This branch is used to map radiation intensities into a 3D environment representation. Therefore a RNM (radiation nuclear mapper) node was built into Voxblox (original repository). It is used e.g. for EnRicH.
This method is called online mapping here, because the mapping can be done while a rescue robot is in operation or after the operation by replaying ROS bag files, which were used to record the operation before. The following describes the application using bag files.
Before you start, make sure that you have selected the right branches.
| Repository | Branch |
|---|---|
| voxblox (this repository) |
radio_nuclear_mapper (this branch) |
| radiological_nuclear_mapper | voxblox |
| hector_vehicle_launch | radiological_nuclear_mapper |
TL;DR: Use this
Decide for one EnRicH run or create new file(s) for a new run. Make sure you have the corresponding bag files. If you have all required files collected continue with the instructions for manual or automated start.
The launch files for Voxblox are located in branch radio_nuclear_mapper of repository hector_vehicle_launch:
hector_sensor_proc_launch/launch/voxblox_rnm_enrich_2017.launch(for bag files of EnRicH 2017)hector_sensor_proc_launch/launch/voxblox_rnm_enrich_2019_1.launch(for bag files of EnRicH 2019 Run 1)*hector_sensor_proc_launch/launch/voxblox_rnm_enrich_2019_2.launch(for bag files of EnRicH 2019 Run 2)
* The mesh shown above was created with this data.
Here is a description of the parameters in launch files.
This step is only required if only a single message via the ros topic /tf_static in the bag files is published once at the beginning. In this case skipping the first time of a recording will effect, that static transformations are unknown. For EnRicH 2017 thats the case. Therefore do following:
- Generate a Static Transformation Publisher or choose static_tf_2017.launch
- Copy the launch file to directory
~/hector/src/robot_launch/robot_postproc_launch/launch
- EnRicH 2017: No
- EnRicH 2019: Yes (vlp16_self_filter.launch)
Keep the launch file in mind for later.
Also in branch radio_nuclear_mapper of repository hector_vehicle_launch are a few prepared .rviz files these describe the configuration of RVIZ windows:
hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich2017_mesh.rviz(for EnRicH 2017 run)hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich2019_mesh.rviz(for both EnRicH 2019 runs)
Ensure roscore is running. Then you need six additional terminal windows. Execute these commands one after the other in each window:
roslaunch robot_postproc_launch play_with_recorded_tf.launc- (Only if a static tf publisher is required)
roslaunch robot_postproc_launch static_tf_XXXX.launch - (Only if a pointcloud filter exists)
roslaunch drz_telemax_onboard_launch vlp16_self_filter.launch roslaunch hector_sensor_proc_launch voxblox_rnm_enrich_XXXX.launchrviz -d ~/hector/src/hector_vehicle_launch/hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrichXXXX_mesh.rvizrosparam set use_sim_time true && cd /path/to/bags && rosbag play *.bag --clock -r 1 -s 220 /spin_laser/vlp16:=/spin_laser/vlp16_trash*
* Adjust the path to the folder where the bag files are stored in.
Ensure roscore is running.
| Step | EnRicH 2019 Run 1 |
EnRicH 2019 Run 2 |
EnRicH 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | roslaunch robot_postproc_launch play_with_recorded_tf.launc |
roslaunch robot_postproc_launch play_with_recorded_tf.launc |
roslaunch robot_postproc_launch play_with_recorded_tf.launc |
| 2 | roslaunch robot_postproc_launch static_tf_2017.launch |
||
| 3 | roslaunch drz_telemax_onboard_launch vlp16_self_filter.launch |
roslaunch drz_telemax_onboard_launch vlp16_self_filter.launch |
|
| 4 | roslaunch hector_sensor_proc_launch voxblox_rnm_enrich_2019_1.launch |
roslaunch hector_sensor_proc_launch voxblox_rnm_enrich_2019_2.launch |
roslaunch hector_sensor_proc_launch voxblox_rnm_enrich_2017.launch |
| 5 | rviz -d ~/hector/src/hector_vehicle_launch/hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich2019_mesh.rviz |
rviz -d ~/hector/src/hector_vehicle_launch/hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich2019_mesh.rviz |
rviz -d ~/hector/src/hector_vehicle_launch/hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich2017_mesh.rviz |
| 6* | rosparam set use_sim_time true && cd /media/psf/Home/enrich/2019/competition_run_1/bags && rosbag play *.bag --clock -r 1 -s 220 /spin_laser/vlp16:=/spin_laser/vlp16_trash |
rosparam set use_sim_time true && cd /media/psf/Home/enrich/2019/competition_run_1/bags && rosbag play *.bag --clock -r 1 -s 220 /spin_laser/vlp16:=/spin_laser/vlp16_trash |
rosparam set use_sim_time true && cd /media/psf/Home/enrich/2017/final2/bags && rosbag play *.bag --clock -s 780 /spin_laser/vlp16:=/spin_laser/vlp16_trash |
* Adjust the path to the folder where the bag files are stored in.
That the execution of six commands in six terminals is very time-consuming and gets annoying very fast, if you have to do it often, there is a start script for the terminal emulator Terminator, which starts all commands at once.
The command roscore is not included here, because roscore must be started before the other commands run and that takes some time. But this is not a problem, because you can let roscore run all the time while you start and stop Terminator for testing or optimizing the parameters.
First you have to replace the content of Terminator's config file ~/.config/terminator/config with the content of the prepared config file hector_sensor_proc_launch/enrich_terminator.config from the repository hector_vehicle_launch (branch radio_nuclear_mapper). Adjust the paths to the bag files.
Ensure roscore is running. Open additional terminal and run one of the following commands:
terminator -l enrich2017terminator -l enrich2019_1terminator -l enrich2019_2
The easiest way to stop all parallel running commands is to close the new Terminator window via the close button in the upper right.
The 3D radiation mapper has a built-in export function for the created mesh. Depending on the size of the 3D map it could be CPU-intensive and takes some time. It is advisable to check if ros bags are no longer playing. If they have not finished playing, it is best to pause them. Put the focus in the terminal that plays the bag files and press the spacebar.
To export the mesh in the intensity display as it was set in the launch file and displayed in RVIZ, you can use this command in an additional terminal (i.e. also in a unused Terminator child):
rostopic pub /radio_nuclear_mapper_server/save_mesh std_msgs/String "'original'" (Pay attention to the double single quotes combination!)
Also a different intensity representation or a bunch of representations can be exported using a command including a JSON-like dictionary, which includes the wanted preferences.
Example:
{
"rdf": "all", // Radiation Distance Function(s)
"log": true, // Linear (false) or Logarithmic (true) Representation(s)
"cms": ["traffic-light", "inverse_grayscale"], // Color Map Scheme(s)
"aev": "rdf" // Extreme Value Adjustment Setting(s)
}
To create such meshes, the command is now executed as follows:
rostopic pub /radio_nuclear_mapper_server/save_mesh std_msgs/String "'{\"rdf\": \"all\", \"log\": true, \"cms\": [\"traffic-light\", \"inverse_grayscale\"], \"aev\": \"rdf\"}'"
In this example six meshes in .ply format are then saved with the three different distance functions as well as with two different color map schemes. In addition for each mesh a .json file with meta information (currently only minimal and maximal intensity values in this mesh) will also be created. The files can be found at ~/.ros. For more details about mesh export preferences see bellow.
After executing the exporting command a single message will published to the Voxblox node and its start the export. Press CMD + C to stop the publishing task. (This will not stop the export if it is still running.) In the terminal that runs the voxblox node you can see the progress of exporting.
This key defines wanted radiation distance function(s). Allowed values are:
"'decreasing'": Decreasing RDF"'increasing'": Increasing RDF"'constant'": Constant RDF"'original'": The RDF defined in launch file"'all'": All three RSFs- Array (
[]) including one or multiple of the strings representing the corresponding RDFs
For more details about RDF see here.
This key defines if linear or logarithmic representation(s) are wanted. Allowed values are
true: logarithmicfalse: linear"'original'": preference defined in launch file"all"/"both": linear and logarithmic
This key defines wanted color map scheme(s). Allowed values are:
"rainbow": Rainbow CMS"inverse_rainbow": Inverse Rainbow CMS"grayscale": Grayscale CMS"inverse_grayscale": Inverse Grayscale CMS"ironbow": Ironbow CMS"traffic-light": Traffic Light CMS"'original'": The CMS defined in launch file"'all'": All six CMSs- Array (
[]) including one or multiple of the strings representing the corresponding CMSs
For more details about Color Map Schemes see here.
To define the color gradient, the minimum and maximum can redefined according to the extreme values. Therefore are multiple options. This key defines wanted extreme value adjustment setting(s). Allowed values are:
"mesh": Use extreme values of generated mesh. This ensures that the whole range of the color map is used."rdf": Define extreme values using the most extreme possible values given by the combination of maximum and minimum value in sensor message (defined in launch file), selected maximum distance and selected radiation distance function and the choice whether to use logarithm or not. This ist the same method used to pubish mesh online for example to display in rviz."none": No adjustment"'all'": All three settings- Array (
[]) including one or multiple of the strings representing the corresponding settings
To get a better understanding of the project, you can also read the description of the parameters in the launch files for Voxblox here.
Within the scope of this project work further software projects have been developed. These are collected in the repository 3D Radiation Mapper Tools.