Tf related topics do not get properly namespaced in Composable Nodes

[xaru8145]

Generated by Generative AI

No response

Operating System:

[Docker] Linux d49ab8ac36f9 6.14.0-36-generic #36~24.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Oct 15 15:45:17 UTC 2 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

ROS version or commit hash:

jazzy

RMW implementation (if applicable):

rmw_fastrtps_cpp

RMW Configuration (if applicable):

No response

Client library (if applicable):

No response

'ros2 doctor --report' output

ros2 doctor --report

   NETWORK CONFIGURATION
inet         : 127.0.0.1
inet4        : ['127.0.0.1']
inet6        : ['::1']
netmask      : 255.0.0.0
device       : lo
flags        : 73<LOOPBACK,UP,RUNNING>
mtu          : 65536
inet         : 172.18.0.2
inet4        : ['172.18.0.2']
ether        : 72:c6:fa:59:9f:42
netmask      : 255.255.0.0
device       : eth0
flags        : 4163<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,BROADCAST>
mtu          : 1500
broadcast    : 172.18.255.255

   PLATFORM INFORMATION
system           : Linux
platform info    : Linux-6.14.0-36-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.39
release          : 6.14.0-36-generic
processor        : x86_64

   RMW MIDDLEWARE
middleware name    : rmw_fastrtps_cpp

   ROS 2 INFORMATION
distribution name      : jazzy
distribution type      : ros2
distribution status    : active
release platforms      : {'debian': ['bookworm'], 'rhel': ['9'], 'ubuntu': ['noble']}

Steps to reproduce issue

1. Launch file with a given namespace and a configuration file:

  my_container = ComposableNodeContainer(
        name='my_container',
        namespace=namespace,
        package='rclcpp_components',
        executable='component_container',
        output='screen',
        composable_node_descriptions=[
            ComposableNode(
                package='my_package',
                plugin='my_plugin',
                name='node_name',
                namespace=namespace,
                parameters=[
                    config,
                    {'use_sim_time': use_sim_time},
                ],
                remappings=[
                    ('/tf', 'tf'),
                    ('/tf_static', 'tf_static'),
                    ('/my_topic', 'my_topic_remapped'),
                ],
            ),
        ],
    )

2. Launch the file and inspect the list of topics using ros2 topic list.

Expected behavior

We should see the tf topics properly namespaced by inspecting the output of ros2 topic list.

/namespace/tf
/namespace/tf_static
/namespace/my_topic_remapped

Actual behavior

The node specific topics are properly namespaced but tf related ones are not.

/tf
/tf_static
/namespace/my_topic_remapped

Additional information

The way I got it to work work is by adding the tf remapping in the container node rather than in the composable node itself.

    my_container = ComposableNodeContainer(
        name='my_container',
        namespace=namespace,
        package='rclcpp_components',
        executable='component_container',
        output='screen',
        remappings=[
            ('/tf', 'tf'),
            ('/tf_static', 'tf_static'),
        ],
        composable_node_descriptions=[
            ComposableNode(
                package='my_package',
                plugin='my_plugin',
                name='node_name',
                namespace=namespace,
                parameters=[
                    config,
                    {'use_sim_time': use_sim_time},
                ],
                remappings=[
                    ('my_topic', 'my_topic_remapped'),
                ],
            ),
        ],
    )

[wjwwood]

From the triage meeting: Can you add the output from ros2 topic info --verbose ... for each topic and also ros2 node info <node name> for each of the nodes publishing or subscribing to /tf (and maybe the other topics)?

cc @sloretz in case I missed anything

[xaru8145]

@wjwwood I discovered something interesting while debugging this issue.

When a component loaded into a container subscribes (tf listener) to tf or tf_static, the resulting TF topics are not namespaced correctly. The node ends up receiving TF messages from the global (/tf, /tf_static) namespace instead of the container’s expected namespace.

However, the behavior is different when the same component publishes (tf broadcaster) to tf or tf_static:
in that case, the TF topics are namespaced correctly (e.g. <container_ns>/tf and <container_ns>/tf_static).

So the inconsistency only appears on the subscriber side of TF topics inside a component container. For the subscriber case, here are the requested outputs:

• Topic list:

$ ros2 topic list
/parameter_events
/rosout
/test_ns/my_topic_remapped
/tf
/tf_static

• Verbose tf topic:

$ ros2 topic info --verbose /tf
Type: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage

Publisher count: 0

Subscription count: 1

Node name: transform_listener_impl_5d3089696d40
Node namespace: /test_ns
Topic type: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage
Topic type hash: RIHS01_e369d0f05a23ae52508854b66f6aa0437f3449d652e8cbf22d5abe85d020f087
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION
GID: 01.0f.2c.17.c9.04.3e.9f.00.00.00.00.00.00.22.04
QoS profile:
  Reliability: RELIABLE
  History (Depth): UNKNOWN
  Durability: VOLATILE
  Lifespan: Infinite
  Deadline: Infinite
  Liveliness: AUTOMATIC
  Liveliness lease duration: Infinite

• Verbose tf static topic:

$ ros2 topic info --verbose /tf_static
Type: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage

Publisher count: 0

Subscription count: 1

Node name: transform_listener_impl_5d3089696d40
Node namespace: /test_ns
Topic type: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage
Topic type hash: RIHS01_e369d0f05a23ae52508854b66f6aa0437f3449d652e8cbf22d5abe85d020f087
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION
GID: 01.0f.2c.17.c9.04.3e.9f.00.00.00.00.00.00.23.04
QoS profile:
  Reliability: RELIABLE
  History (Depth): UNKNOWN
  Durability: TRANSIENT_LOCAL
  Lifespan: Infinite
  Deadline: Infinite
  Liveliness: AUTOMATIC
  Liveliness lease duration: Infinite

• Verbose remapped topic:

$ ros2 topic info --verbose /test_ns/my_topic_remapped
Type: std_msgs/msg/Bool

Publisher count: 0

Subscription count: 1

Node name: my_listener_component
Node namespace: /test_ns
Topic type: std_msgs/msg/Bool
Topic type hash: RIHS01_feb91e995ff9ebd09c0cb3d2aed18b11077585839fb5db80193b62d74528f6c9
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION
GID: 01.0f.2c.17.c9.04.3e.9f.00.00.00.00.00.00.24.04
QoS profile:
  Reliability: RELIABLE
  History (Depth): UNKNOWN
  Durability: VOLATILE
  Lifespan: Infinite
  Deadline: Infinite
  Liveliness: AUTOMATIC
  Liveliness lease duration: Infinite

• Container node:

$ ros2 node info /test_ns/my_container 
/test_ns/my_container
  Subscribers:
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
  Publishers:
    /rosout: rcl_interfaces/msg/Log
  Service Servers:
    /test_ns/my_container/get_type_description: type_description_interfaces/srv/GetTypeDescription
  Service Clients:

  Action Servers:

  Action Clients:

• Component node:

$ ros2 node info /test_ns/my_listener_component
/test_ns/my_listener_component
  Subscribers:
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
    /test_ns/my_topic_remapped: std_msgs/msg/Bool
  Publishers:
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
    /rosout: rcl_interfaces/msg/Log
  Service Servers:
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/describe_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/DescribeParameters
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/get_parameter_types: rcl_interfaces/srv/GetParameterTypes
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/get_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/GetParameters
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/get_type_description: type_description_interfaces/srv/GetTypeDescription
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/list_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/ListParameters
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/set_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/SetParameters
    /test_ns/my_listener_component/set_parameters_atomically: rcl_interfaces/srv/SetParametersAtomically
  Service Clients:

  Action Servers:

  Action Clients:

• Transform listener impl:

$ ros2 node info /test_ns/transform_listener_impl_5d3089696d40
/test_ns/transform_listener_impl_5d3089696d40
  Subscribers:
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
    /tf: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage
    /tf_static: tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage
  Publishers:
    /rosout: rcl_interfaces/msg/Log
  Service Servers:
    /test_ns/transform_listener_impl_5d3089696d40/get_type_description: type_description_interfaces/srv/GetTypeDescription
  Service Clients:

  Action Servers:

  Action Clients:

[xaru8145]

To test and reproduce this I wrote some easy/dummy components:

• my_broadcaster_component.hpp

#pragma once

#include <rclcpp/rclcpp.hpp>
#include <std_msgs/msg/bool.hpp>
#include <tf2_ros/static_transform_broadcaster.h>
#include <tf2_ros/transform_broadcaster.h>

namespace rclcpp_component_bug
{

class MyBroadcasterComponent : public rclcpp::Node
{
public:
  explicit MyBroadcasterComponent(const rclcpp::NodeOptions& options = rclcpp::NodeOptions());

private:
  void on_timer();
  void topic_callback(const std_msgs::msg::Bool & msg) const;

  rclcpp::TimerBase::SharedPtr timer_;
  std::unique_ptr<tf2_ros::TransformBroadcaster> tf_broadcaster_;
  std::unique_ptr<tf2_ros::StaticTransformBroadcaster> static_tf_broadcaster_;
  rclcpp::Subscription<std_msgs::msg::Bool>::SharedPtr sub_;
};

}  // namespace rclcpp_component_bug

• my_broadcaster_component.cpp

#include <chrono>

#include <geometry_msgs/msg/transform_stamped.hpp>
#include <rclcpp_components/register_node_macro.hpp>

#include "rclcpp_component_bug/my_broadcaster_component.hpp"

using namespace std::chrono_literals;

namespace rclcpp_component_bug
{

MyBroadcasterComponent::MyBroadcasterComponent(const rclcpp::NodeOptions & options)
: Node("my_broadcaster_component", options)
{
  // Publishers for TF topics
  tf_broadcaster_ = std::make_unique<tf2_ros::TransformBroadcaster>(*this);
  static_tf_broadcaster_ = std::make_unique<tf2_ros::StaticTransformBroadcaster>(*this);

  // Subscriber for a regular topic
  sub_ = this->create_subscription<std_msgs::msg::Bool>(
    "my_topic", 10, std::bind(&MyBroadcasterComponent::topic_callback, this, std::placeholders::_1));

  // Publish a static transform once
  geometry_msgs::msg::TransformStamped static_t;
  static_t.header.stamp = this->get_clock()->now();
  static_t.header.frame_id = "world";
  static_t.child_frame_id = "static_frame";
  static_t.transform.translation.x = 1.0;
  static_t.transform.rotation.w = 1.0;
  static_tf_broadcaster_->sendTransform(static_t);

  // Publish dynamic transforms periodically
  timer_ = this->create_wall_timer(500ms, std::bind(&MyBroadcasterComponent::on_timer, this));

  RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "MyBroadcasterComponent started.");
}

void MyBroadcasterComponent::on_timer()
{
  geometry_msgs::msg::TransformStamped t;

  t.header.stamp = this->get_clock()->now();
  t.header.frame_id = "world";
  t.child_frame_id = "dynamic_frame";

  t.transform.translation.x = 1.0 * sin(this->get_clock()->now().seconds());
  t.transform.translation.y = 1.0 * cos(this->get_clock()->now().seconds());
  t.transform.translation.z = 0.0;
  t.transform.rotation.w = 1.0;

  tf_broadcaster_->sendTransform(t);
}

void MyBroadcasterComponent::topic_callback(const std_msgs::msg::Bool & msg) const
{
  RCLCPP_INFO(
    this->get_logger(), "Received message: %s", msg.data ? "true" : "false");
}

}  // namespace rclcpp_component_bug

RCLCPP_COMPONENTS_REGISTER_NODE(rclcpp_component_bug::MyBroadcasterComponent)

• my_listener_component.hpp

#pragma once

#include <rclcpp/rclcpp.hpp>
#include <std_msgs/msg/bool.hpp>
#include <tf2_ros/transform_listener.h>
#include <tf2_ros/buffer.h>

namespace rclcpp_component_bug
{

class MyListenerComponent : public rclcpp::Node
{
public:
  explicit MyListenerComponent(const rclcpp::NodeOptions& options = rclcpp::NodeOptions());

private:
  void on_timer();
  void topic_callback(const std_msgs::msg::Bool & msg) const;

  rclcpp::TimerBase::SharedPtr timer_;
  std::shared_ptr<tf2_ros::TransformListener> tf_listener_{nullptr};
  std::unique_ptr<tf2_ros::Buffer> tf_buffer_{nullptr};
  rclcpp::Subscription<std_msgs::msg::Bool>::SharedPtr sub_;
};

}  // namespace rclcpp_component_bug

• my_listener_component.cpp

#include <chrono>

#include <geometry_msgs/msg/transform_stamped.hpp>
#include <rclcpp_components/register_node_macro.hpp>

#include "rclcpp_component_bug/my_listener_component.hpp"

using namespace std::chrono_literals;

namespace rclcpp_component_bug
{

MyListenerComponent::MyListenerComponent(const rclcpp::NodeOptions & options)
: Node("tf_listener_bug_component", options)
{
  // Setup Tf
  tf_buffer_ = std::make_unique<tf2_ros::Buffer>(this->get_clock());
  tf_listener_ = std::make_shared<tf2_ros::TransformListener>(*tf_buffer_);

  // Subscriber for a regular topic
  sub_ = this->create_subscription<std_msgs::msg::Bool>(
    "my_topic", 10, std::bind(&MyListenerComponent::topic_callback, this, std::placeholders::_1));

  // Publish dynamic transforms periodically
  timer_ = this->create_wall_timer(1000ms, std::bind(&MyListenerComponent::on_timer, this));

  RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "MyListenerComponent started.");
}

void MyListenerComponent::on_timer()
{
  try {
    geometry_msgs::msg::TransformStamped transformStamped = tf_buffer_->lookupTransform(
      "world", "dynamic_frame", tf2::TimePointZero);
    RCLCPP_INFO(
      this->get_logger(),
      "Transform received: translation(%.2f, %.2f, %.2f)",
      transformStamped.transform.translation.x,
      transformStamped.transform.translation.y,
      transformStamped.transform.translation.z);
  } catch (tf2::TransformException & ex) {
    RCLCPP_WARN(this->get_logger(), "Could not get transform: %s", ex.what());
  }
}

void MyListenerComponent::topic_callback(const std_msgs::msg::Bool & msg) const
{
  RCLCPP_INFO(
    this->get_logger(), "Received message: %s", msg.data ? "true" : "false");
}

}  // namespace rclcpp_component_bug

RCLCPP_COMPONENTS_REGISTER_NODE(rclcpp_component_bug::MyListenerComponent)

• CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.8)
project(rclcpp_component_bug)

if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES "Clang")
  add_compile_options(-Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic)
endif()

set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -fPIC")

# Dependencies
find_package(ament_cmake REQUIRED)
find_package(rclcpp REQUIRED)
find_package(rclcpp_components REQUIRED)
find_package(std_msgs REQUIRED)
find_package(tf2_ros REQUIRED)

# Libraries
add_library(my_broadcaster_component SHARED
  src/my_broadcaster_component.cpp
)
target_include_directories(my_broadcaster_component
  PUBLIC
    "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include>"
    "$<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include/${PROJECT_NAME}>"
)
ament_target_dependencies(my_broadcaster_component
  PUBLIC
    rclcpp
    rclcpp_components
    std_msgs
    tf2_ros
)
rclcpp_components_register_node(
  my_broadcaster_component
  PLUGIN rclcpp_component_bug::MyBroadcasterComponent
  EXECUTABLE my_broadcaster_main
)

add_library(my_listener_component SHARED
  src/my_listener_component.cpp
)
target_include_directories(my_listener_component
  PUBLIC
    "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include>"
    "$<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include/${PROJECT_NAME}>"
)
ament_target_dependencies(my_listener_component
  PUBLIC
    rclcpp
    rclcpp_components
    std_msgs
    tf2_ros
)
rclcpp_components_register_node(
  my_listener_component
  PLUGIN rclcpp_component_bug::MyListenerComponent
  EXECUTABLE my_listener_main
)

# Installation
install(
  TARGETS 
    my_broadcaster_component
    my_listener_component
  EXPORT export_${PROJECT_NAME}
  ARCHIVE DESTINATION lib
  LIBRARY DESTINATION lib
  RUNTIME DESTINATION bin
)

install(
  DIRECTORY launch
  DESTINATION share/${PROJECT_NAME}/
)

ament_export_targets(export_${PROJECT_NAME} HAS_LIBRARY_TARGET)
ament_export_dependencies(
  rclcpp
  rclcpp_components
  std_msgs
  tf2_ros
)

ament_package()

• package.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-model href="http://download.ros.org/schema/package_format3.xsd" schematypens="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"?>
<package format="3">
  <name>rclcpp_component_bug</name>
  <version>0.0.0</version>
  <description>Package to reproduce a rclcpp component bug.</description>
  <maintainer email="xavier.ruiz@ekumenlabs.com">Xavier Ruiz</maintainer>
  <license>Apache-2.0</license>

  <buildtool_depend>ament_cmake</buildtool_depend>

  <depend>rclcpp</depend>
  <depend>rclcpp_components</depend>
  <depend>std_msgs</depend>
  <depend>geometry_msgs</depend>
  <depend>tf2</depend>
  <depend>tf2_ros</depend>

  <test_depend>ament_lint_auto</test_depend>
  <test_depend>ament_lint_common</test_depend>

  <export>
    <build_type>ament_cmake</build_type>
  </export>
</package>

• reproduce_bug_broadcaster.launch.py

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch.actions import DeclareLaunchArgument
from launch.substitutions import LaunchConfiguration
from launch_ros.actions import ComposableNodeContainer
from launch_ros.descriptions import ComposableNode


def generate_launch_description():
    """Launch file to reproduce the tf remapping bug."""
    namespace_arg = DeclareLaunchArgument(
        'namespace', default_value='test_ns',
        description='Namespace for the container and node.'
    )

    namespace = LaunchConfiguration('namespace')

    my_container = ComposableNodeContainer(
        name='my_container',
        namespace=namespace,
        package='rclcpp_components',
        executable='component_container',
        output='screen',
        composable_node_descriptions=[
            ComposableNode(
                package='rclcpp_component_bug',
                plugin='rclcpp_component_bug::MyBroadcasterComponent',
                name='my_broadcaster_component',
                namespace=namespace,
                remappings=[
                    ('/tf', 'tf'),
                    ('/tf_static', 'tf_static'),
                    ('my_topic', 'my_topic_remapped'),
                ],
            ),
        ],
    )

    return LaunchDescription([
        namespace_arg,
        my_container,
    ])

• reproduce_bug_listener.launch.py

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch.actions import DeclareLaunchArgument
from launch.substitutions import LaunchConfiguration
from launch_ros.actions import ComposableNodeContainer
from launch_ros.descriptions import ComposableNode


def generate_launch_description():
    """Launch file to reproduce the tf remapping bug."""
    namespace_arg = DeclareLaunchArgument(
        'namespace', default_value='test_ns',
        description='Namespace for the container and node.'
    )

    namespace = LaunchConfiguration('namespace')

    # This configuration demonstrates the bug.
    # The remappings for /tf and /tf_static are inside the ComposableNode.
    # Expected: /test_ns/tf, /test_ns/tf_static, /test_ns/my_topic_remapped
    # Actual: /tf, /tf_static, /test_ns/my_topic_remapped
    my_container = ComposableNodeContainer(
        name='my_container',
        namespace=namespace,
        package='rclcpp_components',
        executable='component_container',
        output='screen',
        composable_node_descriptions=[
            ComposableNode(
                package='rclcpp_component_bug',
                plugin='rclcpp_component_bug::MyListenerComponent',
                name='my_listener_component',
                namespace=namespace,
                remappings=[
                    # These remappings do not get namespaced correctly
                    ('/tf', 'tf'),
                    ('/tf_static', 'tf_static'),
                    # This remapping works as expected
                    ('my_topic', 'my_topic_remapped'),
                ],
            ),
        ],
    )

    return LaunchDescription([
        namespace_arg,
        my_container,
    ])

[sloretz]

Thanks for posting the code! I see you're using the TransformListener(buffer) constructor. This constructor internally creates a new ROS 2 node. I think what's happening is the Composable node container passes the remap arguments via NodeOptions into MyListenerComponent, but those options aren't being forwarded to TransformListener's internal node.

I recommend using TransformListener's "NodeInterfaces" constructor (ROS Jazzy version) instead. That should make TransformListener use your existing node instead of creating a new one, and so the remap arguments given to your existing node will apply to the /tf topics.