sphero_sprk_ros

This repository contains a Pyhton driver for control and communication with Sphero SPRK+ within ROS. The purpose of this driver is to provide a platform for further research and development of custom applications for Sphero SPRK+ robot.

Example of use with Reynolds flocking algorithm can be found at https://github.com/mkrizmancic/sphero_formation

Note: The driver can be used without ROS.

Table of contents

• Installation
  • Requirements
  • Download and build
• Usage
• Package description
  • Subscribed topics
  • Published topics
  • Scope of functionalities

Installation

sphero_sprk_ros was tested on Ubuntu 16.04/ROS Kinetic and Ubuntu 18.04/ROS Melodic running Python 2.7. Ubuntu 20.04/ROS Noetic running Python 3.8 is partially supported. For more details check out branch noetic-devel.

Due to BLE connection problems connected with kernel versions, we verified following versions of the kernel (the list is updated as new kernel versions are verified):

• 4.4.0-21
• 4.4.0-164
• 5.0.0-23
• 5.0.0-29 (Recommended)
• 5.4.0-48 (Recommended)

Requirements

• Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04 or Ubuntu 20.04
• ROS Kinetic, ROS Melodic or ROS Noetic
• Python 2.7 (full support) or Python 3.8+ (only sending commands, no data streaming)
• bluepy (bluez)

  $ sudo apt install bluez
  $ pip install bluepy

Download and build

$ cd <path_to_your_catkin_ws>/src
$ git clone https://github.com/antonellabarisic/sphero_sprk_ros.git 
$ cd <path_to_your_catkin_ws>
$ catkin build
$ source <path_to_your_catkin_ws>/devel/setup.bash

Important note:
If catkin build doesn't work on your system, you can use catkin_make. However, these tools are not interchangeable. Once the workspace is build using one of them, the other can't be used in that workspace.

Usage

Simple launch file for one Sphero SPRK+ is provided. You need to specify MAC address of Sphero, custom name and parameter data_stream ("All" or "Locator").

roslaunch sphero_sprk_ros one_sphero.launch

You can easily add multiple robots to launch file or use:

roslaunch sphero_sprk_ros drivers.launch

In the second launch file, you specify the number of Sphero roboots. The first n addresses from cfg/sphero_addresses.txt will be used to launch n nodes. If n=1, both launch files are equivalent.

Package description

Subscribed topics

• /sphero_0/cmd_vel
  • Type: geometry_msgs/Twist
• /sphero_0/set_color
  • Type: std_msgs/ColorRGBA
• /sphero_0/set_heading
  • Type: std_msgs/Float32
• /sphero_0/set_angular_velocity
  • Type: std_msgs/Float32
• /sphero_0/disable_stabilization
  • Type: std_msgs/Bool
• /sphero_0/manual_calibration
  • Type: std_msgs/Bool

Published topics

• /sphero_0/imu
  • Type: sensor_msgs/Imu
• /sphero_0/odom
  • Type: nav_msgs/Odometry
• /sphero_0/diagnostics
  • Type: diagnostic_msgs/DiagnosticArray

Scope of functionalities

• connect, ping, sleep, disconnect
• roll
• set_power_notify
• get_power_state
• get_device_name
• set_rgb_led
• set_back_led
• set_stabilization
• set_heading
• set_filtered_data_strm
• set_locator
• read_locator