wayp_plan_tools ROS 2 package

Waypoint and planner tools for ROS 2 with minimal dependencies.

Planner / control nodes:

• single_goal_pursuit: Pure pursuit (for vehicles / robots), a simple cross-track error method
• multiple_goal_pursuit: Multiple goal pursuit for vehicles / robots an implementation of our paper
• stanley_control: Stanley controller, a heading error + cross-track error method
• follow_the_carrot: Follow-the-carrot, the simplest controller

Waypoint nodes:

• waypoint_saver: saves the waypoints to a csv
• waypoint_loader: loads the waypoints from a csv to a ROS 2 topic
• waypoint_to_target: translates the global waypoint array to local target waypoint(s), thus it makes possible to use the controller nodes in a standalone way

Build

It is assumed that the workspace is ~/ros2_ws/.

Terminal 1 🔴 clone

cd ~/ros2_ws/src

git clone https://github.com/jkk-research/wayp_plan_tools

Terminal 1 🔴 build

cd ~/ros2_ws

colcon build --packages-select wayp_plan_tools --symlink-install

Terminal 2 🔵 run

source ~/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash

ros2 launch wayp_plan_tools waypoint_saver.launch.py

Control nodes

In this project the single_goal_pursuit, the multiple_goal_pursuit, stanley_control and the follow_the_carrot controllers are implemented. A high level overview about the algorithms is visible on the following figure:

single_goal_pursuit node

The "classic" pure pursuit implementation

multiple_goal_pursuit node

Multiple goal pursuit for vehicles / robots, an implementation of our paper

follow_the_carrot node

Follow-the-carrot, the simplest controller

waypoint_to_target node

Reads the waypoint array and speeds, from that it creates single or multiple goal points.

It also provides a /metrics_wayp array topic with the following elements:

Array element	Meaning	Const
[0]	current lateral distance to the waypoint (signed, cross-track error)	CUR_LAT_DIST_SIGNED
[1]	current lateral distance to the waypoint (absolute value)	CUR_LAT_DIST_ABS
[2]	average lateral distance over time	AVG_LAT_DISTANCE
[3]	maximum lateral distance over time	MAX_LAT_DISTANCE
[4]	current waypoint ID	CUR_WAYPOINT_ID
[5]	target waypoint ID	TRG_WAYPOINT_ID
[6]	target waypoint longitudinal distance (similar to lookahed distance, but at a waypoint)	TRG_WAY_LON_DIST
[7]	actual lookahead distance	ACT_LOOK_DIST
[8]	current cross-track error	CUR_CROSS_TRACK

waypoint_saver node

Saves the waypoints to a csv. Important parameters are file_name and file_dir. Set from terminal or from a launch file

ros2 run wayp_plan_tools waypoint_saver --ros-args -p file_name:=tmp1.csv -p file_dir:=/mnt/bag/waypoints

waypoint_loader node

Loads the waypoints from a csv to a ROS 2 topic. Set from terminal or from a launch file

ros2 run wayp_plan_tools waypoint_loader --ros-args -p file_name:=tmp1.csv -p file_dir:=/mnt/bag/waypoints

Usage with a simulator

Please refer to github.com/jkk-research/sim_wayp_plan_tools.

Cite & paper

If you use any of this code please consider citing the paper:

@Article{horvath2020multigoalpursuit, 
    title={Theoretical background and application of multiple goal pursuit trajectory follower}, 
    volume={48}, 
    url={https://hjic.mk.uni-pannon.hu/index.php/hjic/article/view/914}, 
    DOI={10.33927/hjic-2020-03}, 
    number={1}, 
    journal={Hungarian Journal of Industry and Chemistry}, 
    author={Horváth, Ernő and Pozna, Claudiu and Kőrös, Péter and Hajdu, Csaba and Ballagi, Áron}, 
    year={2020}, 
    month={Jul.}, 
    pages={11–17} 
}