A ROS driver for Orbbec 3D cameras.

This package supports ROS Kinetic and Melodic.

1. Install ROS.

2. Install dependences

   sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-rgbd-launch ros-$ROS_DISTRO-libuvc ros-$ROS_DISTRO-libuvc-camera ros-$ROS_DISTRO-libuvc-ros

3. Create a ROS Workspace(if you don't have one)

   mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
   cd ~/catkin_ws/
   catkin_make
   source devel/setup.bash

4. Pull the repository into your ROS workspace

   cd ~/catkin_ws/src
   git clone https://github.com/orbbec/ros_astra_camera

5. Create astra udev rule

   roscd astra_camera
   ./scripts/create_udev_rules

6. Go to catkin workspace and compile astra_camera

   cd ~/catkin_ws
   catkin_make --pkg astra_camera

Astra driver provides normal and filtering methods. With filter driver, we can get more precise depth data but it would cost more computing resources. If the program will be executed on embedded systems, we suggest to use normal method. You can use -DFILTER=ON / OFF to change the method as below.

catkin_make --pkg astra_camera -DFILTER=OFF

If you didn't add source $YOUR_WORKSPACE/devel/setup.bash to your .bashrc, remember to source it when open a new terminal :)

roslaunch astra_camera astra.launch

roslaunch astra_camera stereo_s.launch

You can use rviz or image_view to verify the outputs.

• */image_raw: depth/rgb/ir raw images
  • If showing IR image is required, it would be more visible to normalize it from 16bit to 8bit (0 to 255)
• */image_rect_raw: images rectified by intrinsic/extrinsic parameters
• */camera_info: camera intrinsic/extrinsic parameters
• /camera/depth/points: point cloud without color information
• /camera/depth_registered/points: xyzrgb point cloud

This package provides multiple ros services for users to get useful information and set up devices. To know more about using these services, please check this tutorial.

• /camera/get_device_type: return a string containing astra device type
• /camera/get_ir_exposure: get exposure value of ir camera
• /camera/get_ir_gain: get gain value of ir camera
• /camera/get_serial: get serial number
• /camera/get_uvc_exposure: get exposure value of rgb camera
• /camera/get_uvc_gain: get gain value of rgb camera
• /camera/get_uvc_white_balance: get white balance value of rgb camera
• /camera/reset_ir_exposure: reset ir exposure to default value
• /camera/reset_ir_gain: reset ir gain to default value
• /camera/set_ir_exposure: set ir exposure to specific value
• /camera/set_ir_gain: set ir gain to specific value
• /camera/set_laser: turn on (true) or turn off (false) laser
• /camera/set_ldp: turn on (true) or turn off (false) ldp
• /camera/set_uvc_exposure: set uvc exposure. (set 0 indicating auto mode)
• /camera/set_uvc_gain: set uvc gain
• /camera/set_uvc_white_balance: set uvc white balance (set 0 indicating auto mode)
• /camera/set_ir_flood: turn on (true) or turn off (false) ir flood
• /camera/switch_ir_camera: while using stereo_s/stereo_s_u3, you can switch (left/right) ir camera

After launching an astra camera, you can get ir exposure by the following command

1. ir exposure

   rosservice call /camera/get_ir_exposure

   Next, you can change this value in this way

   rosservice call /camera/set_ir_exposure "{exposure: 50}" # Press tab to autocomplete

2. turn on/off laser

   rosservice call /camera/set_laser "{enable: true}" # turn on
   rosservice call /camera/set_laser "{enable: false}" # turn off

3. switch ir

   rosservice call /camera/switch_ir_camera "camera: 'left'" # left
   rosservice call /camera/switch_ir_camera "camera: 'right'" # right

For the other services, the usage is same as the above example.

To launch multiple cameras, you could modify multi_astra.launch to match your setting. The important settings are device_x_id(serial number of your devices), 3d_sensor(name of launch file), and has_uvc_serial(does your camera's uvc have serial number).

If you received USB Buffer Error, you could try to increase your USBFS buffer size by the following command.

echo 64 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb # or maybe 128

Copyright 2019 Orbbec Ltd.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this project except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others