May 2017 Archives

At ROSCon 2016 Mukunda gave an overview of how Team Delft took on and won the Amazon Picking Challenge in 2016. The talk provides an overview of the approach the team won, how they leveraged MoveIt, and provides incite into many lessons learned from the experience that can be used by others thinking about similar problems.

Video

Abstract

This presentation will focus on some of the key MoveIt! practices that we (motion planning team of Team Delft) followed for the Amazon Picking Challenge 2016. Particularly, the following points will be highlighted: 1) making appropriate MoveIt! API choices from a large set of options; 2) difficulties faced such as I/O synchronization with trajectories and collision checking with Octomaps and the corresponding solutions; 3) unsolved problems (mostly with robot driver) while planning around the joint limits of the robot; and 4) general recommendations for OMPL planner configurations with MoveIt!.

Slides

PDF

If you're interested in more information like this ROSCon 2017 is coming up! The call for proposals is currently open as well as registration.

Looking foward to ROSCon 2017 we're highlighting presentations from last year.

In this session Deanna and William give an update on the state of ROS2 development.

Video

Abstract

This talk will summarize the progress made since the last ROSCon update in 2015. Summary will include the alphas released during that time, changes to supported implementations, and the roadmap. The talk will also include demonstrations of new features and highlights of our experiences while using ROS 2 in demos and benchmarking.

Slides

View the slides here

The ROSCon 2017 call for proposals is currently open as well as registration.

With ROSCon 2017 preparations getting started we wanted to feature some of the presentations from last year. The call for proposals is currently open as well as registration. To start with here's Steffi and Louise's talk about Gazebo, presented ambitiously as a live demo in Gazebo.

Abstract

Gazebo is one of the most used simulators in the ROS community. It has been under heavy development for the past few years and its most recent version, Gazebo 7, comes with myriad new tools and features for new and experienced users alike. Recently, Gazebo development has emphasized user-centered design and improved usability. Updates include not only improved GUI tools and documentation for new folks, but also tools that streamline the workflow for experienced users. We explore new features including: Model Editor, Building Editor, apply force tool, logging and playback, model alignment and snap tools, camera angle controls, plotting, introspection and debugging aids, and more.

Slides

We're excited to announce that we are now accepting presentation proposals for ROSCon 2017!

• Proposal submission deadline: June 25th, 2017
• Submission site
• Call for proposals

Presentations 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.

Women, members of minority groups, and members of other under-represented groups are encouraged to submit presentation proposals to ROSCon.

Proposals will be reviewed by a program committee that will evaluate fit, impact, and balance.

We cannot offer presentations 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 for discussion at ROS Discourse. Topic areas

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

• Best practices
• New packages
• Robot-specific development
• Robot simulation
• Safety and security
• Embedded systems
• Product development & commercialization
• Research and education
• Enterprise deployment
• Community organization and direction
• Testing, quality, and documentation
• Robotics competitions and collaborations

To get an idea of the content and tone of ROSCon, check out the slides and videos from last year.

Proposal format

A session proposal must include:

• Title
• Presenter (name and affiliation)
• Recommended duration: Short (~20 minutes) or Long (~40 minutes)
• Summary [maximum 100 words]: to be used in advertising the presentation
• Description [maximum 1000 words]: outline, goals (what will the audience learn?), pointers to packages to be discussed

Please be sure to include in your proposal enough information for the program committee to evaluate the importance and impact of your presentation. Links to publicly available resources, including code repositories and demonstration videos, are especially helpful.

Submit your proposal at the submissions site by June 25, 2017.