Transmission Interface

Overview

transmission_interface contains data structures for representing mechanical transmissions, and methods for propagating position, velocity and effort variables between actuator and joint spaces.

In the same spirit as the hardware_interface package, this package wraps existing raw data (eg. current actuator positon, reference joint command, etc.) under a consistent interface. By not imposing a specific layout on the raw data, it becomes easier to support arbitrary hardware drivers to software control.

Structure

There are three main elements involved in setting up a transmission_interface: - The Transmission class defines an abstract interface for mapping position, velocity and effort variables between actuator and joint space. Derived classes implement specific transmission types, such as simple reducers, differentials and four-bar linkages. Note that a single transmission may couple the variables of multiple actuators and joints (eg. a differential couples two actuators to two joints).

• The TransmissionHandle class associates a name to a Transmission instance and a set of raw data variables it operates on (specified through the ActuatorData and JointData structures). Derived classes implement specific maps, such as JointToActuatorEffortHandle or ActuatorToJointStateHandle.

• The TransmissionInterface class manages a set of transmission handles of the same type. Note that although the handles are of the same type, the underlying transmissions can be heterogeneous eg. a single ActuatorToJointPositionInterface can be set up to transform position variables from actuator to joint space for an arm with a four-bar-linkage in the shoulder, a differential in the wrist, and simple reducers elsewhere.

TODO

• Read transmission configuration from configuration files.

Examples

Please refer to the transmission_interface wiki page.

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