What should I expect to see in the gazebo if I run "uuv_plume_simulator"?

[touhid1259]

Hi

I am running the examples of "uuv_plume_simulator" according to the README. But, I got a bit confused when I ran it with use_gazebo:=true option. By default, the gui is paused for gazebo in the launch file. So, to see what actually happens in gazebo, I unpaused it and ran the commands with use_gazebo:=true. RViz is showing the results, but I don't see anything in the gazebo simulation. So, Can you please tell me what I should expect in the gazebo simulation?

Thanks
Touhid

[musamarcusso]

Hi @touhid1259, there should be nothing being shown in Gazebo. The ignition marker library for Gazebo had been recently released when the plume implementation started and because of that is not in the package yet. The Gazebo sensor plugin is implemented though. The visualization of the topics in RViz should be much easier than in Gazebo, though.

[musamarcusso]

Gazebo in this case is providing the sensor plugin and the simulation time for the plume simulation.

[touhid1259]

Hi musamarcusso

Thanks for the reply. So, does this mean, I can not add the "plume source" in the gazebo environment now, but, I can add the sensor to the robot which is:

<xacro:default_chemical_concentration_sensor_macro
namespace="${namespace}"
parent_link="${namespace}/base_link"
inertial_reference_frame="${inertial_reference_frame}">

</xacro:default_chemical_concentration_sensor_macro>

And in this case, how the simulation actually works? i.e., if I have a gazebo environment with a robot with the sensor and also the "plume simulation" running in rviz, then how the robot will sense the plume as there is no source in the gazebo environment?

Thanks
Touhid

[musamarcusso]

The plume is published, the only thing that is not available is the visualization marker for Gazebo. But if you check the particles topic, the plume is updated and is received by all the sensor units mounted on the robots.

[touhid1259]

Hi musamarcusso

Thanks for your reply. It was really helpful for me. I have tested the scenarios before but wasn't sure about the things that were happening. Now, everything is cleared up.

Thanks
Touhid

[touhid1259]

Hi musamarcusso

I am trying to understand the meaning of ChemicalParticleConcentration.msg. I am bit confused with "particle concentration". What does this actually mean? Does it specify the "no. of plume particles" or "mass of sensed plume particles" or anything else? Can you please tell me what it actually means?

Thanks
Touhid