I am building a new MoveIt! development team at SRI International. Previously, I led the MoveIt! development team at Willow Garage. MoveIt! is new software targeted at allowing users to build advanced applications integrating motion planning, kinematics, collision checking with grasping, manipulation, navigation, perception, and control. MoveIt! is easy to use and configure for new robots. It includes advanced perception capabilities for building 3D environment representations. MoveIt! is intended as a tool to provide out of the box capabilities for applications like pick and place, workspace analysis or safe teleoperation. MoveIt! is fast becoming the standard for mobile manipulation and completely replaces the capabilities in Arm Navigation.
- Video - Introducing MoveIt!
- Article - "ROS Topics - MoveIt!", Sachin Chitta, Ioan Sucan and Steve Cousins
- Website - moveit.ros.org
Arm Navigation
I initiated and led the Arm Navigation project to build advanced capabilities and tools for enabling manipulation with any arm. Arm Navigation was an incredible success, having been used for everything from the PR2 to the Robonaut and a variety of industrial manipulators by a large number of research groups around the world. Combined with the Grasping Pipeline components in ROS, Arm Navigation enabled a range of advanced capabilities and applications for both fixed and mobile manipulators.
I initiated and led the Arm Navigation project to build advanced capabilities and tools for enabling manipulation with any arm. Arm Navigation was an incredible success, having been used for everything from the PR2 to the Robonaut and a variety of industrial manipulators by a large number of research groups around the world. Combined with the Grasping Pipeline components in ROS, Arm Navigation enabled a range of advanced capabilities and applications for both fixed and mobile manipulators.
- Video - Arm Navigation and the Grasping Pipeline - Pick and Place with ROS
- Paper - "Perception, Planning, and Execution for Mobile Manipulation in Unstructured Environments", Chitta, Sachin., Jones, Edward Gil., Ciocarlie, Matei., and Hsiao, Kaijen, IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, Special Issue on Mobile Manipulation, Volume 19, Issue 2, 2012 [PDF]
- Website - ros.org/wiki/arm_navigation
Navigation
I have contributed extensively to the navigation capabilities in ROS. My collaboration with Max Likhachev's group at CMU led to the development of SBPL - a general-purpose library for search-based planning that has been used extensively for navigation for mobile robots. My work with Armin Hornung (University of Freiburg) and Michael Phillips (CMU) while they were interns at Willow Garage led to the development of the 3D Navigation capabilities in ROS, extending the ROS navigation stack to allow full-body navigation in unstructured environments. I was also involved in the development of the original ROS navigation stack and have been managing its further development since Summer 2012.
I have contributed extensively to the navigation capabilities in ROS. My collaboration with Max Likhachev's group at CMU led to the development of SBPL - a general-purpose library for search-based planning that has been used extensively for navigation for mobile robots. My work with Armin Hornung (University of Freiburg) and Michael Phillips (CMU) while they were interns at Willow Garage led to the development of the 3D Navigation capabilities in ROS, extending the ROS navigation stack to allow full-body navigation in unstructured environments. I was also involved in the development of the original ROS navigation stack and have been managing its further development since Summer 2012.
- Video - 3D Navigation with the PR2 robot
- Video - Cart Pushing with the PR2 robot
- Website - ROS Navigation Stack
- Website - SBPL (Maxim Likhachev's group at CMU)
PR2
I was a core member of the team that developed the PR2. I helped develop a lot of the core software stacks for the PR2 including the controllers for the base, arms and gripper, motion planning stacks with Arm Navigation, the Grasping Pipeline and MoveIt! and several applications including tabletop manipulation, door opening, mobile pick and place, learning from demonstration for fine manipulation tasks, furniture building and manipulation with dynamics.
I was a core member of the team that developed the PR2. I helped develop a lot of the core software stacks for the PR2 including the controllers for the base, arms and gripper, motion planning stacks with Arm Navigation, the Grasping Pipeline and MoveIt! and several applications including tabletop manipulation, door opening, mobile pick and place, learning from demonstration for fine manipulation tasks, furniture building and manipulation with dynamics.
ROS
I have been involved with ROS since its beginning and was involved in developing the core Robotics stacks. This ranges from the URDF file format for defining robots, Kalman filters, global and local navigation planners, motion planners for manipulation, kinematics modules, dynamics modules, controllers and integrated applications like pick and place and workspace analysis. MoveIt! is intended to form the basis for all future mobile manipulation capabilities in ROS.
I have been involved with ROS since its beginning and was involved in developing the core Robotics stacks. This ranges from the URDF file format for defining robots, Kalman filters, global and local navigation planners, motion planners for manipulation, kinematics modules, dynamics modules, controllers and integrated applications like pick and place and workspace analysis. MoveIt! is intended to form the basis for all future mobile manipulation capabilities in ROS.
CONTROL
I initiated the ROS Control project to develop a new robot independent realtime safe controller library, controller manager and control interfaces for ROS. The addition of a standard set of interfaces for control has been a longtime demand in ROS while the availability of a reliable open-source library for control should open up new applications. The ROS control project and the associated libraries have already picked up several users and contributors, including in Gazebo and by PAL Robotics.
I initiated the ROS Control project to develop a new robot independent realtime safe controller library, controller manager and control interfaces for ROS. The addition of a standard set of interfaces for control has been a longtime demand in ROS while the availability of a reliable open-source library for control should open up new applications. The ROS control project and the associated libraries have already picked up several users and contributors, including in Gazebo and by PAL Robotics.
