Quick Start Guide

Quick start to using Pacer

Building

mkdir release; cd release;

If Ravelin and Moby are installed on your system:

cmake ..

otherwise

cmake -DMOBY_INCLUDE_DIR="/path/to/moby/include" -DMOBY_LIBRARY="/path/to/moby/lib/libMoby.so" -DMOBY_LIBRBRY_DIR="/path/to/moby/lib" -DMOBY_LIBRBRY_DIRS="/path/to/moby/lib" -DRAVELIN_INCLUDE_DIR="/path/to/ravelin/include" -DRAVELIN_LIBRARY="/path/to/ravelin/lib/libRavelin.so" -DRAVELIN_LIBRBRY_DIR="/path/to/ravelin/lib" -DRAVELIN_LIBRBRY_DIRS="/path/to/ravelin/lib" -DUSE_OSG_DISPLAY=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RELEASE ..;

and then build:

make -j <cores> all

Setup

in the project base directory, run:

source setup.sh

This will point Gazebo and Pacer to the models and build directories. setup.sh sets environment vars:

• `PACER_MODEL_PATH` points to model directories where `Pacer` will import the robot kinematic and inertial information (`Pacer` does NOT get model information from the simulator)
  

• `PACER_COMPONENT_PATH` points to the directory where the perception, planning, and control (Component) plugins have been built.
  

• `PACER_SIMULATOR_PATH` points to the directory where the simulator (interface) plugins have been built.
  

• `GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH` is a `:` delimited list of paths to where the gazebo models `sdf` and their config files reside.
  

• `GAZEBO_PLUGIN_PATH` is a `:` delimited list of paths to where the gazebo model plugins have been built, including our gazebo plugin: `libPacerGazeboPlugin.so` has been built
  

R. Links (Quadruped) Demo

remember to run:

source /build/dir/setup.sh

then navigate to the demo working directory for a trotting gait:

cd ${PACER_HOME}/Example/Demo/Trot

Write the environment paths into the demo XML files: (NOTE: this command writes filename.xml.in to filename.xml)

${PACER_SCRIPT_PATH}/setup-tests.sh *.in

starting in Moby:

then start Moby while pointing at the Pacer Moby simulator plugin:

moby-driver -r -s=0.001 -p=${PACER_SIMULATOR_PATH}/libPacerMobyPlugin.so model.xml

This will start the robot R. Links 'trotting' on a plane in the Moby simulator with visualization turned on.

starting in Gazebo: (Tested on Gazebo 5.1)

then start Gazebo while pointing at the links world file:

gazebo ${PACER_MODEL_PATH}/links/model.world

Gazebo will see that the model file ${PACER_MODEL_PATH}/links/model.sdf uses to controller libPacerGazeboPlugin.so, it will find this controller in directory ${GAZEBO_PLUGIN_PATH}/ which was exported by running setup.sh.

• NOTE: This could be built as libPacerGazeboPlugin.dylib on an OSX system be sure to change the name of the plugin in ${PACER_MODEL_PATH}/links/model.sdf if Gazebo can't find any model plugin.

This will start the robot R. Links 'trotting' on a plane in the Gazebo simulator.

NOTE: Pacer will read the file vars.xml in the working directory on startup. This file sets parameters in all controller plugins, as well as telling Pacer which plugins to load.