$$\newcommand{\vmath}[1]{\mathsf{#1}} \newcommand{\mapsfrom}{\leftarrow\!\shortmid} \newcommand{\maps}{\mapsto} \newcommand{\exc}{\vmath{\colF{exec}}} \newcommand{\eval}{\vmath{\colR{eval}}} \newcommand{\ufloor}{{\vmath{\colL floor}}} \newcommand{\uceil}{{\vmath{\colU ceil}}} \newcommand{\triv}{\text{Triv}} \newcommand{\idFunc}{\mathrm{Id}} \newcommand{\reals}{\mathbb{R}} \newcommand{\One}{\mathbf{1}} \renewcommand{\mathbbm}[1]{\mathbb{#1}} \renewcommand{\mathscr}[1]{\mathcal{#1}} \newcommand{\varocircle}{⦾} \newcommand{\varotimes}{⊗} \newcommand{\varovee}{(\vee)} \newcommand{\colR}{\color{darkred}} \newcommand{\colF}{\color{darkgreen}} \newcommand{\colH}{\color{blue}} \newcommand{\colI}{\color{orange}} \newcommand{\rtof}{{\colH{\varphi}}} \newcommand{\ftor}{{\colH{h}}} \newcommand{\ftoR}{{\colH{H}}} \newcommand{\Rcomp}{{\mathbb{R}}^{*}_{\small+}} \newcommand{\nonNegRealsComp}{\Rcomp} \newcommand{\nonNegReals}{\mathbb{R}_+} \newcommand{\Rcpu}[1]{\Rcomp{}[\textrm{#1}]} \newcommand{\funsp}{{\colF{\mathscr{F}}}} \newcommand{\impsp}{{\colI{\mathscr{I}}}} \newcommand{\ressp}{{\colR{\mathscr{R}}}} \newcommand{\funleq}{\posleq_{\funsp}} \newcommand{\fun}{\vmath{\colF{f}}} \newcommand{\res}{\vmath{\colR{r}}} \newcommand{\funtop}{\top_\funsp} \newcommand{\funbot}{\bot_\funsp} \newcommand{\imp}{\vmath{i}} \newcommand{\paramsp}{\mathscr{P}} \newcommand{\resleq}{\posleq_{\ressp}} \newcommand{\restop}{\top_\ressp} \newcommand{\resbot}{\bot_\ressp} \newcommand{\resspleq}{\resleq} \newcommand{\tressp}{\trof(\ressp)} \newcommand{\trof}{\mathscr{T}} \newcommand{\tres}{T} \newcommand{\tresleq}{\leq_{\trof}} \newcommand{\trleq}{\leq_{\trof}} \newcommand{\dpisp}{\ensuremath{\vmath{DPI}}} \newcommand{\cdpisp}{\ensuremath{\vmath{CDPI}}} \newcommand{\dprobsp}{\ensuremath{\vmath{DP}}} \newcommand{\dprob}{\vmath{dp}} \newcommand{\dpseries}{\vmath{series}} \newcommand{\dppar}{\vmath{par}} \newcommand{\dploop}{\vmath{loop}} \newcommand{\dploopb}{\vmath{loopb}} \newcommand{\cdprobsp}{\ensuremath{\vmath{CDP}}} \newcommand{\cdprob}{\vmath{cdp}} \newcommand{\dpatoms}{\vmath{atoms}} \newcommand{\resMin}{{\Min_{\resleq}}} \newcommand{\unconnectedfun}{\mathsf{UF}} \newcommand{\unconnectedres}{\mathsf{UR}} \newcommand{\Aressp}{{\mathsf{\colR A}\colR\ressp}} \newcommand{\Afunsp}{{\mathsf{\colF A}\colF\funsp}} \newcommand{\udpa}{\boldsymbol{u}_a} \newcommand{\udpb}{\boldsymbol{u}_b} \newcommand{\udpL}{\boldsymbol{\mathsf{L}}} \newcommand{\udpU}{\boldsymbol{\mathsf{U}}} \newcommand{\udpsp}{\vmath{UDP}} \newcommand{\udpleq}{\posleq_\udpsp} \newcommand{\dpsp}{\vmath{DP}} \newcommand{\dpleq}{\posleq_\dpsp} \newcommand{\terms}{\vmath{Terms}} \newcommand{\udpsem}{\Phi} \newcommand{\dpsem}{\varphi} \newcommand{\atoms}{\mathcal{A}} \newcommand{\atree}{\boldsymbol{\vmath{T}}} \newcommand{\val}{\boldsymbol{v}} \newcommand{\ops}{\vmath{ops}} \newcommand{\ftorL}{\ftor_L} \newcommand{\ftorU}{\ftor_U} \newcommand{\acprod}{\mathbin{\boldsymbol{\times}}} \newcommand{\oploop}{\dagger} \newcommand{\opseries}{\mathbin{\varocircle}} \newcommand{\oppar}{\mathbin{\varotimes}} \newcommand{\opcoprod}{\mathbin{\varovee}} \newcommand{\UId}{\vmath{UId}} \newcommand{\vdc}{\vmath{vdc}} \newcommand{\makedp}{\Gamma} \newcommand{\colU}{\color{purple}} \newcommand{\colL}{\color{orange}} \newcommand{\R}[1]{{\colR{#1}}} \newcommand{\F}[1]{{\colF{#1}}} \newcommand{\I}[1]{{\colI{#1}}} \newcommand{\cdpiN}{\mathcal{V}} \newcommand{\cdpin}{v} \newcommand{\cdpinA}{v_1} \newcommand{\cdpinB}{v_2} \newcommand{\cdpiresind}{i} \newcommand{\cdpifunind}{j} \newcommand{\cdpiresindA}{i_1} \newcommand{\cdpifunindB}{j_2} \newcommand{\dpinumf}{\vmath{nf}} \newcommand{\dpinumr}{\vmath{nr}} \newcommand{\cdpinnumf}{\dpinumf_\cdpin} \newcommand{\cdpinnumr}{\dpinumr_\cdpin} \newcommand{\cdpiE}{\mathcal{E}} \newcommand{\subto}{\text{s.t.}} \newcommand{\with}{\text{using}} \newcommand{\pset}{\mathscr{P}} \DeclareMathOperator*{\Min}{Min} \DeclareMathOperator*{\Inf}{Inf} \DeclareMathOperator*{\Sup}{Sup} \DeclareMathOperator*{\Max}{Max} \newcommand{\lowerbounds}{\vmath{lowerbounds}} \newcommand{\upperbounds}{\vmath{upperbounds}} \newcommand{\posMin}{\Min} \newcommand{\posleq}{\preceq} \newcommand{\poslt}{\prec} \newcommand{\posgeq}{\succeq} \newcommand{\posA}{\mathcal{P}} \newcommand{\posAleq}{\mathrel{{\posleq_\posA}}} \newcommand{\posAMin}{\mathop{{\posMin_{\posAleq}}}} \newcommand{\posAmin}{\mathop{{\min_{\posAleq}}}} \newcommand{\posAmax}{\mathop{{\max_{\posAleq}}}} \newcommand{\posB}{\mathcal{Q}} \newcommand{\posBleq}{\mathrel{{\posleq_\posB}}} \newcommand{\posC}{\mathcal{R}} \newcommand{\lfp}{\vmath{lfp}} \newcommand{\prefixed}{\vmath{prefixed}} \newcommand{\CPOs}{\textsc{CPO}s\xspace} \newcommand{\CPO}{\textsc{CPO}\xspace} \newcommand{\DCPOs}{\textsc{DCPO}s\xspace} \newcommand{\DCPO}{\textsc{DCPO}\xspace} \newcommand{\antichains}{\vmath{A}} \newcommand{\upsets}{\vmath{U}} \newcommand{\downsets}{\vmath{D}} \newcommand{\upresleq}{\posleq_{\upressp}} \newcommand{\upressp}{\upsets\ressp} \newcommand{\allupsets}{\vmath{Up}} \newcommand{\upit}{{\uparrow\,}} \newcommand{\stupit}{\dot{\upit}} \newcommand{\posetwidth}{\vmath{width}} \newcommand{\posetheight}{\vmath{height}} \newcommand{\posdef}[1]{\mathcal{P}_{#1}} \newcommand{\MR}{\M{R}} \newcommand{\myacronym}[1]{\textsc{#1}\xspace} \newcommand{\T}[1]{\boldsymbol{{\mathsf{#1}}}} \newcommand{\Tel}[1]{{\mathsf{#1}}} \newcommand{\Te}[1]{\Tel{#1}} \newcommand{\M}[1]{\mathbf{#1}} \newcommand{\Mel}[1]{\mathrm{#1}} \newcommand{\aset}[1]{\mathscr{#1}} \newcommand{\agroup}[1]{\mathrm{#1}} \newcommand{\aseq}[1]{\boldsymbol{#1}} \newcommand{\aseqe}[1]{#1} \newcommand{\dummyIndices}{} \newcommand{\aword}[1]{\mathsf{#1}} \newcommand{\vmath}[1]{\aword{#1}} \newcommand{\codefunc}[1]{\texttt{#1}\xspace} \newcommand{\swpackage}[1]{\textsc{#1}\xspace} \newcommand{\MA}{\M{A}} \newcommand{\MB}{\M{B}} \newcommand{\MC}{\M{C}} \newcommand{\MG}{\M{G}} \newcommand{\MH}{\M{H}} \newcommand{\ML}{\M{L}} \newcommand{\MQ}{\M{Q}} \newcommand{\MP}{\M{P}} \newcommand{\MS}{\M{S}} \newcommand{\MSigma}{\M{\Sigma}} \newcommand{\MV}{\M{V}} \newcommand{\MW}{\M{W}} \newcommand{\SP}{P_{\text{s}}} \newcommand{\AP}{P_{\text{a}}} \newcommand{\SE}{E} \newcommand{\ER}{r} \newcommand{\HP}{\Theta} \newcommand{\np}{n} \newcommand{\ones}{\boldsymbol{1}} \newcommand{\idMat}{\M{I}} \newcommand{\matTrace}{\vmath{Tr}} \newcommand{\angleFun}{\angle} \newcommand{\flatten}{\mathsf{vec}} \newcommand{\batterymass}{{\colR{m}}} \newcommand{\batterycapacity}{{\colF{C}}} \newcommand{\batterycost}{{\colR{c}}} \newcommand{\specificenergy}{{\colR{\rho}}} \newcommand{\specificcost}{{\colR{\alpha}}} \newcommand{\D}{\,\textrm{d}} \newcommand{\ex}{\mathbb{E}} \newcommand{\aset}[1]{\mathcal{#1}} \newcommand{\amat}[1]{\mathbf{#1}} \newcommand{\avec}[1]{\mathbf{#1}} \newcommand{\rv}[1]{\boldsymbol{#1}} \newcommand{\definedas}{\triangleq} \newcommand{\nats}{\mathbb{N}} \newcommand{\ints}{\mathbb{Z}} \newcommand{\rats}{\mathbb{Q}} \newcommand{\reals}{\mathbb{R}} \newcommand{\comp}{\mathbb{C}} \newcommand{\Time}{\mathbb{T}} \newcommand{\SEthree}{\text{SE}(3)} \newcommand{\SEtwo}{\text{SE}(2)} \newcommand{\sethree}{\text{se}(3)} \newcommand{\setwo}{\text{se}(2)} \newcommand{\SOthree}{\text{SO}(3)} \newcommand{\pose}{\boldsymbol{q}} \newcommand{\state}{\boldsymbol{x}} \newcommand{\statesp}{\mathcal{X}} \newcommand{\bmu}{\boldsymbol{\mu}} \newcommand{\bSigma}{\boldsymbol{\Sigma}} \newcommand{\tup}[1]{\langle#1\rangle}$$

Wheel Encoder Driver

✎

Modified 2020-03-04 by Timothy Scott

The following files are important for the encoder driver:

packages/sensor_suite/src/encoder_node.py: This is the ROS node.
packages/sensor_suite/config/encoder_node/default.yaml: Default parameters for ROS node

Overview

✎

Modified 2020-03-04 by Timothy Scott

The encoder node uses the pigpio library to read the encoder. This requires that the pigpio daemon be started. In the container’s launch.sh script, this is taken care of. However, if you want to use this driver in a different context, make sure to start the pigpio daemon using the command pigpiod.

The driver sets up an interrupt handler which is triggered on either a falling or rising edge on the encoder GPIO line. This interrupt handler simply keeps a count of the total number of edges since boot. Then, another thread checks this count at regular intervals, calculates the average speed since the last check, and publishes the result to the ROS topic /duckiebot name/encoder_node/encoder_velocity.

An alternative would be to publish the ROS topic once for each tick of the encoder. However, the first method was chosen for the following reasons:

It guarantees that the ROS topic is published at a constant speed
If the wheel is not moving, the ROS topic is still published, indicating 0 speed

The prototype encoder used for testing has only 10 counts / revolution, which limits the resolution of this node. At a polling frequency of 5Hz, and at maximum wheel speed, there are 30 encoder counts per second, or 6 per polling period. Thus, at any motor speed between 0 and 100%, there are only 7 possible speeds that can be reported by the encoder node. In testing, this proved to be sufficient, but only barely: Increasing the polling frequency from 5 Hz to 10 Hz made the data too noisy to be useful.

Because there is only 1 GPIO line for the encoder, it cannot detect direction of rotation. Any node that uses this data should also use the relevant car_cmd topic to determine which direction the wheels are expected to be turning.

Parameters

✎

Modified 2020-03-04 by Timothy Scott

polling_hz: This is the frequency at which to read the current global encoder count, calculate the velocity, and publish the ROS topic. For the prototype encoder with 10 counts / revolution, 5 Hz is recommended as the maximum. A lower value will make the encoder node average the speed over a longer period, meaning less noise and higher resolution, but slower response to changes in speed.
pin_encoder: The GPIO pin of the Raspberry Pi to which the encoder is connected. On the Duckietown HUT v3.0, this is pin 19.
radius: Radius of the wheel. This is used to convert rotational velocity to linear velocity of the Duckiebot.
holes_per_round: Number of encoder counts per revolution. An encoder with more of these will provide higher resolution speed measurements, as described above.

Calibration

✎

Modified 2020-03-04 by Timothy Scott

The encoder node does not have a calibration procedure like the other sensor nodes. Instead, it should be calibrated by measuring the diameter of the wheel of the Duckiebot and counting the number of encoder counts per revolution, and providing those values in their respective parameters, described above.