June 2014 Archives

Robopeak announces ROS Drivers for the RPLIDAR

By Tully Foote on June 25, 2014 3:32 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
From ShiKai Chen

Descriptions & Images:
=====================
RPLIDAR is a low cost LIDAR sensor suitable for indoor robotic SLAM application. It provides 360 degree scan field, 5.5hz rotating frequency with guaranteed 6 meter ranger distance.  By means of the high speed image processing engine designed by RoboPeak, the whole cost are reduced greatly, RPLIDAR is the ideal sensor in cost sensitive areas like robots consumer and hardware hobbyist.

The RPLIDAR core engine performs high speed distance measurement with more than 2000 samples per second. For a scan requires 360 samples per rotation, the 5.5hz scanning frequency can be achieved. Users can customized the scanning frequency from 2hz to 10hz freely by control the speed of the scanning motor. RPLIDAR will self-adapt the current scanning speed.

ROS Node:
=====================

Videos:
====================
Odometer Free Hector map building using RPLIDAR

Scan Record:

About RoboPeak
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RoboPeak is a research & development team in robotics platforms and applications, founded in 2009. Our team members are Software Engineers, Electronics Engineers and New Media Artists that all come from China.

RoboPeak develops both software and hardware, which include personal robotic platforms, Robot Operating System and related devices.

Our vision is to enrich people's daily-life with the ever-changing development and innovation in robotic technologies.

Call for Proposals: ROSCon 2014

By Tully Foote on June 23, 2014 10:16 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
-------------------------------------------------
ROSCon 2014

September 12-13th, 2014  Chicago, IL, USA
Between ITMS and IROS
-------------------------------------------------

Important Dates
-------------------------------------------------

Call for Proposals -- June 23rd, 2014
Proposal submission deadline -- July 18th, 2014
Proposal acceptance notification -- July 22nd, 2014

ROSCon 
-------------------------------------------------

ROSCon 2014 is a chance for ROS developers of all levels, beginner to expert, to spend an extraordinary two days learning from and networking with the ROS community. Get tips and tricks from experts and meet and share ideas with fellow developers from around the globe.

ROSCon is a developers conference, in the model of PyCon and BoostCon. Following the success of the inaugural ROSCon in St. Paul, Minnesota (http://roscon.ros.org/2012) and last year's event in Stuttgart, Germany (http://roscon.ros.org/2013)  this year's ROSCon will be held in Chicago, Illinois. Similar to last year, the two-day program will comprise technical talks and tutorials that will introduce you to new tools and libraries, as well as teach you more about the ones you already know. The bulk of the program will be 30-40 minute presentations (some may be longer or shorter). To submit a proposal please visit the Call for Proposals page (http://roscon.ros.org/2014/call-for-proposals/)

If you don't want to make a formal presentation, you should still bring your new project or idea to ROSCon! There will be sessions of Lightning Talks, which are 5-minute mini-talks that are scheduled just-in-time at the conference. There will also be open space for Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF) meetings, impromptu hacking sessions, and informal presentations.

Submission Guidelines
------------------------------------------------

Presentations and tutorials on all topics related to ROS are invited.  Examples include introducing attendees to a ROS package or library, exploring how to use tools, manipulating sensor data, and applications for robots.

Proposals will be reviewed by an ad-hoc committee that will evaluate fit, impact, and balance.

We cannot offer sessions that are not proposed!  If there is a topic on which you would like to present, please propose it.  If you have an idea for an important topic that you do not want to present yourself, please post it to ros-users@lists.ros.org.

Topic areas
------------------------------------------------

All ROS-related work is invited. Topics of interest include:

Best practices
Useful packages and stacks
Robot-specific development
ROS Enhancement Proposals (REPs)
Safety and security
ROS in embedded systems
Product development & commercialization
Research and education
Enterprise deployment
Community organization and direction
Testing, quality, and documentation
Robotics competitions and collaborations

Proposal Submission 
------------------------------------------------

A session proposal should include:

Title
Recommended duration (Short or Long)
Summary, 100 word max (to be used in advertising the session)
Description (for review purposes): outline, goals (what will the audience learn?), pointers to packages to be discussed (500 Words Maximum)
To submit a proposal please visit: http://roscon.ros.org/review2014/

Further Info
------------------------------------------------

The event website is http://roscon.ros.org  You can contact the organizing committee at roscon-2014-oc@osrfoundation.org

Call for attendance ROS-RM. Workshop on "ROS and its applications for Robotic Manipulation"

By Tully Foote on June 19, 2014 10:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
From Pablo Gil via ros-news@

Call for Participation (apologies for multiple copies)

 

______________________________________________________

ROS-RM. Workshop on "ROS and its applications for Robotic Manipulation"

Alicante, Spain, 23 July 2014

 

Web: www.aurova.ua.es/rosrm2014

Email: rosrm@dfists.ua.es

 

REGISTRATION

 

The fee for the ROS-RM 2014 Workshop is 100 Euros.

Registration covers attendance to all lectures, handling material, two coffee breaks and one lunch from the University to Alicante city. Payment should be done by bank transfer (more information at the web site).

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 20 June 2014

http://www.aurova.ua.es/index.php/es/rosrmapp

 

 

VENUE

 

ROS-RM Workshop 2014 will be held at the Polytechnic College of the University of Alicante, in San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante), Spain. Alicante is located on south east at the Mediterranean coast. The University is 15 minutes from the city center of Alicante by tram, while the Alicante airport is 20 minutes by car.

______________________________________________________

 

SPEAKERS AND PROGRAMME

 

-Juan Antonio Corrales, Marie Curie University, Paris-France

-Sachin Chitta, SRI, USA.

-Guillaume Walck, University of Bielefeld, Germany

-Federico Tombari, University of Bologna, Italy

-Toni Oliver, Shadow Robot Company, UK

 

-Session 1: ROS Architecture. Introduction and basic concepts

-Session 2: MoveIt! A Tool for Manipulation

-Session 3: Manipulation with a Dexterous Hand

-Session 4: 3D Object recognition with the PCL

-Session 5: Shadow-hand with ROS

 

___________________________________________________

 

MOTIVATION AND DESCRIPTION

 

The hands-on will be delivered by world renowned experts in the field, from both academia and industry, and will cover both theoretical and practical aspects of different tools integrated in ROS.

 

The workshop aims to provide a stimulating opportunity for young researchers and Ph.D. students. The participants will benefit from direct interaction and discussions with world leaders in ROS framework.

 

____________________________________________________

 

ORGANIZERS

- Group of Automation, Robotics and Computer Vision(http://www.aurova.ua.es)

- University of Alicante (http://www.ua.es/)

 

ROS-RM SPONSORS

- Valencia Regional Government (PROMETEO 2013/085).

 

ENDORSED BY:

- Group of Automation, Robotic and Artificial Vision (http://www.aurova.ua.es)

- University of Alicante (http://www.ua.es/)

- University Institute for Computing Research (http://www.iuii.ua.es)

____________________________________________________

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

www.aurova.ua.es/rosrm2014

rosrm@dfists.ua.es

 


Call for Participation (apologies for multiple copies)

 

______________________________________________________

ROS-RM. Workshop on "ROS and its applications for Robotic Manipulation"

Alicante, Spain, 23 July 2014

 

Web: www.aurova.ua.es/rosrm2014

Email: rosrm@dfists.ua.es

 

REGISTRATION

 

The fee for the ROS-RM 2014 Workshop is 100 Euros.

Registration covers attendance to all lectures, handling material, two coffee breaks and one lunch from the University to Alicante city. Payment should be done by bank transfer (more information at the web site).

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 20 June 2014

http://www.aurova.ua.es/index.php/es/rosrmapp

 

 

VENUE

 

ROS-RM Workshop 2014 will be held at the Polytechnic College of the University of Alicante, in San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante), Spain. Alicante is located on south east at the Mediterranean coast. The University is 15 minutes from the city center of Alicante by tram, while the Alicante airport is 20 minutes by car.

______________________________________________________

 

SPEAKERS AND PROGRAMME

 

-Juan Antonio Corrales, Marie Curie University, Paris-France

-Sachin Chitta, SRI, USA.

-Guillaume Walck, University of Bielefeld, Germany

-Federico Tombari, University of Bologna, Italy

-Toni Oliver, Shadow Robot Company, UK

 

-Session 1: ROS Architecture. Introduction and basic concepts

-Session 2: MoveIt! A Tool for Manipulation

-Session 3: Manipulation with a Dexterous Hand

-Session 4: 3D Object recognition with the PCL

-Session 5: Shadow-hand with ROS

 

___________________________________________________

 

MOTIVATION AND DESCRIPTION

 

The hands-on will be delivered by world renowned experts in the field, from both academia and industry, and will cover both theoretical and practical aspects of different tools integrated in ROS.

 

The workshop aims to provide a stimulating opportunity for young researchers and Ph.D. students. The participants will benefit from direct interaction and discussions with world leaders in ROS framework.

 

____________________________________________________

 

ORGANIZERS

- Group of Automation, Robotics and Computer Vision(http://www.aurova.ua.es)

- University of Alicante (http://www.ua.es/)

 

ROS-RM SPONSORS

- Valencia Regional Government (PROMETEO 2013/085).

 

ENDORSED BY:

- Group of Automation, Robotic and Artificial Vision (http://www.aurova.ua.es)

- University of Alicante (http://www.ua.es/)

- University Institute for Computing Research (http://www.iuii.ua.es)

____________________________________________________

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

www.aurova.ua.es/rosrm2014

rosrm@dfists.ua.es

 

New package: (SVO) Semi-direct Monocular Visual Odometry

By Tully Foote on June 17, 2014 4:16 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
From Christian Forster via ros-users@

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to draw your attention to a new open-source monocular
visual odometry algorithm called SVO (``Semi-direct Visual Odometry'').
The semi-direct approach eliminates the need of costly feature
extraction and robust matching techniques for motion estimation. Our
algorithm operates directly on pixel intensities, which results in
subpixel precision at high frame-rates (up to 70 fps on latest
smartphone processors, up to 400 fps on laptops). A probabilistic
mapping method that explicitly models outlier measurements is used to
estimate 3D points, which results in fewer outliers and more reliable
points. Precise and high frame-rate motion estimation brings increased
robustness in scenes of repetitive, and high-frequency texture.

In our group, we use SVO for vision-based, on-board ego-motion
estimation of micro aerial vehicles, which also allows them to navigate
fully autonomously.

Please check the video with a demonstration of the system capabilities:
http://youtu.be/2YnIMfw6bJY

The code is hosted on GitHub:
https://github.com/uzh-rpg/rpg_svo
A closed-source professional edition is available for commercial
purposes. Please contact us for further info.

The algorithm is described in our the paper (please cite it if you use
it for your publications):
C. Forster, M. Pizzoli, D. Scaramuzza, "SVO: Fast Semi-Direct Monocular
Visual Odometry," IEEE International Conference on Robotics and
Automation (ICRA), 2014.
PDF: http://rpg.ifi.uzh.ch/docs/ICRA14_Forster.pdf

Best regards,

Christian Forster, Matia Pizzoli, Davide Scaramuzza

Robotics and Perception Group, http://rpg.ifi.uzh.ch
University of Zurich,
Switzerland

ROS-Industrial Conference and Consortium Europe kick-off

By Tully Foote on June 17, 2014 9:37 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

From Ulrich Reiser and Florian Weisshardt


Dear ROS-I community,

 

We cordially invite you to the following events:

 

=============================================================

ROS-Industrial Conference and Consortium Europe kick-off

=============================================================

at Fraunhofer IPA, Stuttgart, Germany

 

June 26: ROS-Industrial conference (public)

June 27: ROS-Industrial Consortium Europe Kick-Off (restricted to RIC-members)

 

Conference Objectives

---------------------------

The objective of the ROS-Industrial conference is to bring together representatives from academia and industry to exchange experiences on application development with ROS and clarify the needs of industry with respect to ROS-Industrial. The participants have the opportunity to obtain most recent information on current activities, already achieved results and future goals of the ROS-Industrial community.

 

Conference Topics:

------------------------

- Developments, Trends, Technologies in the ROS-Industrial community

- Examples of successful transfer of ROS components established in research into industrial applications

- Current ROS-Industrial Projects (hosted by the ROS-Industrial Consortium so far)

 

Target Audience

--------------------

The conference addresses in particular system integrators that aim at providing flexible, economic and manufacturer independent automation solutions, ROS-Industrial developers in research and industry, executive personal of small and medium enterprises as well as R&D divisions of larger companies in the field of automation, logistics and production.

 

Speakers

------------

-          Urko Esnaola, Tecnalia

-          Andrija Feher, Synapticon GmbH

-          Clay Flannigan, Southwest Research Institute

-          Joshua Hampp, Fraunhofer IPA

-          Gijs van der Hoorn, TU Delft Robotics Institute

-          Berend Küpers, ALTEN Nederland

-          Fabrizio Romanelli, Comau S.p.A. Robotics

-          Dirk Thomas, Open Source Robotics Foundation

-          Elisa Tosello, University of Padova

-          Florian Weißhardt, Fraunhofer IPA

 

 

General Chair

-----------------

Martin Hägele, Fraunhofer IPA

 

Session Chair

-----------------

Ulrich Reiser, Fraunhofer IPA

 

Registration

-----------------

Register for ROS-Industrial conference until June 18, 2014:

http://ric-eu.rosindustrial.org/2nd-ros-industrial-conference/

 

Link to Consortium:

http://ric-eu.rosindustrial.org/consortium/

 

 

Looking forward to meeting you at both events!



ROS Spotlight: Shadow Robot's RoNeX

By Tully Foote on June 13, 2014 9:05 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This ROS Spotlight introduces Shadow Robot's new platform for
connecting ROS to robot hardware.

A spin-off from he Stiff-Flop Project, RoNeX is designed specially for cutting edge robotics prototyping and development. RoNeX provides a high speed, modular I/O network that fully integrates with ROS straight out of the box, accessible directly on ROS topics or within standard ROS controllers.

Utilising the industrial strenght real-time EtherCAT field-bus, RoNeX has 100Mbps of bandwidth available, and maintains a 1 kHz update rate on all channels allowing for real time joint control from a ROS Host.

To show just how easy it is to build a robot with RoNeX, Shadow has done just that in this video:

Using standard ROS packages for joint control, kinematics, path planning and visualisation, Shadow needed only ten new lines of code plus a URDF file automatically generated from Solidworks to drive the robot!

The Shadow team is releasing RoNeX with three Modules available now and are putting the final touches to a roadmap that includes motor drivers, ability to daisy chain RoNeX stacks and Dev Kits for advanced users and OEMs.

To find out more about RoNeX visit the Shadow Website.

RoNeX drivers are open source on Github and the user manual is here.

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