pcd_simulator

This repo contains two ROS packages that

• Batch generates Gazebo world using Python script

• Generates ground-truth point clouds from local Gazebo world files and streams them as a ROS topic

Usage

1. Batch random generation of Gazebo world

Run src/pcd_sim/scripts/generate_worlds.py

This command will automatically generate a batch of gazebo world files.

The configurable parameters are listed in src/pcd_sim/scripts/generator_config.yaml

2. Generate pointcloud and octomap offline from Gazebo world

Below are the instructions on how to generate ground truth pointcloud and octomap.

This function is based on the package sim_gazebo_plugins. To use the plugin, you need to edit your desired .world file to incorporate the plugin. Simply open your .world file in a text editor and add the following line just before the final <world> tag (i. e. in between the <world> tags):

(If you are using the default poles.world, or any worlds generated from generate_worlds.py, this step is not required because the plugin has already been included.)

<plugin name='gazebo_octomap' filename='libBuildOctomapPlugin.so'/>

To generate a .pcd file and a .bt file:

Option 1: A manual way

execute the following commands:

roslaunch pcd_sim load_world.launch gazebo_world:=<your_world_file>
# Replace <your_world_file> with the filename of the world you wish to build a map from. This name should not not contain ".world"

rosservice call /world/build_octomap '{bounding_box_origin: {x: 0, y: 0, z: 15}, bounding_box_lengths: {x: 30, y: 30, z: 30}, leaf_size: 0.1, filename: output_filename.bt}'

Then the .pcd file and the .bt file will be generated in your .ros folder under the home folder.

The rosservice call includes adjustable variables: the bounding box origin and lengths, both in meters.

The lengths extend symmetrically in both (+/-) directions from the origin. For example, with an origin at (0, 0, 0) and bounding_box_lengths {x: 30, y: 30, z: 30}, the bounding box spans -15 to +15 meters in the X and Y directions, and 0 to 30 meters in the Z direction.

Option 2: Use the bash script

Navigate to pcd_sim/bash, run the bash script:

./generate_pointcloud.sh <world_name>