ROS Plugin for Open MCT

This project provides a plugin for connecting Open MCT to ROS 2 (and maybe ROS 1).

Requirements

This plugin requires rosbridge_suite > 1.3.2

Installation

Get the latest Node 18

Then run:

git clone git@github.com:traclabs/openmct-ros.git
cd openmct-ros
npm install
npm run build:example
npm start

This should build the example and run the Open MCT development server. After the server has started, launch a web browser pointing to http://localhost:9091/

This will start the Open MCT web application connected to a running rosbridge_server on ws://localhost:9090. Note you can change the hostname/IP of the rosbridge_server in example/index.js.

Options

rosBridgeEndpoint

• Type: string
• Description: The WebSocket endpoint for the rosbridge_server. This is the URL where the Open MCT plugin will connect to receive ROS data.
• Example: "ws://localhost:9090"

unsubscribeFromTopicsOnStop

• Type: boolean
• Description: Determines whether the plugin should automatically unsubscribe from ROS topics when the Open MCT client wants to unsubscribe.
• Default: false

telemetryDataToKeepPerTopic

• Type: number
• Description: Specifies the maximum number of telemetry data points to retain in memory for each topic. This helps in managing memory usage and performance by limiting the amount of data stored.
• Default: 10000
• Example: Setting this to 5000 would limit the storage to the last 5000 data points per topic.

flattenArraysToSize

• Type: number
• Description: When receiving array data from a ROS topic, this option limits the array size by only keeping the specified number of elements.
• Default: 10
• Example: If a topic publishes an array with 100 elements and this option is set to 10, only the first 10 elements of each array will be kept.

namespace

• Type: string
• Description: Specifies a namespace for the ROS topics to be used within Open MCT. This allows for organizing and grouping topics under a specific namespace.
• Default: "ros"

Testing plugin

Prerequisites

• Download Docker in some fashion
• Ensure you've followed the guide to allow your X11 server to allow for connection.
  • Note on MacOS, ensure 'Allow connections from network clients' has been set in its preferences

Running Test

1. Launch openmct-ros-dev-server, rosbridge_server, turtlesim, and turtlesim_controller by running:

docker compose up

2. Wait a moment for everything to initialize. You should see the turtlesim window appear and circling.
3. Refresh your browser pointing to http://localhost:9091/ - it should automatically connect and display a list of ROS topics.