ROS driver without encoder

General discussion of using Roboclaw motor controllers
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theguywhoasksqs
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:44 am
ROS driver without encoder

Post by theguywhoasksqs »

Hello,

I'm trying to use the ROS driver for a 2x120A Roboclaw, I downloaded this from: http://forums.ionmc.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 8&start=10 because on the forums I could see that the github page is no longer supported.

I don't have suitable encoders for my motors, however I would like to interface the roboclaw through ROS. My question is the following: is it possible to run the ROS node without having encoder feedback? i.e. is it possible to run the node similar to how one would control the motor in analog mode?

Cheers!
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Basicmicro Support
Posts: 1594
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:45 pm
Re: ROS driver without encoder

Post by Basicmicro Support »

You will need to modify the driver so it uses Duty commands instead of speed commands. Other than that there is no reason you cant use the ROS driver without encoders other than that you will not have absolute position control of the wheels. Most robots would still need a gps unit for accurate position information in any case.
theguywhoasksqs
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:44 am
Re: ROS driver without encoder

Post by theguywhoasksqs »

Thanks for the reply! Do you know how I can modify the driver to do that i.e. is there an easy way of doing it?
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Basicmicro Support
Posts: 1594
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:45 pm
Re: ROS driver without encoder

Post by Basicmicro Support »

You need to know python and you need to know some ROS. The roboclaw_node.py file handles sending commands to the roboclaw and sending data back to ROS. You will need to remove the encoder publish code and you will need to change the SpeedM1M2 command to DutyM1M2.

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