YARP
Yet Another Robot Platform
YARP 2.3.70 (2017-06-15)

Table of Contents

YARP 2.3.70 Release Notes

A (partial) list of bug fixed and issues resolved in this release can be found here.

Important Changes

System Configuration

  • The YARP_CONF environment variable has been deprecated for a long time (since April 2013) and it is no longer used. Since there was not a proper warning, the warning is printed now at runtime when the variable is set. See ResourceFinder::getConfigHome() documentation for information about paths used by YARP to detect the configuration files. If you still need to use the YARP_CONF for some reason, you can use the YARP_CONFIG_HOME environment variable instead.

Build System

  • A compiler supporting C++11 is now required.
  • CMake 3.0 or newer is now required.
  • Optional dependency on YCM now requires version 0.4.0 (devel) or later.
  • Robot Testing Framework (RTF) 1.2.0 is now an optional dependency.

CMake Modules

  • YarpPlugin
    • The following commands, deprecated since YARP 2.3.21, were removed:
      • BEGIN_PLUGIN_LIBRARY
      • ADD_PLUGIN_NORMALIZED
      • PREPARE_PLUGIN
      • PREPARE_DEVICE
      • PREPARE_CARRIER
      • END_PLUGIN_LIBRARY
      • ADD_PLUGIN_LIBRARY_EXECUTABLE
      • YARP_ADD_PLUGIN_LIBRARY_EXECUTABLE
  • The YARP_HAS_NAME_LIB variable has been removed since YARP_name is always available, and is considered a private library.
  • All CMake targets now export the include directories required to build using that library. Using include_directories(${YARP_INCLUDE_DIRS}) should no longer be required.
  • YarpPlugin.cmake and YarpInstallationHelpers.cmake are now automatically included from YARPConfig.cmake, therefore all commands defined in these files are available after find_package(YARP). Including them explicitly is now considered deprecated. For the same reason, adding YARP_MODULE_PATH to the CMAKE_MODULE_PATH variable is considered deprecated. If you need some modules not available in CMake, please consider using YCM.

Libraries

  • A lot of refactoring was performed in order to improve c++11 usage and to simplify porting to other platforms without ACE

<tt>YARP_conf</tt>

  • Added the new YARP_conf header only library target. Formerly these files existed but they did not belong to any target.

<tt>YARP_OS</tt>

  • The i command is now enabled only in Debug and DebugFull builds.
  • The following commands have been marked as deprecated and will be removed in future version of YARP:
    • yarp::os::exit()
    • yarp::os::abort()
    • yarp::os::signal()
    • yarp::os::ResourceFinder::setContext(const char* contextName)

<tt>YARP_dev</tt>

  • Opening a device using a configuration of type (device (device (foo bar))) is now deprecated, use (device (foo bar)) instead.
  • Removed some old interfaces methods, deprecated since yarp 2.3.65. i.e: setPositionDirectMode(), setPositionMode(), setVelocityMode(), setOpenLoopMode(),setTorqueMode()`, etc.
  • Removed Interface IOpenLoopControl, deprecated since yarp 2.3.65.
  • Removed deprecated device ClientControlBoard and related tests.
  • Removed deprecated device ServerControlBoard and related tests.
  • Major changes to iPIDControl methods. Now they aren't bound anymore to Position Control. (#499) They accept a new parameter PidControlTypeEnum which defines the PID id on which the method will operate. For example setPid(const PidControlTypeEnum& pidtype, int j, const Pid &pid). Currently, pidtype can be one of the following types:
    • VOCAB_PIDTYPE_POSITION,
    • VOCAB_PIDTYPE_VELOCITY,
    • VOCAB_PIDTYPE_TORQUE,
    • VOCAB_PIDTYPE_CURRENT.
  • All pid-related methods from interfaces different from iPidControl have been deprecated. To provide backward-compatibility, old methods automatically call the new methods (e.g. setTorquePid(int j, const Pid &pid) calls setPid(VOCAB_PIDTYPE_TORQUE,int j,const PID &pid))
  • The following methods have been deprecated, use IControlMode2::setControlMode(int, VOCAB_CM_XXX) instead:
    • IControlMode::setPositionMode(int)
    • IControlMode::setVelocityMode(int)
    • IControlMode::setTorqueMode(int)
    • IControlMode::setImpedancePositionMode(int)
    • IControlMode::setImpedanceVelocityMode(int)
    • ...plus their IControlModeRaw counterparts

<tt>YARP_math</tt>

  • YARP_math can no longer be built using GSL. The CREATE_LIB_MATH_USING_GSL option was removed. Only Eigen is supported. FindGSL.cmake is no longer installed.

New Features

CMake Modules

  • YarpPlugin
    • Add QUIET/VERBOSE arguments and YarpPlugin_QUIET/VERBOSE variables.
  • YarpInstallationHelpers
    • A new command yarp_configure_plugins_installation has been introduced to simplify installation of YARP plugins when yarp_configure_external_installation is not invoked.

Libraries

  • New library libYARP_rtf to simplify the creation of unit tests using the Robot Testing Framework (RTF) and YARP. This is a slightly modified version of the RTF_YARP_utilities library in RTF 1.0. It can be enabled with the option YARP_COMPILE_RTF_ADDONS.

<tt>YARP_OS</tt>

  • The following methods were added to the yarp::os namespace:
  • The following methods were added to the yarp::os::Publisher class:
    • virtual void onRead(T &datum)
    • void useCallback(TypedReaderCallback< T > &callback)
    • void useCallback()
    • void disableCallback()
  • The following methods were added to the yarp::os::Subscriber class:
    • void setStrict(bool strict = true)
  • The following overload method is added to the yarp::os::ResourceFinder class:
    • bool setDefaultContext(const yarp::os::ConstString& contextName)
  • Added clear() method to PID class.
  • The class yarp::os::Route was refactored:
    • The following methods were deprecated:
      • addFromName()
      • addToName()
      • addCarrierName()
      • addToContact()
    • The following methods were added:
      • setFromName()
      • setToName()
      • setCarrierName()
      • setToContact()
      • swapNames()

<tt>YARP_dev</tt>

  • Added getRgbResolution and getRgbSupportedConfigurations to the IRgbVisualParams interface.
  • Added the new yarp::dev::IJoypadController interface and the new JoypadControlClient and JoypadControlServer devices.
  • Added rpc port to dialogue with FrameTransformClient. The implemented commands are:
    • get_transform: print the transform from src to dst
    • list_frames: print all the available reference frames
    • list_ports: print all the opened ports for transform broadcasting
    • publish_transform: opens a port to publish transform from src to dst
    • unpublish_transform: closes a previously opened port to publish a transform
    • unpublish_all: closes a all previously opened ports to publish a transform
  • iPIDControl class pulled out from ControlBoardInterfaces yarpdev headers and put in separated files. Reimplemented without templates.
  • Gaze control: added sync equivalent to lookAt-like methods in order to wait for reply.
  • Added iRobotDescription interface.
  • Added two new motion control interfaces: IPWMControl, ICurrentControl and related helpers for units conversions.
  • Added IMap2D interface.
  • Added yarp::dev::MapGrid2D data type.
  • Added IHapticDevice interface.

<tt>YARP_math</tt>

  • Added methods:
  • Added template class Vec2d<>. can be only instantiated as int or double.
  • Added operator*(quaternion, quaternion) overload for quaternion multiplication
  • Added normalize method in the quaternion class

Tools

<tt>yarpidl_rosmsg</tt>

  • All generated classes now implement the clear() method.

GUIs

<tt>yarplaserscannergui</tt>

  • Accept –help argument.

<tt>yarpview</tt>

  • Added --autosize and checkbox to force yarpview to resize whenever a frame of a different size is received.
  • Implemented dragvector function on yarpview. Left-click on the image and keep left button pressed: yarpview starts to draw a line. When the left button is released, the coordinates of the initial and the final point are sent to the 'out' yarp port.

<tt>yarpmotorgui</tt>:

  • Create an instance of RobotDescriptionClient to automatically get the names of robot parts.
  • New button "idle all parts".
  • New button "execute script1/2".
  • yarpmotorgui now enforces the correct "go to home" behaviour:
    • home is asked to the robot, and, as a consequence, the "Home" button will apply the robot home position as specified by the Calibrator, see this comment in QA#108
    • added possibility to specified custom positions in the configuration file. These positions can be executed by newly introduced "Custom positions" submenus. Syntax is described in the yarpmotorgui documentation. #1160
  • Added CurrentPid tab in yarpmotorgui.
  • Added new control mode widgets to handle current and pwm control modes.

<tt>yarpmanager</tt>

  • Handle also wait states upon shutting down the modules of an application (#1051).
  • Added local and environment variable parsing (#885, #1031).
  • Added –add_current_dir option.

Carriers

Devices

  • Added new RobotDescriptionServer device to store devices info.
  • Added new RobotDescriptionClient device. User module can ask a list of registered devices using the iRobotDescription interface.
  • Added new device Map2DServer to store navigation maps.
  • Added new device Map2DClient. User module can perform operations on the stored maps using the iMap2D interface.
  • Added new SDLJoypad device.
  • Added new rpLidar2 device.
  • Added new fakeDepthCamera device.
  • Added new device ServerGrabber to handle one or two camera devices in function of the configuration.

<tt>AnalogWrapper</tt>

  • ROS param was changed from joint_names to jointNames like the controlBoardWrapper. The old name is deprecated.
  • Deprecated all the constructors except for the one without arguments.

<tt>controlboardwrapper</tt>

  • Reduced message size of of the stateExt:o port of nearly 30%.

<tt>TestFrameGrabber</tt>

  • The TestFrameGrabber was removed from libYARP_dev and it is now an optional plugin.

<tt>ovrheadset</tt>

  • Ported to the latest Oculus SDK. Compatibility with the old SDK was dropped. Supporting both the old and the new SDK is really not worth the effort. Therefore, since Linux and macOS are not supported by the latest SDK, only Windows is currently supported. If you need support on Linux or macOS you can checkout commit a05fec65e7bc67cceba5c59f26881e98590fccf7 from git history.
  • A few options (--multisample, --no-overdrive, --no-hqdistortion, and --no-timewarp) and the relative toggles were removed, since they can no longer be enabled/disabled from the SDK .
  • It can now display YARP logo in the bottom-right corner (disable with --no-logo from command line or toggle with [T] while running). This is useful to ensure that the device is working while waiting for the connection.
  • It can now display a crosshairs at the center of the scene (disable with --no-crosshairs from command line or toggle with [C] while running).
  • It can now be connected to a battery and display the status as an overlay at the top-right corner (disable with --no-battery from command line or toggle with [B] while running)

<tt>RemoteControlBoard</tt>

  • Dropped compatibility with controlboardwrapper2 devices that does not have the stateExt:o port. The state:o port in the wrapper is still available for encoder reading.
  • The protocol was changed and compatibility for devices using the old protocol was dropped.
  • added implementation of IPWMControl, ICurrentControl.
  • added control modes: VOCAB_CM_CURRENT, VOCAB_CM_PWM.
  • Added new values in the statExt : pwmDutycycle, current.
  • Removed deprecated value from statExt: PidOutput.

<tt>ServerFrameGrabber</tt>

<tt>TestFrameGrabber</tt>

RTF Plugins

  • The yarpmanager RTF Fixture Managers was imported from robotology/robot-testing, and allows one to start a fixture using yarpmanager. It can be enabled with the option YARP_COMPILE_RTF_ADDONS.
  • The yarpplugin RTF Fixture Managers was imported from robotology/icub-tests (Originally YarpPluginFixture), and allows one to check if a yarp plugin is available. It can be enabled with the option YARP_COMPILE_RTF_ADDONS.

Bindings

Bug Fixes

Libraries

<tt>YARP_OS</tt>

  • Fixed mcast carrier without ACE.

<tt>YARP_dev</tt>

Tools

<tt>yarprobotinterface</tt>

  • Print a warning when when parenthesis are not balanced and added protection against syntax errors (#832).
  • Added option all to attach to all yarprobotinterface devices (used by RobotDescriptionServer).

<tt>yarpidl_rosmsg</tt>

  • Fixed an issues when working with custom, nested ros messages.

GUIs

  • Replaced QT_DEVICE_PIXEL_RATIO with Qt::AA_EnableHighDpiScaling when supported by the installed Qt5 version. (#837, #1122, #1038, #1267)

<tt>yarpmotorgui</tt>

  • The number of parts is no longer hardcoded.
  • It is now possible to close the gui using CTRL+C.
  • Fixed issue preventing correct save operation of position sequences.

<tt>yarpmanager</tt>

  • Sub-folders are now automatically loaded by default.
  • Opening single application multiple times is no longer allowed (#1007).

Devices

<tt>laserFromDepth</tt>

  • Added horizontal flip to align angle direction.
  • Added distortion to simulate RGBD devices distance calculation method.

<tt>RGBDSensorWrapper</tt>

  • Fixed deadlock when closing device.
  • Fixed device failure not detected at startup.

<tt>imuBosch_BNO055</tt>

  • Fixed the sharing of data between the run() and read() methods.

Contributors

This is a list of people that contributed to this release (generated from the git history using git shortlog -ens --no-merges v2.3.68..v2.3.70):

344 Daniele E. Domenichelli <daniele.domenichelli@iit.it>
122 Nicolò Genesio <nicolo.genesio@iit.it>
98 Marco Randazzo <marco.randazzo@iit.it>
80 Andrea Ruzzenenti <andrea.ruzzenenti@iit.it>
40 Alberto Cardellino <alberto.cardellino@iit.it>
19 Silvio Traversaro <silvio.traversaro@iit.it>
15 Ali Paikan <ali.paikan@iit.it>
14 Francesco Romano <francesco.romano@iit.it>
10 Bartek Łukawski <bwmn.peter@gmail.com>
9 Claudio Fantacci <claudio.fantacci@iit.it>
9 Matteo Brunettini <matteo.brunettini@iit.it>
7 Ugo Pattacini <ugo.pattacini@iit.it>
6 Diego Ferigo <diego.ferigo@iit.it>
5 Lorenzo Natale <lorenzo.natale@iit.it>
5 Massimo Regoli <massimo.regoli@iit.it>
4 Juan G. Victores <jcgvicto@gmail.com>
3 Aiko Dinale <aiko.dinale@iit.it>
3 Tobias Fischer <t.fischer@imperial.ac.uk>
2 Bertrand Higy <bertrand.higy@iit.it>
2 Valentina Gaggero <valentina.gaggero@iit.it>
1 Alessandro Scalzo <alessandro.scalzo@iit.it>
1 Giovanni Saponaro <gsaponaro@isr.ist.utl.pt>
1 Giulia Vezzani <giulia.vezzani@iit.it>
1 Vítor Galvão <info@vitorgalvao.com>
1 Zero King <l2dy@icloud.com>