Webots2Robocomp

This project aims to build middleware that facilitates communication and integration between the Webots robotics simulator and the Robocomp framework.

Webots Robot Configuration

For the middleware to effectively communicate with the robot in Webots, it's essential to configure the robot's controller to . This ensures that the robot's behavior is externally controlled by a program outside Webots, in this case, our middleware.

Steps to Configure Robot in Webots

Open your Webots world file: This is typically a .wbt file where your robot and environment are defined.

Select your robot node: In the scene tree (usually on the left side of the Webots interface), find and select your robot node.

Modify the controller field: In the robot's properties (usually on the right side of the Webots interface), find the controller field. Change its value to .

Save the world file: Ensure you save the .wbt file after making this change.

Now, when you run the simulation in Webots, the robot will wait for an external controller (Webots2Robocomp in this case) to connect and take control.

Connecting Middleware to Webots

Once the robot's controller is set to , ensure your middleware is ready to connect. Typically, you'd do this:

Start Webots and play the simulation.

Launch the middleware. It should automatically detect the robot waiting for an external controller and establish a connection.

Starting the component

To avoid changing the config file in the repository, we can copy it to the component's home directory, so changes will remain untouched by future git pulls:

cd <Webots2Robocomp's path>
cp etc/config config

After editing the new config file we can run the component:

bin/Webots2Robocomp config

Configuration parameters

As any other component, Webots2Robocomp needs a configuration file to start. In

etc/config

you can find an example of a configuration file. We can find there the following lines:

CommonBehavior.Endpoints=tcp -p 10217

# Endpoints for implements interfaces
Laser.Endpoints=tcp -p 10003
Lidar3D.Endpoints=tcp -p 11988
CameraRGBDSimple.Endpoints=tcp -p 10096


InnerModelPath = innermodel.xml

Ice.Warn.Connections=0
Ice.Trace.Network=0
Ice.Trace.Protocol=0
Ice.MessageSizeMax=20004800

Webots Scene Component Naming Conventions

For the middleware to properly interface with the components in Webots, it's crucial that certain components adhere to specific naming conventions. This ensures that the middleware can correctly identify and interact with these components. Required Component Names:

Lidar: The Lidar component in your Webots scene must be named lidar.

Camera: The Camera component should be named camera.

Range Finder: This component needs to be named range-finder.

Robocomp to Webots Component Mapping

For the middleware to function correctly, there's a specific mapping between the components implemented in Robocomp and their corresponding components in Webots. Here's a breakdown of this mapping:

Robocomp Component	Webots Component	Description
Laser	Lidar	Corresponds to the 2D Lidar in Webots.
Lidar3D	3D part of Lidar	Represents the 3D functionalities of Lidar.
CameraRGBDSimple	Camera (RGB)	Maps to the cameras in Webots.
	RangeFinder (D)	The depth (D) specifically maps to RangeFinder

Note

It's essential to ensure that the Webots components adhere to the naming conventions mentioned in the previous section. This ensures seamless communication between Robocomp and Webots through the middleware.