Manipulation stacks and objects database 0.2 released

We are happy to announce the release of a number of stacks that provide core functionality for grasping and manipulation tasks, as well as example applications on the PR2 robot. These include:

• object_manipulation
• pr2_object_manipulation
• tabletop_object_perception
• pr2_tabletop_manipulation_apps

Additional details, tutorials and example application can be found on the ROS Wiki. Good places to start checking out the available functionality are:

• object_manipulation (for core, robot-independent functionality)
• pr2_tabletop_manipulation_apps (for applications, demos and tutorials on the PR2 robot).

Complementing the manipulation stacks is a database of household objects containing information relevant for manipulation tasks, along with its ROS interface. Details can be found on the household_objects_database page.

Please note that these are "research stacks", under active development. While we have put a lot of effort into reviewing and documenting them, they are likely to be less stable than "core" ROS stacks which have reached 1.x releases. That said, we believe that they will provide useful functionality for building towards complex mobile manipulation applications.

Any feedback, bug reports or success stories of using these stacks will be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Your Merry ROS Manipulation Mob