forcedimension_ros2

This stack includes ros2_control drivers for Force Dimension SDK compatible haptic interfaces.

Tested with Jazzy and Humble ROS distributions only

Warning

The vendor package fd_sdk_vendor is now required! Please follow the installation steps carefully.

Note

Although still online, the foxy and galactic branches are not maintained anymore and might be obsolete.

Compatible devices

The driver was currently tested on the following haptic devices:

• Force Dimension Omega.3, Omega.6 and Omega.7
• Novint Falcon

Usage

Getting Started

Required setup : Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

1. Install ros2 packages. The current development is based of ros2 jazzy. Installation steps are described here.
2. Source your ros2 environment:

    source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
    

**NOTE**: The ros2 environment needs to be sources in every used terminal. If only one distribution of ros2 is used, it can be added to the `~/.bashrc` file. 3. Install `colcon` and its extensions :

    sudo apt install python3-colcon-common-extensions
     

1. Create a new ros2 workspace:

    mkdir ~/ros2_ws/src
    

1. Pull relevant packages, install dependencies (including the vendor pkg fd_sdk_vendor):

    cd ~/ros2_ws
    cd src
    git clone https://github.com/ICube-Robotics/forcedimension_ros2.git
    vcs import . < forcedimension_ros2/forcedimension_ros2.repos
    rosdep install --ignore-src --from-paths . -y -r
    

1. Compile and source the workspace by using:

    colcon build --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release --symlink-install
    source install/setup.bash
    

Running the driver

An example launch file is provided with this stack in the fd_bringup package. The driver can be run using

ros2 launch fd_bringup fd.launch.py

The device end-effector pose can then be found in the /fd/ee_pose and wrench can be set on the /fd_controller/commands topic. Note that the default launch config is for the Omega 3 device (orientation and clutch OFF).

You can test the readings using plotjuggler and the force control by requesting a (small) force along X axis:

ros2 topic pub -r 1000 \
     /fd/fd_controller/commands std_msgs/msg/Float64MultiArray "data: [0.5, 0.0, 0.0]"

Practical information

Initialize usb device

USB devices require su privileges to operate unless allowed in udev rules

To declare a new device :

1. run lsusb -v which gives

    idVendor = 0x1451 Force Dimension
    idProduct = 0x0301
    

1. Create and edit udev rules file

    sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/10-omega_3_USB.rules
    

and in the file write

    ATTRS{idProduct}=="[PRODUCT_ID]", ATTRS{idVendor}=="[VENDOR ID]", MODE="666", GROUP="plugdev"
    

**Note**: `[PRODUCT_ID]` is `idProduct` without `0x`, same for `[VENDOR ID]`

1. To apply the new rule run

    sudo udevadm trigger
    

1. You can try your setup by running the HapticDesk executable from the sdk fd_hardware/external/sdk-3.14.0/bin folder. If the haptic device is recognized, you are ready to go.

Contacts

ICube Laboratory, University of Strasbourg, France

Maciej Bednarczyk: m.bednarczyk@unistra.fr, @github: mcbed

Contributing Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to forcedimension_ros2. Whether it’s a bug report, new feature, correction, or additional documentation, we greatly value feedback and contributions from the community.

Please read through this document before submitting any issues or pull requests to ensure we have all the necessary information to effectively respond to your bug report or contribution.

Reporting Bugs/Feature Requests

We welcome you to use the GitHub issue tracker to report bugs or suggest features.

When filing an issue, please check [existing open][issues], or [recently closed][closed-issues], issues to make sure somebody else hasn’t already reported the issue.

Please try to include as much information as you can. Details like these are incredibly useful:

• A reproducible test case or series of steps
• The version of our code being used
• Any modifications you’ve made relevant to the bug
• Anything unusual about your environment or deployment

Contributing via Pull Requests

Contributions via pull requests are much appreciated. Before sending us a pull request, please ensure that:

1. You are working against the latest source on the main branch.
2. You check existing open, and recently merged, pull requests to make sure someone else hasn’t addressed the problem already.
3. You open an issue to discuss any significant work - we would hate for your time to be wasted.

To send us a pull request, please:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Modify the source; please focus on the specific change you are contributing. If you also reformat all the code, it will be hard for us to focus on your change.
3. Ensure local tests pass.
4. Commit to your fork using clear commit messages.
5. Send a pull request, answering any default questions in the pull request interface.
6. Pay attention to any automated CI failures reported in the pull request, and stay involved in the conversation.

GitHub provides additional documentation on forking a repository and creating a pull request.

Licensing

Any contribution that you make to this repository will be under the Apache 2 License, as dictated by that license:

5. Submission of Contributions. Unless You explicitly state otherwise,
   any Contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the Work
   by You to the Licensor shall be under the terms and conditions of
   this License, without any additional terms or conditions.
   Notwithstanding the above, nothing herein shall supersede or modify
   the terms of any separate license agreement you may have executed
   with Licensor regarding such Contributions.