TIAGo hardware APIs#

Detailed specifications of the above sensors are provided in TIAGo hardware overview.

Note

Every node that publishes sensor data is launched by default on startup.

Laser range-finder#

Located at the front of the base. This sensor measures distances in a horizontal plane. It is a valuable asset for navigation and mapping. Bad measurements can be caused by reflective or transparent surfaces.

Topics published#

/scan: Laser scan data of the laser scanner

Sonars#

Caution

Sonars are only available on the TIAGo’s differential mobile base. They are not available on the omnidirectional mobile base.

These sensors are capable of measuring from low to mid-range distances. In robotics, ultrasound sensors are commonly used for local collision avoidance. Ultrasound sensors work by emitting a sound signal and measuring the reflection of the signal that returns to the sensor. Bad measurements can be caused by either blocking the sensor (it will report max range in this case) or by environments where the sound signals intersect with each other.

Topics published#

/sonar_base

All measurements from sonars sensors are posted here as individual messages.

Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)#

This sensor unit is mounted at the center of the robot and can be used to monitor inertial forces and provide the attitude.

Topics published#

/base_imu: Inertial data from the IMU

RGB-D camera#

This camera (ASUS Xtion) is mounted inside TIAGo’s head and provides RGB images, along with a depth image obtained by using an IR projector and an IR camera. The depth image is used to obtain a point cloud of the scene.

Topics published#

/xtion/depth_registered/camera_info: Intrinsic parameters of the depth image
/xtion/depth_registered/image_raw: 32-bit depth image. Every pixel contains the depth of the corresponding point
/xtion/depth_registered/points: Point cloud computed from the depth image
/xtion/rgb/camera_info: Intrinsic and distortion parameters of the RGB camera
/xtion/rgb/image_raw: RGB image
/xtion/rgb/image_rect_color: RGB rectified image

Services advertised#

/xtion/get_serial: Service to retrieve the serial number of the camera.
/xtion/rgb/set_camera_info: Changes the intrinsic and distortion parameters of the color camera.

Stereo microphones#

There are two microphones that can be used to record audio and process it in order to perform tasks like speech recognition.

Note

On TIAGo, the microphone data is not published as a ROS node. Use the standard Linux audio APIs (like ALSA) to access it.

Force/Torque sensor (optional)#

This 6-axis Force/Torque sensor is used to obtain feedback about forces exerted on TIAGo’s end-effector.

Topics published#

/wrist_ft: Force and torque vectors currently detected by the Force/Torque sensor.