Football Table Simulation Visualization Tool: Difference between revisions

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The GUI is created with use of two main elements: [http://qt.nokia.com/products/ QT] (UI Framework) and [http://www.ogre3d.org/ OGRE] (3D Graphics Engine). With use of the visualization, the user can see what information the robot obtains during a work-out. This part of the GUI visualizes the sensor data that comes from the real table or simulator. Updating this visualization and receiving data is done at a frequency of 50 hertz. This provides a smooth playback of the sensor data of the (simulated) robot to the user.
The GUI is created with use of two main elements: [http://qt.nokia.com/products/ QT] (UI Framework) and [http://www.ogre3d.org/ OGRE] (3D Graphics Engine). With use of the visualization, the user can see what information the robot obtains during a work-out. This part of the GUI visualizes the sensor data that comes from the real table or simulator. Updating this visualization and receiving data is done at a frequency of 50 hertz. This provides a smooth playback of the sensor data of the (simulated) robot to the user.
[[Image:gui.png|400px|thumb|center|Figure 2: Tool Overview]]
[[Image:gui.png|400px|thumb|center|Figure 2: Tool Overview]]
== Simulation ==
<p>
The simulation is build with use of [http://www.openrobots.org/wiki/morse MORSE]. This robot simulator is based on [http://www.blender.org/ Blender]'s [http://www.blender.org/documentation/249PythonDoc/GE/GameLogic-module.html Gamelogic module] (Module for game-creation). This module is entirely scriptable with use of Python. These python-scripts can interact with the simulated environment.
</p>
<p>
The [http://www.openrobots.org/wiki/morse MORSE] addition to this module makes it possible to communicate with these python scripts with use of middlewares or simple sockets. Local variables of these scripts can be modified or read; which results in a control of the simulated environment with use of an external client.
</p>
<p>
The [http://cstwiki.wtb.tue.nl/images/Report_Rein_Appeldoorn_Visualization_Simulation_Tool_Football_Table.pdf report] contains detailed information of the creation of this simulation-model and its interactions with the external client.  It also gives an overview of the [http://www.openrobots.org/wiki/morse MORSE] workflow which gives more insight in the working principle of the [http://www.openrobots.org/wiki/morse MORSE] simulator.
</p>
[[File:model.png|center|thumb|400px|Figure 3: MORSE model]]
</div><div style="width: 20%; float: left;"><center>{{:Football_Table_Menu}}</center></div>

Revision as of 10:32, 10 September 2013

Author: Rein Appeldoorn

Information

Gazebo

A simulator is developed to easily test new algorithms without depending on the actual robot. In has been developed using gazebo (w/o the use of ROS), a so-called physics abstraction layer, which employs ODE combined with OGRE for rendering. The environment/robots are described in the SDF format, which in this case is combined with Collada (*.dae) renderings for more complex geometry. A previous attempt was created using MORSE, however this did not allow good tuning of the physics.

Inter-process Communication

This simulation communicates with Matlab Simulink using Interprocess Communication (IPC) wrapper library for the POSIX libraries. This library uses mutexes and condition variables enabling a thread-safe, synchronized, causal communication between two processes e.g. Gazebo and Simulink. This allows us to use the Gazebo simulator as a plant in our simulink control loop. More on this library and how it is used, can be found here *EDIT*.

External Documentation

Graphical User Interface

The GUI is created with use of two main elements: QT (UI Framework) and OGRE (3D Graphics Engine). With use of the visualization, the user can see what information the robot obtains during a work-out. This part of the GUI visualizes the sensor data that comes from the real table or simulator. Updating this visualization and receiving data is done at a frequency of 50 hertz. This provides a smooth playback of the sensor data of the (simulated) robot to the user.

Figure 2: Tool Overview
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