bridge-3] [INFO] [1684166862.692902468] [cmd_vel_bridge]: Passing message from ROS geometry_msgs/msg/Twist to Ignition ignition.msgs.Twist (showing msg only once per type) [INFO] [spawner-20]: process has finished cleanly [pid 50118] [INFO] [spawner-37]: process started with pid [51358] [ign gazebo-1] [INFO] [1684166863.133635835] [controller_manager]: Loading controller 'diffdrive_controller' [spawner-37] [INFO] [1684166863.211148035] [spawner_diffdrive_controller]: Loaded diffdrive_controller [ign gazebo-1] [INFO] [1684166863.212986343] [controller_manager]: Configuring controller 'diffdrive_controller' [spawner-37] [INFO] [1684166863.321551000] [spawner_diffdrive_controller]: Configured and started diffdrive_controller [INFO] [spawner-37]: process has finished cleanly [pid 51358]

[turtlebot4_node-32] [INFO] [1684166871.830622690] [turtlebot4_node]: Waiting for undock action server [turtlebot4_node-32] [INFO] [1684166872.831421095] [turtlebot4_node]: undock action server available, sending goal [motion_control-23] [INFO] [1684166872.831893474] [motion_control]: Received new undock goal [turtlebot4_node-32] [INFO] [1684166872.832237148] [turtlebot4_node]: undock goal accepted by server, waiting for result [turtlebot4_node-32] [ERROR] [1684166880.632648365] [turtlebot4_node]: undock goal was canceled [motion_control-23] [WARN] [1684166880.637115688] [motion_control]: Reached backup limit! Stop Driving robot backward or disable from safety_override parameter! [motion_control-23] [WARN] [1684166953.540066712] [motion_control]: Reflex Exceeded Runtime without clearing hazard

[languyen14507]

When trying the run NAV2 with the Turtlebot 4 simulator with the command ros2 launch turtlebot4_ignition_bringup ignition.launch.py nav2:=true slam:=off localization:=true

I got the following error messages: [ign gazebo-1] [Wrn] [OgreGpuRays.cc:253] Horizontal FOV for GPU rays is capped at 180 degrees. [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169154.433378486] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees. [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169154.933372248] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees. [ign gazebo-1] [GUI] [Wrn] [ColladaLoader.cc:2394] Triangle input semantic: 'COLOR' is currently not supported [ign gazebo-1] [GUI] [Wrn] [ColladaLoader.cc:2394] Triangle input semantic: 'COLOR' is currently not supported [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169155.433371462] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees. [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169155.933372924] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees. [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169156.433373573] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees. [controller_server-38] [INFO] [1684169156.933385483] [local_costmap.local_costmap]: Timed out waiting for transform from base_link to odom to become available, tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees.

[roni-kreinin]

You should see a fluctuating percentage value at the bottom right corner of the scene. If you expand that you should see something like this:

[languyen14507]

[languyen14507]

The RTF value just fluctutates around 10 and 11%

[roni-kreinin]

That's quite low. The simulation is basically running at 10% real-time, which can cause issues.

Does your PC have a dedicated GPU?

[languyen14507]

It has an Nvidia GEForce GTX 1650 Mobile and an Intel UHD Graphics 630 Mobile

[roni-kreinin]

If you enter nvidia-settings into your terminal, you should be able to go to PRIME Profiles and select NVIDIA (Performance Mode) to force the sim to use your GPU. You can also try changing the PowerMizer power mode to performance.

I think the sim is using your integrated graphics right now which is causing the poor performance.

[languyen14507]

I was able to switch the laptop to using the Nvidia GPU driver but the RTF value only increases to 13-14%. The undocking is still canceled due to reaching backup limit. The NAV2 run still has the tf error: Could not find a connection between 'odom' and 'base_link' because they are not part of the same tree.Tf has two or more unconnected trees.

[roni-kreinin]

I'm running the sim on a GTX1650Ti and get about 70% RTF so I think the sim is still using integrated graphics here. You may need to dig some more in your GPU settings.

[languyen14507]

I was able to correct the GPU driver settings and the simulation ran fine after that (70-80% RTF). Thanks so much.

[RoboCrafty]

I was able to correct the GPU driver settings and the simulation ran fine after that (70-80% RTF). Thanks so much.

hey @languyen14507 i am having the same issue. may i know how you fixed the driver settings?

[languyen14507]

Instead of selecting "from nvidia-driver-530-open" as shown in the picture above, I changed the selection to "from nvidia-driver-418-server", clicked Apply Changes, waited until Aplly Changes is finished then reboot the computer.

[aldodiaz-UFG]

Instead of selecting "from nvidia-driver-530-open" as shown in the picture above, I changed the selection to "from nvidia-driver-418-server", clicked Apply Changes, waited until Aplly Changes is finished then reboot the computer.

I have a GeForce 940M, do you have any hint on how you selected the correct driver from such list in order to fix the RTF issue?

I'm running the sim on a GTX1650Ti and get about 70% RTF so I think the sim is still using integrated graphics here. You may need to dig some more in your GPU settings.

Do you have any driver suggestion for a GeForce 940M (about 20% RTX on average)? (see picture attached)

[qmnguyen14507]

I would suggest to cycle through the list of available drivers until you find one that works.