rviz2_tf_transform_lookup

This repository provides an implementation to quickly visualzie/acquire tf2 transformation values in Rviz2.

Description

The project is built to create a user friendly custom plugin which helps the users to select any two given frames and visualize the transform data between the selected frames. We use a simple tf2 buffer and tf2 listener to get the frame names and to look up the transform values (translation, totation, euler value) betweeen them. The values dynamically updates at a rate of 5 Hz.

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This project was developed by Gokhul Raj Ravikumar at Fraunhofer IIS/EAS.

Table of Contents

1. Installation
   • Prerequsit
   • Cloning the Repository
   • Installing dependencies with rosdep
2. Building the Project
3. Usage
   • How to add the panel

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Installation

Before using the project, ensure you have a ROS2 (Humble) environment set up on your system.

Prerequsit

1. ROS2 Humble.
2. Rviz2.

Cloning the Repository

1. Navigate to src folder in your directory:

   cd ~/ros2_ws/src

2. clone this package:

   git clone https://github.com/Fraunhofer-IIS/rviz2_tf_transform_lookup.git

Installing Dependencies with rosdep

Run the following command to install all the dependencies defined for this package:

rosdep update
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y

Building the project

Once the dependencies are installed, you can build the project using colcon.

1. Navigate to your workspace directory:

   cd ~/ros2_ws

2. Build the workspace:

   colcon build --symlink-install

3. After the build is complete, source your workspace:

   source install/setup.bash

Usage

How to add this custom panel to RViz2

Follow the steps below to add the custom panel to your RViz2 interface:

1. Launch RViz2:

   ros2 run rviz2 rviz2

2. In RViz2, go to Panels in the top menu bar and select Add New Panel.

3. Then choose the plugin panel(TfLookup) which will be under the rviz2_tf_transform_lookup folder.

4. The panel should now appear in your RViz2 window. yiu can save the config for convenience.

5. select the From (TF_Frame_1) and to (TF_Frame_2) according to your choice to visualize the transform values.

6. The copy button next to each value fields can be enabled with a click, it copies the displayed transform values to the clipboard.