Common Concepts

The following highlights some common concepts and definitions that might be useful to know for new users

YAML

YAML (YAML Ain’t Markup Language) is a human-readable format for storing data. This is highly used in this package to provide a more understandable description of the scene that can be parsed into URDF files and to be reloaded into the GUI when needed.

More information about the YAML format

URDF

A URDF (Universal Robot Description Format) file is a file that describes the physical attributes of a robot which will be used by the package

More information about the URDF format

URDF tutorials

SRDF

A SRDF (Semantic Robot Description Format) file represents the semantic information of the robot that is not typically included in the robot URDF file

More information about the SRDF format

Moveit_Config Folders

This is a folder that is typically generated by the Moveit Setup Assistant which includes many files that are required for integration with Moveit. This is also where the srdf is stored. These folders are needed for Robots and End Effectors

For a robot named <robot_name> the folder should be named <robot_name>_moveit_config

This is the general struction for a typical moveit_config folder

|--robot_moveit_config
___|--config
______|--fake_controllers.yaml
______|--robot.srdf.xacro
______|.....other files
___|--launch
.....other files

Description Folders

This folder typically contains the URDF files and the 3D meshes of the object. A description folder is needed not just for robots and end effectors, but also for other static models in the scene.

An object with the name <object_name> will have the description folder named <object_name>_description.

This is the general struction for a typical description folder

|--object_name_description
___|--urdf
______|--object_name.urdf.xacro
___|--meshes
______|--collision
_________|--object_collision.stl
______|--visual
_________|--object_visual.stl

Workcell

An environment that involves a robot doing tasks

Scenes

The visual description of a workcell. This term essentially is interchangeable with a Workcell. However, Scenes and Workcell provides a more all encompassing and understandable term.

Assets

Represents all visual elements in the scene. This can be split into Robots, End effectors, and Environment Objects

Robots

Any robotic manipulator required for the tasks.

End Effectors

Any end effector attached to the robot. Currently the Grasp Planner only supports a single suction cup gripper and a 2 finger gripper.

Environment Objects

Any other objects that are required in the scene. This includes any tables, boxes, etc that you need added to the scene as static obstacles.