Setup Robot MoveIt Package

This script facilitates the setup of a ROS 2 package for robot motion planning using MoveIt 2. It generates the necessary configuration files, launch files, and directory structure to use MoveIt with your robot.

Prerequisites

  • An existing ROS 2 package (create one using create-new-package if needed).

  • A robot description package (created with setup-robot-description).

  • A robot control/bringup package (created with setup-robot-bringup).

Usage

Execute the script from the root of your target package:

setup-robot-moveit CELL_NAME CONTROL_PKG_NAME CONTROL_LAUNCH_FILE DESCRIPTION_PKG_NAME

Arguments

  • CELL_NAME: The name of the robot, cell, or scenario (e.g., myrobot). This is used for naming files and parameters.

  • CONTROL_PKG_NAME: The name of the package containing the robot’s control launch files.

  • CONTROL_LAUNCH_FILE: The name of the launch file (without extension) in the control package that brings up the robot hardware/simulation (e.g., start_offline).

  • DESCRIPTION_PKG_NAME: The name of the package containing the robot description (URDF/XACRO).

Interactive Steps

  1. Launch File Type Selection: Choose whether to generate XML, Python, or both types of launch files.

  2. Confirmation: Review the configuration summary and press Enter to proceed.

  3. SRDF Generation: Choose whether to generate a template SRDF file in this package. If “no” (default), it assumes the SRDF is provided by the description package.

Generated Files and Structure

The script creates the following structure in your package:

$PKG_NAME$/
├── config/
│   └── moveit/
│       ├── move_group_config.yaml         # Move group node configuration
│       ├── moveit_controllers.yaml        # Controller manager configuration
│       ├── joint_limits.yaml              # Joint limits overriding URDF
│       ├── kinematics.yaml                # Kinematics solver configuration
│       ├── sensors_3d.yaml                # Perception configuration
│       └── <planner>_planning.yaml        # Planner configurations (OMPL, Pilz, CHOMP, STOMP)
├── launch/
│   └── moveit.launch.xml                  # Main MoveIt launch file
├── srdf/                                  # (Optional, if selected)
│   ├── $CELL_NAME$_macro.srdf.xacro       # Semantic robot description macro
│   └── $CELL_NAME$.srdf.xacro             # Semantic robot description
└── rviz/
    ├── moveit.rviz                        # RViZ config with MotionPlanning widget
    └── moveit_config.rviz                 # RViZ config for MoveIt Setup Assistant

Updates to Existing Files

The script automatically updates:

  • package.xml: Adds dependencies on moveit_ros_move_group, moveit_kinematics, moveit_planners, and moveit_simple_controller_manager.

  • CMakeLists.txt: Adds install rules for the new directories (config, launch, rviz, and optionally srdf).

  • README.md: Appends instructions on how to use the generated MoveIt configuration.

Post-Generation Steps

  1. Configure SRDF: If you generated the SRDF templates, edit srdf/$CELL_NAME$.srdf.xacro to define your robot’s groups, end-effectors, and virtual joints.

  2. Configure Controllers: Verify config/moveit/moveit_controllers.yaml matches your robot’s controller configuration.

  3. Configure Joint Limits: Adjust config/moveit/joint_limits.yaml if needed.

  4. Build: .. code-block:: bash

    cb <your_package_name>

  5. Run: First, launch the robot bringup (simulation or real hardware):

    ros2 launch <control_pkg> <control_launch_file>.launch.xml

    Then, launch MoveIt:

    ros2 launch <your_package_name> moveit.launch.xml