rpg_dvs_ros

Disclaimer

The github repo is originally cloned from rpg_dvs_ros which is contributed by the authors: Elias Mueggler, Basil Huber, Luca Longinotti, Tobi Delbruck. Code has been used/modified for the purpose of my current project.

Driver Installation

NOTE: substitute any mention of melodic in the following instruction with the name of your current ROS distribution.

1. Install ROS dependencies:

• $ sudo apt-get install ros-melodic-camera-info-manager
• $ sudo apt-get install ros-melodic-image-view

2. Install libcaer (add required repositories as per iniVation documentation first):

• $ sudo apt-get install libcaer-dev

3. Install catkin tools:

• $ sudo apt-get install python-catkin-tools

4. Create a catkin workspace (if you have not done it yet):

• $ cd
• $ mkdir -p catkin_ws/src
• $ cd catkin_ws
• $ catkin config --init --mkdirs --extend /opt/ros/melodic --merge-devel --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

5. Clone the catkin_simple package (https://github.com/catkin/catkin_simple), which will be used to build the DVS/DAVIS driver packages:

• $ cd ~/catkin_ws/src
• $ git clone https://github.com/catkin/catkin_simple.git

6. Clone this repository:

• $ cd ~/catkin_ws/src
• $ git clone https://github.com/ziimiin14/dvxplorer_ros_modified.git

7. Build the packages:

• $ catkin build dvs_ros_driver (if you are using the DVS128)
• $ catkin build davis_ros_driver (if you are using the DAVIS)
• $ catkin build dvxplorer_ros_driver (if you are using the DVXplorer)

8. You can test the installation by running a provided launch file. It starts the driver (DVS or DAVIS) and the renderer (an image viewer).

   1. First, build the renderer:

      • $ catkin build dvs_renderer

   2. Set up the environment:

      • $ source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash or if you use the zsh shell instead $ source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.zsh

   3. Then, launch the example:

      • $ roslaunch dvs_renderer dvs_mono.launch (if you are using the DVS128)
      • $ roslaunch dvs_renderer davis_mono.launch (if you are using the DAVIS)
      • $ roslaunch dvs_renderer dvxplorer_mono.launch (if you are using the DVXplorer) You should get an image like this (in case of the DAVIS):

      

9. If you do not have a DAVIS, you can still use this driver to read recorded files, such as those of The Event Camera Dataset and Simulator. Example:

   1. Download a squence of the dataset, such as slider_depth.bag
   2. Open a terminal and launch the roscore:
   • $ roscore
   3. In another terminal, play the bag:
   • $ rosbag play -l path-to-file/slider_depth.bag
   4. In another terminal, launch the DVS/DAVIS renderer:

   • $ roslaunch dvs_renderer renderer_mono.launch You should see a movie with images like this:

     

10. Optional: in the case of a live stream from the DAVIS (i.e., not a recorded file) you may adjust the DVS/DAVIS parameters to your needs using the dynamic reconfigure GUI. Run

    • $ rosrun rqt_reconfigure rqt_reconfigure and a window will appear. Select the davis_ros_driver (on the left panel) and you should get the following GUI that allows you to modify the parameters of the sensor.

A guide on how to modify the parameters in the bottom half of the GUI (biases) can be found here: https://inivation.github.io/inivation-docs/Advanced%20configurations/User_guide_-_Biasing.html

Calibration

For intrinsic or stereo calibration of the DVS and DAVIS, please have a look at the following document.