However, when I start the slam_toolbox with ros2 launch slam_toolbox online_async_launch.py and manually teleoperate the robot around the scene in Isaac Sim using my keyboard, the Nova Carter robot leaves regular obstacle marks behind as it moves.
back_2d_lidar
/‾\
Carter Top Enclosure
\_/
front_2d_lidar
What is the correct way to disregard some of the angles from the front_2d_lidar in Isaac ROS applications? Especially when integrating them with third-party ROS packages.
Hey @dsonmez! According to your information, it seems to be related to the parameters you use in slam_toolbox. Could you please attach the config file you use for slam_toolbox? I suspect it is related to the min_laser_range(link).
Hey @zhengwang, thank you for your interest. You’re right, I also played with that value but it appears it doesn’t care what value I put for the min_laser_range. You can find my modified mapper_params_online_async.yaml file here (yaml file upload is not permitted):
slam_toolbox:
ros__parameters:
# Plugin params
solver_plugin: solver_plugins::CeresSolver
ceres_linear_solver: SPARSE_NORMAL_CHOLESKY
ceres_preconditioner: SCHUR_JACOBI
ceres_trust_strategy: LEVENBERG_MARQUARDT
ceres_dogleg_type: TRADITIONAL_DOGLEG
ceres_loss_function: None
# ROS Parameters
odom_frame: odom
map_frame: map
base_frame: base_link # Changed this for the Isaac Sim odometry topic name
scan_topic: /scan
use_map_saver: true
mode: mapping #localization
# if you'd like to immediately start continuing a map at a given pose
# or at the dock, but they are mutually exclusive, if pose is given
# will use pose
#map_file_name: test_steve
# map_start_pose: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
#map_start_at_dock: true
debug_logging: false
throttle_scans: 1
transform_publish_period: 0.02 #if 0 never publishes odometry
map_update_interval: 5.0
resolution: 0.05
min_laser_range: 5.0
max_laser_range: 20.0 #for rastering images
minimum_time_interval: 0.5
transform_timeout: 0.2
tf_buffer_duration: 30.
stack_size_to_use: 40000000 #// program needs a larger stack size to serialize large maps
enable_interactive_mode: true
# General Parameters
use_scan_matching: true
use_scan_barycenter: true
minimum_travel_distance: 0.5
minimum_travel_heading: 0.5
scan_buffer_size: 10
scan_buffer_maximum_scan_distance: 10.0
link_match_minimum_response_fine: 0.1
link_scan_maximum_distance: 1.5
loop_search_maximum_distance: 3.0
do_loop_closing: true
loop_match_minimum_chain_size: 10
loop_match_maximum_variance_coarse: 3.0
loop_match_minimum_response_coarse: 0.35
loop_match_minimum_response_fine: 0.45
# Correlation Parameters - Correlation Parameters
correlation_search_space_dimension: 0.5
correlation_search_space_resolution: 0.01
correlation_search_space_smear_deviation: 0.1
# Correlation Parameters - Loop Closure Parameters
loop_search_space_dimension: 8.0
loop_search_space_resolution: 0.05
loop_search_space_smear_deviation: 0.03
# Scan Matcher Parameters
distance_variance_penalty: 0.5
angle_variance_penalty: 1.0
fine_search_angle_offset: 0.00349
coarse_search_angle_offset: 0.349
coarse_angle_resolution: 0.0349
minimum_angle_penalty: 0.9
minimum_distance_penalty: 0.5
use_response_expansion: true
I even used the pointcloud_to_laserscan ROS package to publish /front_3d_lidar/scan topic, but it didn’t work.
Do you have any ideas on which parts can be used from nova_carter_navigation.yaml in this case? I see the robot’s footprint is on that configuration but not the min_laser_range, so it has to be something different.
Have you tried launching lidar_mapping.launch.py (link)?
In this launch file, it uses the params/nova_carter_navigation.yaml as the param file. But in params/nova_carter_navigation.yaml, the min_laser_range is not specified so you need to add it into that file yourself. Otherwise, it will just use a default value.
You can also pass an argument for lidar_mapping_parameters_path with the param file created by yourself when you launch lidar_mapping.
I’ve included min_laser_range: 0.0 setting to the nova_carter_navigation/params/nova_carter_navigation.yaml and launched lidar_mapping.launch.py with mode:=simulation argument:
With all these, I’m able to get a 3D model of the Nova Carter on the Rviz but I can not get the mapping areas except those weird black and white dots left behind the robot.
@dsonmez not sure if you are still on this project and sorry for getting back so late. If you are still working on this, maybe you can try change the RTX Lidar parameter rangeOffset (link) to avoid hitting on the robot’s mesh.
Or a workaround would be manually clean up the map (the png file) once you generate it.
We noticed that this topic hasn’t received any recent responses, so we are closing it for now to help keep the forum organized.
If you’re still experiencing this issue or have additional questions, please feel free to create a new topic with updated details. When doing so, we recommend mentioning or linking to this original topic in your new post—this helps provide context and makes it easier for others to assist you.
Thank you for being part of the NVIDIA Isaac Sim community.
