MoveIt 2#

Learning Objectives#

Run a manipulation scene in Isaac Sim with MoveIt 2.

Getting Started#

Important

Make sure to source ROS 2 appropriately from the terminal before running Isaac Sim.

Prerequisite

  • This tutorial requires isaac_moveit,ROS 2 packages, which are provided as part of your NVIDIA Isaac Sim download. These ROS 2 packages are located inside the appropriate humble_ws or jazzy_ws. They contain the required launch file and moveit configs. Complete ROS 2 Installation to ensure the ROS 2 workspace environment is setup correctly.

  • If using multiple systems, set the FASTRTPS_DEFAULT_PROFILES_FILE environment variable as per instructions in ROS 2 Installation before launching Isaac Sim, as well as any terminal where ROS messages will be sent or received, and ROS2 Extension is enabled.

  • Completed ROS2 Joint Control: Extension Python Scripting.

Running MoveIt 2#

  1. Load the environment by going to Window > Examples > Robotics Examples, and then click on the Robotics Examples tab and expand the sections on the left hand side and open the example: ROS2 > MoveIt > Franka MoveIt. Then hit PLay to start simulation.

  2. Run the launch file to start MoveIt 2.

    ros2 launch isaac_moveit isaac_moveit.launch.py

  3. Once Rviz is launched, you can start playing with the planner. Under Planning Group, the hand option should be selected. Under Goal State, select open.

  4. Under Commands, click Plan. The planned movement of the hand will now be visualized.

  5. Click Execute. The hand will start moving as planned earlier.

  6. To plan the movement for the arm, under Planning Group, select panda_arm. Use the displayed arrows and rotation disks to set a goal position for the robot. Alternatively you can choose to select <random_valid> under Goal State.

  7. Under Commands, click on Plan followed by Execute to visualize the planned motion of the arm and then move it.

TroubleShooting#

If your Rviz window is showing a black screen for where the robot should be, you may need to update your mesa driver. Run the following commands in a new terminal.

# update mesa driver
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa
sudo apt install -y mesa-utils
sudo apt -y upgrade

Summary#

Tips for running MoveIt2’s Isaac Sim tutorial.

Next Steps#

Continue on to the next tutorial in our ROS2 Tutorials series, ROS 2 Generic Publisher and Subscriber to learn how to publish and subscribe to and from any ROS 2 topic.

Further Learning#