mouse_teleop

This file is ai generated. Do not edit this file directly. Instead, edit the node source code and run the generate-node-docs command to update this file.

Description

The mouse_teleop node provides a graphical mouse-based teleoperation interface for controlling robot velocity. It opens a Tkinter window where users can click and drag with the mouse to generate velocity commands. The node supports both holonomic (omnidirectional) and non-holonomic (differential drive) robots.

Publishers

Topic	Type	Description
`mouse_vel`	`geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped`	Publishes velocity commands based on mouse position relative to click point

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`frequency`	double	0.0	Publishing frequency in Hz. If 0.0, publishes only on mouse movement; if > 0.0, publishes periodically while mouse button is held
`scale`	double	1.0	Scaling factor applied to all velocity commands
`holonomic`	bool	false	If true, enables holonomic mode (x, y linear and z angular control); if false, only x linear and z angular control

Example Usage

Basic Launch

ros2 run mouse_teleop mouse_teleop

Launch with Parameters

ros2 run mouse_teleop mouse_teleop --ros-args \
  -p frequency:=10.0 \
  -p scale:=2.0 \
  -p holonomic:=true

Launch with Configuration File

ros2 run mouse_teleop mouse_teleop --ros-args --params-file /path/to/config.yaml

Example Configuration File

mouse_teleop:
  ros__parameters:
    frequency: 10.0
    scale: 1.5
    holonomic: false

Example Launch File

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch_ros.actions import Node
from ament_index_python.packages import get_package_share_directory
import os

def generate_launch_description():
    config_file = os.path.join(
        get_package_share_directory('mouse_teleop'),
        'config', 'mouse_teleop.yaml'
    )
    
    return LaunchDescription([
        Node(
            package='mouse_teleop',
            executable='mouse_teleop',
            parameters=[config_file],
            output='screen'
        )
    ])

Remap Output Topic

ros2 run mouse_teleop mouse_teleop --ros-args -r mouse_vel:=cmd_vel

Operation

Non-Holonomic Mode (default)

Click and drag up/down: Control linear velocity (forward/backward)
Click and drag left/right: Control angular velocity (rotation)
The farther you drag from the click point, the higher the velocity magnitude
Release the mouse button to stop

Holonomic Mode

Click and drag: Control x and y linear velocities
Hold Shift + drag: Control x linear and z angular velocities
Shift key: Switches between linear and angular control modes
Release the mouse button to stop

Window Controls

Ctrl+C: Close the window (in window or terminal)
q: Not applicable (for keyboard teleop)

The GUI window displays:

Real-time visualization of velocity vectors
Current velocity values (linear and angular)
Visual feedback using colored lines and arcs

Notes

The node uses a Tkinter GUI, so a graphical display is required
Mouse velocity is normalized to the window size (ranges from -1.0 to 1.0)
All published velocities are scaled by the scale parameter
The frame_id in the published TwistStamped messages is set to “mouse_teleop”
When frequency > 0, velocity commands continue to be published at the specified rate while the mouse button is held
When frequency = 0, velocity commands are only published when the mouse moves