EE50237 – Robotics

Software
Dr Rob Wortham

Lecture 4a - Developing ROS Nodes #2

Note: This lecture is being recorded using University of Bath Panopto

22/01/2024 EE50237 Robotics Software - Lecture 4a 1

Reminder: Learning Outcomes: Weeks 3 and 4
• Confident in use of ROS architecture and ROS command line tools
• Confident in use of basic Linux commands within the bash shell
• Able to program, debug and explain simple, single threaded nodes
in Python

Topics
• Topic Publisher & Topic Subscriber (listener)
• Service Server & Service Client
• Synchronicity, Performance, Scalability
• Remapping names
• Action Server & Action Client with progress feedback
• Define and use our own message types
• Using a launch file
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 Today’s Lecture

• ROS Actions

• Next Lecture
• ROS Message Types
• ROS Launch Files

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 ROS Actions
• An extension to ROS Services for long running tasks
• Goal – Sent from the client to the server. Defines what work must be done
by the server.
• Feedback during execution - Sent by server to the client during execution.
• Result – sent by server to client once execution is complete.
• Action is defined in a .action file (remember - services are defined in a .srv
file)
• The .action file is in {package_name}/action

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ROS Actions - Architecture

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 ROS Action Example: Timer
• Purpose – wait a specified time, reporting progress each second
• Goal – time to wait
• Feedback – time elapsed so far (seconds), time remaining (seconds)
• Result – How many feedback updates were provided

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ROS Action Example: Timer – Action Definition File

Timer.action
# Part 1: the goal, to be sent by the client
duration time_to_wait
---
# Part 2: the result, to be sent by the server upon completion
duration time_elapsed
uint32 updates_sent
---
# Part 3: the feedback, to be sent periodically by the server during
# execution.
duration time_elapsed
duration time_remaining

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 Start
Timer

YES
Have we waited
Finish
long enough?

NO

Send progress to Client

Wait 1 Second

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Action Server Python Code #! /usr/bin/env python
import rospy
import time
import actionlib
from basics.msg import TimerAction, TimerGoal, TimerResult, TimerFeedback
Import the 4 auto generated
messages for Timer action def do_timer(goal):
start_time = time.time()
update_count = 0

if goal.time_to_wait.to_sec() > 60.0:

result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)

All the work is done in this callback result.updates_sent = update_count

server.set_aborted(result, "Timer aborted due to too-long wait")
return

[See next slide] while (time.time() - start_time) < goal.time_to_wait.to_sec():

if server.is_preempt_requested():
result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
result.updates_sent = update_count
server.set_preempted(result, "Timer preempted")
return

feedback = TimerFeedback()
feedback.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
feedback.time_remaining = goal.time_to_wait - feedback.time_elapsed
server.publish_feedback(feedback)
update_count += 1

time.sleep(1.0)

result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
result.updates_sent = update_count
server.set_succeeded(result, "Timer completed successfully")

rospy.init_node('timer_action_server')
server = actionlib.SimpleActionServer('timer', TimerAction, do_timer, False)
Initialise a ROS Publisher instance server.start()
Register the action server ‘timer’ with auto_start=False rospy.spin()
Start the server, spin until termination.

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 start_time = time.time()

Action Server do_timer Callback update_count = 0

def do_timer(goal): if goal.time_to_wait.to_sec() > 60.0:

result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
result.updates_sent = update_count
Requests for more than 60 seconds server.set_aborted(result, "Timer aborted due to too-long wait")
return
are not accepted
while (time.time() - start_time) < goal.time_to_wait.to_sec():
Stay in this loop until our work if server.is_preempt_requested():
is complete result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
result.updates_sent = update_count
Check if client has aborted the server.set_preempted(result, "Timer preempted")
work return

feedback = TimerFeedback()
Create the feedback info and feedback.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
send it back to the client feedback.time_remaining = goal.time_to_wait - feedback.time_elapsed
server.publish_feedback(feedback)
update_count += 1
Wait one second (or do
time.sleep(1.0)
something useful)
result = TimerResult()
result.time_elapsed = rospy.Duration.from_sec(time.time() - start_time)
Create the result info. Return result.updates_sent = update_count
control to client server.set_succeeded(result, "Timer completed successfully")

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 Action Client Python Code ………(normal preamble stuff)

def feedback_cb(feedback):
print('[Feedback] Time elapsed: %f'%(feedback.time_elapsed.to_sec()))
print('[Feedback] Time remaining: %f'%(feedback.time_remaining.to_sec()))
Callback to print feedback
notifications rospy.init_node('timer_action_client')
client = actionlib.SimpleActionClient('timer', TimerAction)
client.wait_for_server()
Initialise the node, wait until there goal = TimerGoal()
is a server we can use goal.time_to_wait = rospy.Duration.from_sec(5.0)
# Uncomment this line to test server-side abort:
Set a 5 second goal time #goal.time_to_wait = rospy.Duration.from_sec(500.0)

Start the remote Action client.send_goal(goal, feedback_cb=feedback_cb)

# Uncomment these lines to test goal preemption:

#time.sleep(3.0)
To terminate the Action pre-emptively #client.cancel_goal()

Block until the Action completes, fails or client.wait_for_result()

print('[Result] State: %d'%(client.get_state()))
is cancelled print('[Result] Status: %s'%(client.get_goal_status_text()))
print('[Result] Time elapsed: %f'%(client.get_result().time_elapsed.to_sec()))
print('[Result] Updates sent: %d'%(client.get_result().updates_sent))

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Reading
Essential Reading from Programming Robots with ROS,
Quigley, 2015:

• Chapter 5: Actions

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 Today’s topics were:

• Action Server & Action Client with progress feedback

• Next Lecture
• ROS messages
• User defined message types
• Using a launch file

Questions?
Ask them on moodle!

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